[stucky2947]

OK, I'm finally ready to install the radiator. I have the fan shroud in and the radiator fit is sloppy. I know there must be something to hold it in securely, but with the pics I took and my not so sharp memory, I can't figure out what it is. I looked in my master parts book, not much help. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

[sleepy]

What do you mean by sloppy fit?

[Stuart]

There should be two U-shaped mounts at the bottom that the radiator rests in, with a third U-shaped mount on the bottom side of the top shield that holds it down. They all have rubber inserts, are you missing some of them? I don't think the shroud really does anything to hold the radiator in place, it just fits over it.

This diagram is from the '61 parts manual but it should be the same for '62.

[stucky2947]

By sloppy, I mean it does not fit snug into the raduaitor support. And now I know why. That is the same book I have and I guess I didn't see/notice the rubber mounts. I don't have any of them. Does anyone repop them or do I have to find some originals somewhere?

[stucky2947]

I just thought of something. Is the top mount the one located in the fan guard? If it is, I have that, I just need the bottom two.

[Pontiac62]

If your car came w/AC, this is a drawing from the MPC for 61-62.

[stucky2947]

It didn't originally come equipped with AC, but I am adding the factory Cir-L-air system. I didn't see that illustration in my book, but i will look when I get home tonite.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by stucky2947

I just thought of something. Is the top mount the one located in the fan guard? If it is, I have that, I just need the bottom two.

Yup, it's on the bottom of #12 in the diagram I posted. I can try to take a photo of the lower ones in my car and post them after work tonight so you can see what they look like; If you can find some pieces of rubber about 3/16" thick or so you could probably make some new pads and glue or screw them in place in the lower mounts (or else take some time to clean the garage....you probably have them but they're lost in a box somewhere. )

[Pontiac62]

Originally Posted by stucky2947

It didn't originally come equipped with AC, but I am adding the factory Cir-L-air system. I didn't see that illustration in my book, but i will look when I get home tonite.

I don't know what kind of donor car your getting your parts from, but there a a few things you need to be aware of.
1. The fan guard is different with the shroud than without.
2. The condenser is different for the Grand Prix than the other models.
3. The muffler for the GP is also different. (you don't really have to use that)

I'm putting my factory system back together right now. A lot of original parts were missing and I've learned some of these things the hard way.
If you need a source for some of the new parts required, let me know.
Les

[stucky2947]

Thanks Les. I didn't know that parts were different for the GP since it's basically the same as the Cat. I would appreciate it if you could send me a list of the differences. I got all my parts from two difference cars, one of which I know was a GP, the other, not so sure.

Stuart, I would like to see what your cars radiator support looks like. I'll be looking for the pics. Thanks.

[Pontiac62]

The condenser for the GP has the tubes coming out of the top, right side of the car, angled back toward the engine compartment. The others have one tube pointing down with a hose connection, the other tube points up, with a screw-together fitting.

The muffler for the GP has one tube bent at a 90 degree angle, the others are straight.

The reason for these differences is that the grill in the GP is too close to the bulkhead to get the hose through from the muffler to the condenser. On the other models the hose goes through the grommet near the inner fender and curves over and up into the condenser. On the GP there is no space between the grommet hole and the grill.

The condenser I have is a non GP condenser, I drilled a new hole low in the bulkhead and got the hose routed through that, to the muffler. I had the muffler 90 degree fitting straightened before I realized I couldn't go straight thru the bulkhead. I could have probably used it with the 90 degree bend, but was able to use it straight anyway.
I had my condenser rebuilt, and could probably have had it rebuilt with the tubes in the correct position, had I known at the time that it was different.

[Stuart]

Here are the pictures from my '61 (this is a non-a/c car.) There's two supports at the bottom, one on each side, and one at the top under the fan shroud in the middle. You can see the rubber inserts.

[stucky2947]

Stuart, you were right! All I had to do was clean out the garage. I found four of them. I didn't realize that was what they looked like. I got the radiator in with no problems. Thanks for all the help guys.

[Pontiac62]

BTW, that picture of the fan guard is for the radiator without the shroud. The one for the radiator with the shroud is shorter on the back side to clear the shroud. Also the metal tab extends down below the rubber nub, far enough to be bolted through to the top of the shroud.