radiator support question

[mlheppl]

I've asked this question in my thread on project updates but thought I'd ask here to get some more opinions.

I've recently installed a 78-79 F250 4X4 power steering box on my 71 highboy. Because of where I mounted the steering sector, I lack about 1/4 of being able to get a bolt through the drivers side radiator support mount. This is the mount from the support to the frame. My existing radiator support has some rust out. I've got a good support on my donor truck (F1002wd). When I swap out supports, I was going to remove the radiator mounting brackets from my highboy support and install them onto my donor support.

Anyways, back to my support hitting the steering sector: I see a couple of possible solutions. 1) remove the gearbox, cut out the bracing welded to the frame and re- do it all moving the mounting back farther. This would require that I notch out my front crossmember under the engine. 2) I could notch out the bracket on the radiator support that the radiator mounts to. It looks like I could notch the bracket from just under the lower radiator mounting hole. If I go this route, I may have to raise the lower brace for the radiator mount bracket a couple of inches. 3) When I install the radiator mounting brackets onto my donor support, I could shift the mounting brackets over to the passenger side. A 3/8" shift would give me the clearance I need.

Which of these options do you think would be best, or is there other more reasonable options I'm not looking into?

TIA

Mike

[averagef250]

Having done the 78-79 box route on several of these trucks I've never got it to work without cutting the crossmember. There's a local here who's done, I bet, hundreds of them. He carefully takes a pie cut out of the crossmember, folds the remainder back to weld it back in place.

[mlheppl]

Thanks Average F250. Could you post a picture of the cutout of the crossmember? I'd assume you'd only want to cut out enough to mount the box and then be able to get a wrench or socket on the mounting bolts. Is this correct?

[mlheppl]

I forgot option 4. Take a better look at it. When I looked before, the core support was leaning in towards the engine compartment. When I leveled it, it looked a lot closer

Here's what it looks like with the core support in place.


I need to trim just a little off of the edge below the lower radiator mounting hole (cut out about 1/8" or so) to keep it from touching at all.

[fordman]

that looks like the best option now.