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Old 07-10-2015, 11:04 PM   #21
vern hodgson
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Default Re: Leaning radiator of tudor

Checking closely I think I have found the problem. See the frame in the photo, just aft of the front crossmember. How disappointing. All measurements are the same from the rear forward up to the cross member. Is there any way possible I can rig a system to straighten this myself? Any suggestions??
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Old 07-10-2015, 11:34 PM   #22
vern hodgson
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Default Re: Leaning radiator of tudor

Checking closely I think I have found the problem. See the frame in the photo, just aft of the front crossmember. How disappointing. All measurements are the same from the rear forward up to the cross member. Is there any way possible I can rig a system to straighten this myself? Any suggestions??
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Old 07-10-2015, 11:40 PM   #23
Mike V. Florida
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Default Re: Leaning radiator of tudor

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Originally Posted by vern hodgson View Post
Checking closely I think I have found the problem. See the frame in the photo, just aft of the front crossmember. How disappointing. All measurements are the same from the rear forward up to the cross member. Is there any way possible I can rig a system to straighten this myself? Any suggestions??
Sure you can but should you? Do you have block and tackle or a come along? How about blocks and a method to fasten the assembly to the floor? Chains and a jack? Can you going to do it cold or need with heat to shrink the streached parts?

Bring it down to a body shop with a frame straightener. Tell them they can use pictures of the car in their advertising if they give you a break on the price.
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Old 09-07-2015, 09:54 PM   #24
vern hodgson
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Default Re: Leaning radiator of tudor

Just a follow up, interesting to see the progress of solving this dilemma. Discovered the frame was bent just about ten inches aft of the pass. Side cross member attachment. Frame shops were reluctant to even give me an estimate let alone do the job. So..... Found an article via TFB on how to straighten a frame. Yea verily, 14' of six by six, two substantial sections of chain a six ton hydraulic jack and less than one hour, mostly spent rigging and all was copasthetic, removed only the right front fender and headlite bar. Just installed the hood today and all looks well. Nice to know there are guys who got my "A back". Interesting that things we would tackle without a second when younger seem quite daunting as we get older and "wiser"???
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Old 09-07-2015, 10:24 PM   #25
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Default Re: Leaning radiator of tudor

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Originally Posted by vern hodgson View Post
Just a follow up, interesting to see the progress of solving this dilemma. Discovered the frame was bent just about ten inches aft of the pass. Side cross member attachment. Frame shops were reluctant to even give me an estimate let alone do the job. So..... Found an article via TFB on how to straighten a frame. Yea verily, 14' of six by six, two substantial sections of chain a six ton hydraulic jack and less than one hour, mostly spent rigging and all was copasthetic, removed only the right front fender and headlite bar. Just installed the hood today and all looks well. Nice to know there are guys who got my "A back". Interesting that things we would tackle without a second when younger seem quite daunting as we get older and "wiser"???

Glad to see you got it done!

If it were me I would drive the fixed car car down to the frame shop and say, "look what I did with some chain and a jack. And you could not do it with all your fancy equipment." But that's just me. I felt a little hot just reading your post about how they did not want to work on it. Any wonder why we are becoming more and more a throw away country?
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Old 09-07-2015, 10:41 PM   #26
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Default Re: Leaning radiator of tudor

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Quote:
Originally Posted by vern hodgson View Post
Just a follow up, interesting to see the progress of solving this dilemma. Discovered the frame was bent just about ten inches aft of the pass. Side cross member attachment. Frame shops were reluctant to even give me an estimate let alone do the job. So..... Found an article via TFB on how to straighten a frame. Yea verily, 14' of six by six, two substantial sections of chain a six ton hydraulic jack and less than one hour, mostly spent rigging and all was copasthetic, removed only the right front fender and headlite bar. Just installed the hood today and all looks well. Nice to know there are guys who got my "A back". Interesting that things we would tackle without a second when younger seem quite daunting as we get older and "wiser"???
I wish I had seen this thread earlier. There is a shop in Burien,Wa. that can straighten anything. I have had the present owners do several cars for me and I knew the original owner also. He was a sprint car owner.
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Old 09-07-2015, 10:54 PM   #27
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Default Re: Leaning radiator of tudor

Good to have followup and learn the outcome.
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Old 09-08-2015, 08:31 AM   #28
Bob Bidonde
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Default Re: Leaning radiator of tudor

I finished mounting the radiator on my 190A restoration not long ago, and it took several iterations of shimming and rod adjustments to get it looking good.

Shimming rotates the radiator side to side, that is, clockwise or counterclockwise. The rods tilt the top of the radiator fore & aft. You will also find that the attachment holes in the frame for the radiator allow some adjustment, but not a lot.

Do the shimming first using rubber pads under the mounting feet of the radiator. Take the radiator shell off to get the shims into place without loosing your temper. Check the result with the radiator shell bolted into place. Watch the clearance of the shell at the front radiator splash shield. In my case, I used the firewall as a reference guide to determine if the radiator shell position was good.

Shimming the radiator may affect the fit of the hood. If this occurs, correct the alignment by shimming the aft hood hinge fitting, and by adjusting the radiator support rods.

The radiator I have is a reproduction, and the fit of the original radiator shell was horrible. I slotted all of the shell's mounting holes in the radiator.

Good luck with this fix, and I hope your experience will be easier than mine was.
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Old 09-08-2015, 05:14 PM   #29
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Default Re: Leaning radiator of tudor

Tweaking the frame I would not neglect to check your toe-in
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