Hey guys. I'm in the process of doing an LSX conversion and it has come time for me to decide on a radiator for the project. My current radiator is no good for an LS engine (it's a radiator for a local V6 engine here in OZ and far too small for cooling ~400hp) and it is not economic for me to have a camaro radiator shipped over to me from the states. Therefore I've decided to have one fabricated for me instead.
I've taken some measurements and decided on around 28 inches wide and 16-17.5 inches tall (depending on the outcomes of this thread).

Now... The standard camaro radiators sit in the bottom support panel and lean back into the engine bay on a slight angle that allows the top of the radiator to stick out past the top support panel. It is then held in place with the plastic cover that bolts down over the top of it.

What is the purpose of the radiator being installed on a lean? It's kinda like someone at Chev messed up the size of the radiator and made it too tall to fit under the top support, then just decided to hold it in there with a big *** plastic piece. Obviously this isn't the case, but thats sort of how it looks.

Since I am starting over I just need to decide whether I should copy the factory radiator and lean my new one into the bay on an angle. This will require me having to get a new plastic cover shipped over because the previous owner cut it up to fit the smaller radiator Then I can just fit the new one in like a factory item.
OR...
Option 2 (which I am leaning toward) is having the new radiator made an inch shorter so that it fits neatly underneith the top support panel and sits more or less vertical in the car. This will require me making my own brakets to hold it in there, and also welding up the holes in the top support but it means I can throw away the plastic cover and have a nice neat finish and more room in the engine bay.

This will be a show car so looks are important, and I think hiding the radiator out of sight has the slight edge so far. However I want to know whether you guys think I'll come across any issues doing this. So far I have thought of these:
- The filler cap section will need to be located inward from the body of the radiator so that I can still fill it easily, similar to the attached pic (but obviously a lot nicer and not to that crazy extent)
- Will the heat from the unit ruin the paint on the top suppport rail if it's directly underneith?
- Does the lean of the original unit help air flow or cooling efficiency somehow? I don't see how.

Also, I have no air con so no issues there.

Looking forward to your input, thanks guys

 

i moved mine to a move verticle position and have noticed no ill effects, but the reason for the lean, from what i heard/read, is to direct the air through the radiator and then down, under the car, instead of up into the hood area like would happen if you leaned the radiator forward. With a air extractor hood setup, this could be beneficial...