moving the radiator forward

[treed2@u.washington.edu (T. Reed)]

Okay, so all this talk of modifying the coolant system by adding or
removing the expansion tank got me thinking when I was staring at my
engine today..

I have a 16v that came with a/c but now has the sawed-off a/c bracket with
the alternator mounted down below. I junked the evaporator and condenser,
etc to save weight.

Looking at the still too crowded mess under my hood, it occurred to me
just how much space there is in front of the radiator now. It also
occurred to me how little space there is between the front of the motor
and the radiator, fan shroud, etc.

So.. why not move the radiator forward an inch or two? There's even an
extra rectangular hole in the radiator for each of the two bracket
thingies that bolt to the front tray.

Well, for one thing it would interfere with one of the bumper bolts. Fine,
so scoot it a little to the passenger side too. Hey, what do you know..
there is even an assortment of radiator mounting holes pre-drilled in the
crossmember (on the passenger side at least).

So it looks like I'd have to drill at least one hole, the radiator hoses
look like they would probably reach. I can't think of anything bad about
doing this - and the gain in working room around the radiator shroud would
be worth the effort, IMO.

-Toby