I had thought about removing the core support anyway to provide more room to get the engine out, but my concern was that removing this support would allow the front end to drift apart.  Is that a possibility?



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I hope not cuz I've had mine out for over a year now. It definitely made it easier to get the engine and transmission out as a unit.

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1973 L-82 4 spd

I had my radiator and core support out for about 6 months waiting for a new core support.

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Another answer is to take the two bolts out of the upper control arm. Front one on each side. They are pressed in, so it takes a little doing. Remember where the shims go, and don't turn the wheels. Worked well on my 72 and 75.

I think I'll unbolt the core support.  That will also provide more room to pull the engine/transmission.

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Bill, as mentioned by others, having the core support out of the car for a while is no big deal. Just don’t lean on it or put something heavy on the front end while it’s out. Removing the core support is the way to go if your pulling the engine/trans. Also a good time to inspect the bottom of the support, they like to rust out. Good luck.

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John Sigmund

You may not need to actually take the support out. As I recall on my 80 it required just taking out the two top bolts on each side and loosening the the ones on the bottom. Then the top could rotate forward about 1/4". That is all it took to get out - still tight and two people makes it way easier. But then be careful when you put it back in. At the top of the support where they spot welded the parts together the "flash" around the spot welds sticks out a couple mm's. Again, not much, but enough to punch through a copper tube if it bangs into it - speaking from experience. 

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Well, I did unbolt the core support, and got the shroud out that way, but it was still very tight.

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Update:  I reinstalled the radiator, shroud, and core support as a unit yesterday, and it was almost easy.  I had another person helping.

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Interesting, never thought of that option. Perhaps I’ll give that one a try on my next radiator endeavor !!

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John Sigmund

Radiator replacement was the first thing I had to do as a new Corvette owner on my '76 18 years ago.  Getting that shroud out was extremely frustrating and I didn't have C3VR back then to help.  Unfortunately, it ended up breaking but it turned out OK - I turned it into a two-piece and haven't been sad once about it and it sure is a lot easier to get it in and out now.  It broke on the top pass side and when I got it out I cut it down the middle on the bottom.  At that time I worked for a company that had aluminum fab as part of its business and some guys in the shop helped me fabricate splice plates to bolt on to it.  Painted the plates flat black and you really have to look to notice they're there.  

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