T-Series & Prewar Forum

Sorry to return to this subject. I made a meal of replacing my Rad slats some of which have now come loose. I 'm trying to get the time/ energy/space to remove the wings/side sheets etc. Before I start I looked at the WSM. page 94 sect DD.
The section makes no mention of removing the side sheets or wings. The relevant bits are:-
1) "remove the 2 set bolts screwing into captive nuts in the radiator grill at each side, accessible below the wings. " These are not accessible below the wings but just might be accessible from the engine compartment?????
2) "Unscrew and remove the nuts below the radiator securing it to the front cross-member" Again this might just be possible but they are close to the rack.
3) " the shell and raditor block will then come away together"
In my case all the bolts mentioned above are newly replaced and should come out without difficulty.
If the Radiator comes out without the shell presumably I can gain enough access to refix the slats....?

Anyone done this ? can it be done or not????

Eddie

I've never done it Eddie, but I've seen pics of cars where it has been done - bonnet sides in place (maybe loosened at the front to give more room).
Dave H

Done it several times. Two bolts to captive nuts on that go through the front wings and side panels, tow nuts on the bottom , through the frame cross member (much easier to access these with horns removed, and two bolts securing the steading rods to the top of the radiator. After removing these, the radiator and shell can be lifted up and out.

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Archie (Scott) McAllister
1955 MG TF1500
1968 Austin Healey Sprite
1963 Austin Healey 3000

Forgot to mention that I unbolt the thermostat housing at the block, leaving connected to hose and radiator. My engine was moved forward a bit when I installed the 5spd transmission kit, so the top hose is almost impossible to install. This makes it much easier.

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Archie (Scott) McAllister
1955 MG TF1500
1968 Austin Healey Sprite
1963 Austin Healey 3000

Just looked at mine again and realized there are two more bolts to take off - one on each side that attaches the front of the side panel to the top of the radiator. Also forgot to mention that I cut my side panels at the fender line (lots of other folks have also done this), which allows easy removal of just the top portion of the panel and much better access to the engine bay.

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Archie (Scott) McAllister
1955 MG TF1500
1968 Austin Healey Sprite
1963 Austin Healey 3000

Archie, its a completely different exercise if you have previously split your side sheets.. I recently had a thread on the splitting operation
But apart from that i 'm confused. there are absolutely no bolts in my car that hold the Rad in place and that are accessible under the wings.
The picture under the wing confirms that. The other picture shows the 2 new plated bolts that hold the bottom bracket into the radiator surround. however I would have expected to take them out thereby leaving items 144 and145 in the car.... after I have taken out the 2 bolts on the top of the crossmember

Or am I missing something

Eddie

What pictures Eddie?

I can only suspect that you are trying to remove the radiator and leave pieces 144,145 and 146 in place? I just don't see that as a possibility if thats where you were headed. I went out and took a few pictures that may or may not help. The first three show the position of the two bolt holes on the wing that I and others have been talking about. I see that I was mistaken as the lower bolt only passes through the wing while the upper one passes through both the wing and the side panel. The last photo shows what the entire assembly would look like when removed....just as it presently is on my TF.

X2 on LaVerne's comment. Parts 144, 145. 146 come out with the radiator and shell. In Laverne's last photo, the front splash pan is still attached to the radiator and shroud assembly. I took the pan off prior to removing the radiator. If you plan to leave in place on the car, there are two more 1/4" bolts to remove. These go through the splash pan and into part 146. There are two more bolts and nuts on each side of the pan (seen in the photo) that go into the very front of the front wings. These do not have to be removed if the pan is staying on the car. May seem like a lot, but a lot less hassle than removing the wings, in my opinion.

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Archie (Scott) McAllister
1955 MG TF1500
1968 Austin Healey Sprite
1963 Austin Healey 3000

Sorry about the absence of photos.... finger trouble.
is it not the case that the radiator can be removed on its own by removing the 4 side bolts as shown on my pics, the 2 bolts that go through the cross member and various hoses and supports at the top of the radiator.
Is the workshop manual wrong. I can see the difficulty in reaching the 4 side bolts. If it can be done surely is much less trouble/effort/time/risk of damage to loose wings, runningboards etc
Eddie thanks for your continued input

The two times I did this, I took the entire assembly out as one unit. Once out, it is much easier to remove and front chrome shell and access the slats. My situation is definitely a bit easier now that I have removable upper side panels, but once you remove all of the fasteners the entire assembly will rock fore and aft a good bit and you should be able to clear the tabs where the side panels bolt to the radiator. If you cannot tilt the radiator assembly far enough forward to clear the tabs, the side panels may deflect far enough to the side to clear. It is certainly worth a try, prior to removing the front wings.

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Archie (Scott) McAllister
1955 MG TF1500
1968 Austin Healey Sprite
1963 Austin Healey 3000

On this TF I worked on last fall I could have removed the assembly but I just took all the bolts out that you will need to do and rocked it enough to replace the water pump.

In a related note, a question about Laverne's 3rd pic showing the rubber buffer strip woven through the grille shell. Does anyone know a cheap, easily available product which will work for this application?

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Chip Long
Charlotte, NC

I used Moss part #280-010 ($8.99). They send you way too much - probably enough to do the job a second time.

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Archie (Scott) McAllister
1955 MG TF1500
1968 Austin Healey Sprite
1963 Austin Healey 3000