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Radiator sheet metal problem

316 Views 10 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  rolfer
Hi, I tried some higher speeds on the GTM today and suddenly a terrible noise appeared. I thought the car was going to shatter to pieces. But as I came down to normal speeds the sound went away. When I came to a stop I found the sheet metal around the radiator that is supposed to guide air was warped towards the ground and was hitting the road. Is this a normal problem? If so, what did you do to reinforce this section?

Thanks
/Johan
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From what I've read and what I did on mine was put a piece of some 90° angle steel or aluminum on that leading edge and rivet through it.
Great info, thanks. So this is enough to keep it in place? No need for a support bar from the upper radiator bracket?
Im not the best source because I'm still waiting on my transaxle. I used 1/2" angle aluminum I believe and and there is no flex at all on the leading edge. I'll snap a pic when I get home
Great thank you. I did something similar using a t-profile aluminium piece. Haven’t tried it yet but I’m pretty sure it will hold. The leading edge is rock solid now.

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Your solution will greatly assist in this matter from the research and the approach I did. From FF its just a piece of sheet metal folded back on itself to give it a little "rigidity." I simply riveted I think half inch box aluminum piece to the front edge of the aluminum panel.

Report back on your speeds and any other items you notice (i.e. how your alignment handles highspeed, top speeds, ...). I'm very interested as I would love to run mine when done at one of those airport runway open events one day.

There were I think a couple guys who broke 200 mph but would have to research their posts to refresh my memory.
Your solution will greatly assist in this matter from the research and the approach I did. From FF its just a piece of sheet metal folded back on itself to give it a little "rigidity." I simply riveted I think half inch box aluminum piece to the front edge of the aluminum panel.

Report back on your speeds and any other items you notice (i.e. how your alignment handles highspeed, top speeds, ...). I'm very interested as I would love to run mine when done at one of those airport runway open events one day.

There were I think a couple guys who broke 200 mph but would have to research their posts to refresh my memory.
Yes I hope it will hold up now. I didn’t notice any problems up in speed, but I had to let go around 150mph due to the sheet metal failure. I’ll report back when I try it some more

/Johan
The first time I took my GTM to the track and I drove 120mph or higher I had the same problem. I used duct tape to fix the problem when I was at the track. I have a more permanent fix now.
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The first time I took my GTM to the track and I drove 120mph or higher I had the same problem. I used duct tape to fix the problem when I was at the track. I have a more permanent fix now.
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Looks like this is a common problem on the GTM. Nice solution you got there. Did you notice any difference when closing the gap in the front? I have a small gap between the splitter and radiator enclosure for the moment.

/Johan
Hey thanks, at high speed the wind on the panel acts like a reed (a reference to all you wood wind instrument players).

It stopped the problem and also helps cooling by directing more of the air from the front opening through the radiator.

You can't really see but I had the sheetmetal go up on the sides to help close off the gap on the sides too.
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