Radiator Support Repair

[herb101]

I pulled the front end of the Blazer apart to clean up some loose ends and generally refresh the under hood area after swapping in the 700R4 and moving the motor forward. I pulled the radiator support off and was faced with the fairly typical acid induced rot:




I'm a tightwad and don't want to buy a new radiator support and I was surprised at the cost of the repair panel from Brothers, for what it is. I decided to throw caution and good sense to the wind and try my first ever metal fabrication project. I picked up a 6"x18" section of 16 GA sheet steel from Home Depot to $10. After killing a HF bender and returning it and some creative cut and curl work I had this ready to weld up and fit in:




Here it is from the top and bottom after spot welding it in:




And here it is hiding under a fresh coat of satin black:




What do you guys think? It's a far cry from the quality of work I see in the project builds, but I'm pretty happy with the turn-out for my first ever attempt.

[hgs_notes]

Looks good. Should have welded the nuts on for the inner fender before painting.

[herb101]

Thanks - it'll get sanded off and re-painted. It's stored outside and I wanted to rustproof it as I probably won't be able to finish it 'til next weekend.

I need to mock up the inner and weld the nuts for the two inner fender bolts. I also need to drill a hole for drainage. If you look at the original, the curve on the far right doesn't go all the way to the support, to allow drainage. I like the full box better, so I'll put a 3/8 or 1/2 hole through the bottom at the front corner for drainage.

[eagleuh1]

I like it. I did the same thing. I'm another cheapskate. I still haven't bolted my inner fender up, or for that matter drilled the holes yet for the bolts. It was on the road for a while till I decided to start bodywork. Keep up the inexpensive repairs. Good luck.