I put the radiator into the 88 just a few minutes ago (finally, after waiting to coat the lower support). The 88 has a wonderbar brace, whereas the 87 didn't. Now the lower radiator hose is getting squished on the bar, restricting coolant flow. I'm wondering what other V6 guys have done with the lower hose when also using a wonderbar? Should I get some bulk hose and run it under the bar (lower rad outlet points towards the ground, not the engine), or am I looking at possibly replacing a radiator that was less than a year old when the 87 was parked?

 

What I did was to modify the steering brace bar. It was bent from someone prying against it at the JY. I cut the bar out leaving the plates. Then used a piece of schedule 40 iron pipe and welded it onto the plates.

I don't recall exactly how I did it, but it was done in such a way that the bar going from plate to plate was now lower then the stock bar. Painted it black and installed it.

Still pushed on the lower hose a little. But not as much as it would have.

RBob.

 

i did the same thing i cut out the factory bar that runs across the brackets and welded my own stronger bar in place i forget exactly what i did but i spaced it so the rad hose would clear

i think u can space the wonderbar down with some thick washers to make it clear as well.

anyway u go about making it fit is well worth the trouble of installing it, wonderbar made one of the biggest differences in the frontend of my car

 

Actually, I just left it in place... Don't know if it was factory on the 88 or if someone added it in the past, but I'm keeping it right where it is. I can make a couple spacers for it. Hopefully, between that and the 3-point STB, the front end should be a LOT tighter, especially with the new poly bushings .

 

I have mine in with the hose, no mods, I just bolted it in. Hose is fine.

 

mine fit with original raditor just fine with no mods but when i swaped to the 3.1 rad it slightly crushed the hose

 

Yeah, mine is tight against the hose, but not by much. Doesn't affect anything.

 

I just bent that thin hose support in the middle of the car up a bit and bolted the bar right on. It sits on it, but the support pervents rubbing of the hose

 

Well, what I've done for now is to flip the hose end-to-end... It's going under both the wonderbar and the front sway bar now and it's not being crushed anywhere near as bad by the sway bar as it was by the wonderbar (and yes, I checked for clearance with the pitman arm... got about an 1/8" with the wheel turned all the way to the right). However, I don't have any accessories bolted on yet, so I may still end up going with the universal hose. I'm looking at getting a stainless hose kit that I'm going to cut for the upper hose anyways, and there should be plenty left of 44" of hose for the lower one if necessary. I have a welder to work with the wonderbar, but I can't use it without a proper power source .

Filling the system with coolant is a bit of a ways off yet anyways as I forgot that I needed to drill out the 2 broken exhaust manifold studs on the #5 cylinder (yes, both are broken, one outside the head I can't pull with anything and the other 2-3 threads inside the head), so I need to get the head off and get a manifold as a drill guide . Nor do I have a cup plug yet for the hole that was vacated by that idiot heater pipe in the intake manifold that I removed because I don't need it. And I also don't have the heater core outlet pipe hooked up yet... Going to be a PITA, that is .