plan B - the most recent radiator/cooling dilemma

[Alex (FTS)]

I have to say that I wasnt sure at first of your idea. But I quite liked the pic of the van with the hole in it and I agree that your longer hole will look better-it fits well with the rectangle indicators too.

The front of the bus is the best place for rad and airflow it is just trying to fit one up there with out to much change. I know a man with a water jet cutter that will be able to cut your no. plate out just from an autoCAD DXF or DWG. It is an amaizing machine I get stuff cut there all the time-I'll post some pics up after easter and show you what he has done for my van. Just gotta weld it all in first.

I saw a guy who mounted his rad in a stainless steel subaru pajero wheel cover that he luverd and mounted to the front of his van-that looked pretty cool.

Good luck with the mission.
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[richbaker78]

ho hum.....a weekend of cutting and welding for me produced these poor quality photos....the more I do the more convinced I am its gona work....it too late now anyway as theres no way im putting it back !!
i ahd to make a small incision throught the main loom and redo some of the work (heater, wiring, brake and clutch MC feed pipes etc) I thought id finished but all in the name of progress........

[rjes]

Hello Rich,
Extreme mods as usual! I like the idea - it has to work! I take it you've thought of this, but put the number plate on a hinged flap. The airflow will open the flap when moving, and hide it when stationary, with the added advantage of stopping you getting done by bloody gatso cameras! We have thousands of them in Staffordshire - a right pain!
I really like your ducted floor design, but suspect that most people would think it was far too much work to copy! The difference will probably be that your system works and looks cool (i.e. can't be seen), while theirs may not work so well. I take it you're fitting a fan too?
Spoke to someone with a radiator across the back of his engine bay, inside the engine compartment, at Bus Types at the weekend. It didn't cool properly. He wanted to know what I thought would help. I couldn't help thinking 'fit a radiator somewhere that stands some chance of getting a blast of cold air'!
Go to a lot of thouble sealing around your radiator so only air from the duct can pass throught it. It'll make a massive difference to the efficiency. I've worked on a few JCB cooling system installations, and it is well worth making sure that no warm air can be recirculated - like an air cooled engine. It amazes me how many prople fail to understand this.

Regards,

Richard Jones,

R J Engineered Solutions,
Tel. 07761 788669
e-mail: rjones@rjes.com
_________________
Regards,

Richard,

R J Engineered Solutions
Quality Subaru Powered VW Components
www.rjes.com

[richbaker78]

well that makes me a bit more confident in it - im building an ali box underneath which the air feeds into the rad then pushes up inside with two fans on top. it will be sealed to the max. Hopefully all the hot air will be laft far behind.

I sertainly am having a hinged plate - its gona be a skeleton plate in silver so letters and frame only against a black duct it should flow air even when closed. I intent to have a small solonoid or manual (depends on the £)operated catch which lets the plate swing freely or not.

thats interesting to hear about the rear mounted Rad - Jace on here runs that set up in his GTI van with no probs but his whole decklid is vented - still he is going to revise anyway and do simialr to me I think for greater efficiency.

It does look extreme mods but I think it best to do it now - and ultimatly I want system that doesnt rely on fans like most seem to

[rusty69bus]

looks interesting,
how is it going?

[richbaker78]

slowly but surely!! hopefully get the front section of the duct finished this pm - then onto the next bit!! neverending

[richbaker78]

heres some progress - dont look much but been smoothing it out and tidying it up plus playing with my new lights. anyway tonight should get some more progress with the gear surround. THe top till be tacked on permanently but until Ive shultzd the inside and sorted the no plate its gona be removable.

[lister]

Just out of interest Rich, couldnt you have used the fresh air box and the slot you cut and mounted the radiator upright behind the front panel? as in the pic below



I know its a type 25 but you get my idea

[richbaker78]

I see what you mean and it is possible but not for me! In the ideal world I wanted to not alter the appearance of the van or loose functionality from inside - my set up will achieve this in the end since the walk through isnt really used - if I had used the set up you describe i may have fitted the rad in but I wouldnt have had enough room behind it for the air to escape and would have had to build out into the cab. Using the original airbox would have menat turning the air at a right angle n entry and would have cuased all sorts of probs with the dash too. believe me i thought this through for several months!! I did consider moving the airbox too but still there are space issues.

If you look in the kooling archive youll see a red bus in there with the type of set up you describe - its very effective aaprently but not my cuppa.

[lister]

cool mate cheers.
Its great to know the reasoning behind all these crazy ideas we come up with

[richbaker78]

well all has been a bit quiet on this thread -so heres a mini update.....
the duct itself (ie all the metal work has been finished with the exception of tacking on the front lid - all the seams have been sealed and smooted for max flow/ no leaks and the radiator is ready to be mounted - but before I do this I want to shultz the whole area which means sorting out the number plate - a brand new plate from custom plates was oprdered for £10 which I promptly removed all the letters from :-) then made a steel backing plate stregthnened where poss and hinged with a piano hinge alon the top. An aeriel motor wilol perform auto opening and closing duties to increase flow when required (it will be linked to the rad fans temp switch)

heres a few progress pics.....oh and I got my scat shifter in too to make sure I can still find gears with the ducting around it.....I have to admit this has turned into a bit of a mission far beyond the week I originally predicted - however I think it will provide a good cooling solution (better fing had do anyway!!)

[Alex (FTS)]

Looking Wicked mate-really good-you must be stoked-I dont think it will notice much atall once its all in.

Nice one
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