1957 Chevy truck re-rebuild

[Stepside Jim]

Thanks Kim, once that little alteration was done and painted on the trans cover I had to sit back and admire it for a bit.

I mentioned mounting a transmission cooler in one of the last posts. One way of mounting it is to use the zip tie things and some rubber cushions and mount it directly to the radiator, for some reason that just never settled well with me.

Next up is using one of the heat sink units and mount it on the frame some where, for some reason that just never settled well with me either.

I see the new style transmission cooler is the stacked plate unit, it settled well with me so I ordered one. I received it and once I got a closer look at it, it settled even weller with me. The idea is the the same as the old tube and fin design but the air has to change direction as it passes through it plus it is a sturdier unit altogether. I also like how I can use fittings vs using hose and clamps to hook it to the coolant lines.

Next came where or how to mount it. With this truck, somebody before me removed the "X" brace that goes in front of the radiator, so I fabbed one up some time back and bolted it where the original one was. Hmmm, sure looks like a good way to mount the cooler, it's my "X" brace, I can cut it up if I want to.

'X" brace cut, gotta look closely.


With the "X" brace cut, I need to fill the gap between the four sides and have a way to mount the cooler.


A most excellent fit.


After some welding and grinding, I now have a multipurpose "X" brace.


Great, no extra brackets welded or bolted to the radiator support, to hold the cooler.



As for the cooler mount itself I used 3/16" vs using 1/8" plate. I have no idea if there would be any twisting going on within the "X" brace so I figured I'd use a safer thicker material.

Although it stands out in the pictures, once the truck is done the new aluminum radiator will be black on the front side and so will any mounting bolts. I want the space behind the grill to be a black deep space.