I am still working on my Z little by little. At the body shop today I was asking the guy about my hood latch, which often pops up (thank goodness Z cars have hoods which open the right way!)

He instantly noticed something I had missed all this time: the hood is hitting on the top of my radiator! And it's wearing through the brass at a good clip.

Now, this is a car that (now that I have owned it for a while) shows every sign of having been made from parts of about 3 other cars (one of them a Maxima!).

So my questions are:

1) Is this the right radiator for my '78 280z? If not and I just get a new radiator, will the problem be magically fixed?

2) If it IS the right radiator, what is the least-painful way to fix this problem? Are any of Motorsport's radiators shorter? Should I drill some new holes in the mounts or fabricate new mounts to shift it down?

The dimensions of the radiator seem to be about:

2 5/8 inches deep (thick)

20 3/4 inches tall

24 1/2 inches wide

Thanks for any advice!

I am still working on my Z little by little. At the body shop today I was asking the guy about my hood latch, which often pops up (thank goodness Z cars have hoods which open the right way!)

He instantly noticed something I had missed all this time: the hood is hitting on the top of my radiator! And it's wearing through the brass at a good clip.

Now, this is a car that (now that I have owned it for a while) shows every sign of having been made from parts of about 3 other cars (one of them a Maxima!).

So my questions are:

1) Is this the right radiator for my '78 280z? If not and I just get a new radiator, will the problem be magically fixed?

2) If it IS the right radiator, what is the least-painful way to fix this problem? Are any of Motorsport's radiators shorter? Should I drill some new holes in the mounts or fabricate new mounts to shift it down?

The dimensions of the radiator seem to be about:

2 5/8 inches deep (thick)

20 3/4 inches tall

24 1/2 inches wide

Thanks for any advice!

I do not believe this is the right radiator for the car. And installing MSA shrould will not help the situation at all. Raight radiator should cure the problem.

Esprist

www.jdm-car-part.com

If cost is an issue, check your local pick n pull or look at car-part.com for used.

This is the original radiator form 11/75, looks totally different. I am not sure if the 78 is the same as a 76.

Yeah that's really different, without the weird bulges coming up on the ends and hitting my hood! It really looks like that would solve the problem.

Thanks for the replies!

mgood's radiator looks exactly like the one on my 78 (except for the lack of a shroud). The one you have there sits too high above the support. You cold try drilling holes in the bracket that would allow it to mount lower provided that wouldn't create a clearance problem at the bottom.

I am still working on my Z little by little. At the body shop today I was asking the guy about my hood latch, which often pops up (thank goodness Z cars have hoods which open the right way!)

He instantly noticed something I had missed all this time: the hood is hitting on the top of my radiator! And it's wearing through the brass at a good clip.

Now, this is a car that (now that I have owned it for a while) shows every sign of having been made from parts of about 3 other cars (one of them a Maxima!).

So my questions are:

1) Is this the right radiator for my '78 280z? If not and I just get a new radiator, will the problem be magically fixed?

2) If it IS the right radiator, what is the least-painful way to fix this problem? Are any of Motorsport's radiators shorter? Should I drill some new holes in the mounts or fabricate new mounts to shift it down?

The dimensions of the radiator seem to be about:

2 5/8 inches deep (thick)

20 3/4 inches tall

24 1/2 inches wide

Thanks for any advice!

Just lower the radiator a inch. All you need to do is elongate the mounting holes or drill new ones and set the radiator lower. I mounted a 280Z unit in my 240 and it is 2'' longer. I just set it low enough to clear the hood and all is well.

Gary

Yeah, mine is a '78 too, and it looks like mgood's.

Well since I've already bashed a hole into the current radiator, plus I have serious doubts about the previous owner's ability to use good anti-corrosion coolant, I think I'll just replace it. I'll sleep better at night.