JKG8R

Has anyone relocated their radiator to be able to mount their winch behind the grille? I looked at it last night and it doesn't seem that hard to do but just curious if it's been done so I can learn from other mistakes. Pictures would be great if there are any. Thanks.

westchester

It's an interesting idea but with so many existing winch plates and bumpers readily available, and reliable waterproof winches I'm curious what is your purpose of moving it to behind the grill ?

Are you thinking of moving the rad higher so it's positioned above or to the side of the winch, or going full-out desert racer style and relocating the radiator to the rear ?

JKG8R

This is what I did for my rear bumper. It's not the best picture to show it but I cut the cross member off and trimmed the rails back so my bumper extends ~1.5" off the body. It's made from a 1/4" C-Channel with 3/16" to cap the ends. I like the look of the bumper being somewhat flush with the body.

This is the Rockster project. I've never found a photo showing what they did or if they ever mounted a winch but the front bumper is kind of what I'm planning to build.


This is how I plan to mount mine... I'm thinking about using something more secure than C-clamps on mine.

warlord

hey why not move the radiator to the top of the motor and cut a hole in the hood?\


make it look kinda like a humvee

JKG8R

I may try that after I do the full Hummer conversion kit.

BlkMtnJK

Think They meant HMMWV, not humvee. But the HMMWV's radiators are set above teh engine at an angle.

warlord

i know you all have a thing against hummers

but to me the h1 is still a fine piece of equipment, h2 and h3 can suck mt gooch tho.

im willing to wheel with any offroad vehicle regardless of make.

and the more we can get along with these other breeds rather than just compete over which one is better, then the better this sport will be for everyone

JKG8R

I too would never dog an H1. They are the best at what they were designed to do. I don't think their radiator design or cutting a hole in the top of my hood would work very well in my application. I get enough mud up front as is and a lot of days I come home with a couple of inches of mud sitting on top of the hood.

It looks like I can fab a couple of brackets and shorten the hoses to move it back 4-6". I also think I'll need to do something with the sway bar frame mounts but I'm not sure what until I start cutting and get the winch plate bolted in place. I've burned most of my vacation time so it may have to wait a few weeks since I need to drive it to work every day. I'll take pictures when I get started if anyone is interested.

By the way, I wheel with Toyota's, Scouts, Bronco's and Sami's and 90% of the vehicles capability is sitting in the driver seat. That doesn't stop me from talking trash when I go over or through something that someone else can't. : )

Mark

booooooooooooooooooooooo!

FAMILY-CRAWL

I like how that winch on the silver jk is shoved back into the frame rails. I'm getting read to start my front bumper build and this is giving me some great ideas.