Ah yeah, I get it now. Carry on

 

Thought I would share a few pics:

The FC column is "almost" a bolt-in affair. While doing this swap I wanted the steering wheel to be spaced about 2" further back (towards driver) than the stock FB setup. This was easy to do and worked out well for this.

I cut the steering shaft in half and added a 3 1/4" section of shank from a 3/4" diameter bolt. I heavily beveled/chamfered all ends, jigged everything up, welded it together and flap disc'd it smooth. Turned out straight and smooth while working the wheel. I would say it's important to get the u-joint yokes perfectly 90 degrees from each other (in clocking) or there will be some noticeable binding in operation and potentially accelerated wear on the u-joints. My first attempt cam out straight - but somehow the yokes were about 15-20 degrees off and what brought it to my attention was a slight binding feel in the steering at one point turning to each side lock to lock.



The FC tilt column required the original mounting "ears" to be cut off so it could fit up into the FB dash recess (metal dash frame). I removed the mounting bracket from the FB steering column - flipped it 180, cut off the rear facing strap and welded it to the FC column.



The tubing/outer sleeve on the firewall end is the same diameter on both the FB and FC columns, so I just used the FB collar setup and secured the FC column in place. The collar isn't fully engaged in this pic that's why it appears to be a little cocked. Keep in mind that I positioned the wheel 2" further back than stock (I'm tall and needed the legroom). If you wanted to locate it so the steering wheel is in the stock position - it will require a different approach to the mounting tabs because they will be located above the "boxed" tilting mechanism section. Or you'll have to make some new mounting points on the dash to firewall bracket, closer to the firewall. Otherwise it works great for me and I needed the tilt since my Kirkey seat is mounted to the floor.



One nice thing about performing the FC subframe swap is that you can remove the radius arm? frame brackets which makes room for a much larger radiator. First I looked at a $400+ griffin "LS" radiator, then found a Howe radiator (no cap provision) that would work and was around $170, but then I came across some threads about using a C4 Corvette radiator and a Ford Contour fan. Supposedly the 'vette radiator is very efficient in spite of it's single core design. The core is 24"x16". I had to do some slight massaging on the ends of the fan shroud and now it's a perfect match. Getting ready to fab up some mounts to weld in now. Hopefully this setup works out - This fan AND radiator setup is less than $200 total. Does not include wiring/relays but that should be minimum with the LS swap because the ECM has two fan controller pins. FYI - the radiator will hang 2 1/2" below the frame so you don't want to pull up on curbs parking a slammed FB! LOL





Eric

 

is there room to put the radiator in at an angle? if so, then it won't hang down quite as low

 

There's always room just have to be willing to fabricate something to mount it.

 

There will be some room to slant it in (for my LS swap anyway) but it isn't enough to bring the bottom of the radiator to the frame so I'm going to mount it vertical. It can only go back to the sway bar and that amount of rotation/slant doesn't change the required vertical space much at all.

edit - If you wanted to cut into the upper core support and go with a lift-off hood arrangement and fixed headlamps you could go nuts with the mounting setup. :-)

 

I have an afco four core mounted at a slant and still have my core support and flip ups

 

The funny thing is, the way the nose is shaped, angling the radiator forward does not help ground clearance any. You'd have to angle it back like it sits in a Camaro or Corvette.

I think it was in PMs and not public where I was theorizing that angling the radiator down, opposite of the way FCs do it, is the best way to do it for aerodynamic reasons.

One other thing I noticed - Focus radiators have the lower hose on the correct side, two big beefy fans, and Focus lower radiator supports look to be extremely adaptable to other chassis since it is more or less just a strap that bolts to the chassis rails.

 

yeah, mounting this 'vette radiator is going to be a little tricky because of the total lack of mounting tabs/provisions. I was just looking at it again and I'm going to incorporate some "halved" sections of 2 1/2" exhaust pipe to capture it laterally (with some rubber padding for isolation) and make landing pads below them for it to rest on (with some rubber isolators as well). I have some exhaust tubing pieces at work - along with some strap I'll use and probably work on it tmw evening. I think I'm also going to incorporate a 1"OD x .060ish cross tube to weld tabs onto for mounting the bottom of the fan shroud and the rear of the air dam. Then I'll figure out what to do up top.

I've seen a thread where a guy mounted his radiator sloping back (at the top) and had a mesh-type upper nose valance. IDK how well that would work because the radiator is more-or-less laying in the air stream coming from the chin and not facing it. I considered slanting the radiator forward to square it up with the airflow but it's just not practical with the v8. With a rotary engine it would be a different story.

 

Here is what mine looks like.

 

maztang, are you solid mounting the radiator without any rubber dampening?

 

Yes it's solid. It's in a tray. A lot of drifters do it this way so I did it and it works. I need more room to run my fans and this was the best way

 

i think it was over pm's. the hard part about radiators in an FB is that anything new is going to be really wide....

i have my oil cooler mounted horizontally, and it works great. you need a small flap/duct to get the air in, but other than that nothing.

 

Played around with a lower bracket this evening. Got on the crawler and took a looksee and found some bolt provisions I forgot about. They are about 1 1/2" off center but plenty strong for this purpose. A removable bracket will be great just in case I need to change things around - or change radiators down the road. Used some 1 1/2" x .125" angle I had on hand - A bit heavy for my liking but when I'm done with it I'll attack it with a uni-bit. That's 2 1/2" below the frame and doesn't look bad at all to me. I have a few blocks of rubber to make some bushings out of. Still have some fabbing to do on it - then move on to the top.

 

 

Damn, that actually fits quite nicely. I like that bracket you came up with

 

nice bracket, came out looking real good. wondering what kind of rubber u'll be using as i am looking to get some for myself but not sure if the hardware store carries anything that will work. in need of something about 2x1x.5 or so to minimize vibration of the radiator. any recommendations?

 

Thanks for the kind words.
I made bushings out of cut pieces from the used FC radiator hose. Seemed a bit more pliable than a new hose. Used 1/8" x 1/4" deep aluminum rivets to put them in place. Seems to work well the radiator/shroud assembly pretty much "snaps" into place - the fitment is spot on with no movement. It lost a noticeable amount of weight by slant cutting the frame brackets and drilling the (30) 3/4" holes. Now I'm contemplating the top bracket setup.

 

yeah that fits nicely

 

Yeah it really does. I bet it has no problems cooling an LS, can't imagine those engines making more heat than the LT1 that radiator was designed to cool originally.

 

I installed the engine and trans. Used C5 aluminum engine stands and motor mounts plus some home fabbed pedestals. I didn't think the throttle body was going to clear the hood - but it did with some wiggle room to spare. The 4l80 fits well in the tunnel too - there's just one spot by the shift cable bracket that I'll have to smack with a hammer when I pull the engine and trans back out. edit - trans xmember is next

 

NAPA shows the same radiator for '00-02 and '93-97 V8 cars. Not sure what would make the '98-99 different.

Swap looks good. Fits an RX-7 a whole lot better than it fits in an H1!

 

I'm really loving this build. Totally wish I could swap my subframe but formula d rules don't allow it. I can do the motor swap though I'm going to be the first fb in formula d. Give it a year or so. Still have to build the car. Build thread will soon be started.

 

worked on the transmission crossmember.

 

Awesome work. The engine really fits in there nicely.

 

i been reading and rereading this thread and the FC frame swap is one mod am going to plan for my FB that i got not to long ago. your car is looking great but for for the v8. hey not my car so alwell.