Okay, I have been working on where to place the oil cooler in my 82.

I just picked up a very nice TII cooler. got the -an stuff I need (10an)

But I dont know where to put it.

I have the intercooler and chevy radiator filling up all the area in front of the fan,

in the front there are foglights and a 24in fuel cooler attached to the front brace. plus the oil cooler is big and I dont want it interfering with ANY intercooler airflow.

Heres what I think I want to do.

Using Mantis' 4 point strut bar, attach one long end of the cooler to the brace on the top and attach the other end to the top of the rad.

This will put the cooler at somewhat of a similar angle as the radiator, + about 25-30 deg

attach some ducts to the cooler going down to the rad, and then have the cooler vent out through the hood.

not only will this look sick!

It is not heating the intercooler in any way, good airflow, vents the engine compartment

I could add quick disconnect fitting, which would make removing it for service a snap. this adds some cost but I think it will be well worth it in the long run. and look professional

Im going to find some pix of the brace for refference.

 

okay, the top, back edge on my chevy radiator is just forward of the front of the stock rad in this picture, and a bit lower, the bottom is farther back than stock.

I think it will fit great.

I just cut and fit a a SS flexable hose which cost me $40 but Im sure I can make it work.

I just took a bunch of pics of my new cooling system but im waiting for the photo CD, (no digi yet)

 

okay, the quick disconnect fittings are way too expensive

im looking at a couple HUNDRED for the fittings alone.

no way.


what about mounting the cooler to the hood itself and running long lines down the front??? probably get a better fit to the hood also.

 

Right now I'm looking for a way to cool my oil also. The setup I have isn't working except at idle with the fan on. Temps going down the road are 220 and if I hop on the freeway they jump to 240 in a hurry....No good! I want 180-190 max. I'm looking at my stock -se cooler and thinking "where the hell can I put this sucker with good airflow". I don't want to put it infront of the I/C but I have a idea... There is ~3"s from the top of my I/C to the top of the rad. Mount the cooler up high in the opening of the front and duct air into the cooler and out of the cooler over the top of the I/C and right into the top of the radiator. I think this may work for me but you have a little different situation.

I really like the idea of mounting it to the brace and having it exit out the hood. Where ever the cooler is it needs plenty of airflow and with it ducted off the radiaror it might just work.
I would deffinitely not mount it to the hood. It would be a big clusterfuck of hose when you open the hood.

Whatever you choose you might want to consider putting a check valve right on the outlet of the front cover so all the oil won't drain back into the pan and cause dry starts. Thats if you mount the cooler up high anyways.

ps, don't get QD's they have a lot of pressure drop through them and you'll probably never use them anyways. If you run the lines right the first time I don't see how you'd need QD's unless you like taking your oil cooler off just for the hell of it once a week.

 

to expensive anyways, a check valve is a good idea.

Plus mounting it like I want puts the FC cooler fittings in optimum places for minimal line (just enough to unbolt and move the cooler for access)

the hard part will be aligning the cooler, the hood and the vent so that it looks clean and is functional, Im going to start measureing when I head hime for the weekend.

I know a FC cooler is 24in long but I dont know how wide it is, mabye 7in??

 

If I remember right it's the same as a -se cooler but just a couple inches longer and different fitting location.

 

Just measured, The core on a -se cooler is 19.75" x 4.5".

The overall, 22.875" x 4.5"

Oh yeah, remember that the fitting near the thermostat is the outlet. Just FYI if you didn't already know that.

 

Can I ask why you didn't just go with a stock SA cooling system? Oil cooler beneath the rad.

My system is still stock and cools fine. As an upgrade i will be replacing both the rad and oil cooler with aftermarket aluminium items with the same dimensions, that mount in the same space.

Certainly saves the headache of trying to mount units that aren't designed for the space.

 

Just FYI the Strut bars Mantis sells at rotorhead.ca are actually CP Racing strut bars...
Not that that really maters... great product either way...

 

Thats probably what I should have done from the get-go. I already had a mint gsl-se radiator so I used it. I haven't had any cooling issues (water temp wise) with my car even when it was 95 F outside so I'm sure a shorter radiator with the oil cooler mounted under it would work out fine for me.

Why do you plan on replacing both radiator and oil cooler if you are keeping cool as is? Isn't that a waste of $?

headache is right... but with these cars you have headaches, can't win them all.

 

I'll come clean and say that half the reason for an aluminium rad and oil cooler is looks. I like the idea of lots of polished bits under the hood. Also, when it's as functional as a rad and oil cooler upgrade that's all the better.

It can get pretty damn hot down here too (as it does anywhere in summer) and I plan to hit the track with my car, so keeping cool is important. I personally don't think you can overdo the cooling system.

My brother also lost an engine due to overheating, which i'd like to avoid.

But...

The main reason is certianly looks! With a polished I/C, I may as well have a polished rad and oil cooler. I've also got a chrome finish thermo fan to go on.

 

reasons i didnt use the stock cooler, rad.

first, this car will make 300+ hp and I road race this car.
I plan on racing in the Targa Newfoundland, which would involve between 5-15 minutes sections of constant hard driving under heavy boost. I NEED EXTRA COOLING,
so, huge radiator, huge intercooler, FC oil cooler, large fuel cooler.

second, my stock oil cooler leaked, I had a upgraded radiator but the intercooler did not fit with the radiator supports very well,

plus, this is cooler.

how can I get the FC cooler cleaned so that it looks new and shiny, im not looking for a polished look, I just want it to match my new rad.

 

I think that mounting it under the front valance between the headlights with ducts cut in it is a cool idea. Any air that passes through it would hit the front of the radiator at the top where the water is hottest anyway, so just about ANY air you push through there is gonne be cooler than the water. Plus the water is still gonna have plenty of time to cool as it goes through the radiator. I dont know if you can do this is your situation or not, but I just thought Id throw the idea out there.

By the way, do Chevy radiatos have a passenger side inlet and outlet? Or are you using custom hoses?

~T.J.

 

that might work better but I dont think I like that look.

on the hood its in a natural low pressure area and is exposed to cool air when at a stop.

the front valance is a easier setup, but I dont know if I want in there. ill have to look and see if I like it when I get home this weekend.

i have no bodywork specific experience but I have fabbed up a lot of little brackets, mainly just bending and cutting.

Im thinking of getting this vent from Ereibuni.



I would remove the back part of it and mold the sides and front to the hood, then bend the back down so that the cooler is at a angle.

the size is damn perfect.

 

Top mount would be cool if you could get it to work.

The way I have mine seems to work really well. It does heat soak the intercooler abit, with the oil cooler in front of the IC, but when cruising around the IC is within 10-15* of ambient, and only goes up several degrees on boost, so it seems to work well. I'd like to get a vented header panel to help get a bit more flow though.

 

I'm just throwing this out there but, why don't you throw 2 smaller coolers on the side like the 3rd gens. It would save alot of space.

 

i looked into doing that. it would be expensive with

2 coolers
lines
fittings
t-stat,
mounting.

 

Check out "would you install this hood" thread. You might get some ideas from it on hood vents.

On a side note, what oil temps have people seen?