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Ideas for hiding radiators

Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2017 4:41 pm
by Tremelune
In my travels, I stumbled upon this tight Ecotec install and it removed one of my primary concerns about watercooled motors: the goofy looks. Anyone have any ideas for hiding radiators? I'm also trying to figure out if this engine is moved forward at all from the stock location...

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Re: Ideas for hiding radiators

Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2017 7:19 pm
by Ol'fogasaurus
The one in the picture's you posted, its location looks kind of like the install is close, if not in the stock location... in my opinion.
buggy4.jpg
Its hard to tell but back in the mid-90s I did try to put a Cologne V6 tied to a 091 in my glass buggy; for awhile I was thinking of putting the radiator in the rear of the buggy. Another considered option was close to the rear of the rear firewall or inside the body (no rear seats) next to the firewall with maybe a pass-through for air flow. As to under the deck lid by the firewall there just didn't look like I would have had good enough air movement up and through the radiator... as far as I could tell. I have also seen side mounted radiators and two side mounted but smaller radiators on rails with mixed but usually poor results.

Some guys with stock/Baja VW bug bodies put the radiator up front with hard lines going back, under the pan, to the engine. This was not a possible with the buggy body I have as it is in one piece and has a flat style hood with no access up front. In a Baja, I would have mixed emotions about this as unless you made them out of beefy tubing that could also act as rock sliders, I would be leery of doing it this way. Heat transfer would be a problem of going through the passenger compt..
scan0002.jpg
This is what I ended up before pulling the whole thing apart and dismissing the idea. The radiator was to be to the rear of the engine which meant extending the original home made cage back more than 5 inches (as shown here); it looked just too awkward and unbalanced for my likes. The buggy looks a bit different now but that is another story.

Re: Ideas for hiding radiators

Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2017 7:33 am
by brotherbob
Tremelune wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2017 4:41 pm In my travels, I stumbled upon this tight Ecotec install and it removed one of my primary concerns about watercooled motors: the goofy looks. Anyone have any ideas for hiding radiators? I'm also trying to figure out if this engine is moved forward at all from the stock location...

Image
I have more pics of this car and its the reason I'm starting my Ecotec walk today!
I'll dig around and see if I can find them? I 'm thinking about a rear wing with a radiator laying flat in it?
BB

Re: Ideas for hiding radiators

Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2017 8:34 am
by Ol'fogasaurus
Opinion: before you get to tearing apart (if it isn't already) make a cardboard mockup of what you are planning on doing then put cotton tails on it and the back of the bug and video it as you drive. You will want quite a few of them at different lengths and place them on the top, back and sides of the car especially close to gaps to see just what happens. What you are looking for is wind flow, dead spots, or splits in the wind flow. Its best to do something like this before you start cutting things up.