Oil Cooler Vents

[Lin]

I am going to be cutting some vents in the front shroud at oil cooler location similar (a little smaller) to the ones in the attached photo. I need to fix some mesh behind the openings to prevent rocks, debris and small oppossums from damaging the coiler and radiator. Any thoughts on how to attach the mesh behind the shroud. Anyone on the forum done this? I will not be using the front bumper. All thoughts and ideas appreciated.

Lin
1960 BT7 in restoration
1959 Bugeye

 

[Randy Forbes]

Re: oil cooler vents

I used some #10 stainless steel wire cloth sandwiched between the shroud and a ss "duct" (to direct the incoming air through only the oil cooler). The assembly is secured to the shroud with some thirty (30) aircraft rivets. I chose the rivets (round "cherry" style) to emulate the exposed rivets on the 1954 Pinin Farina bodied 375 Mille Miglia Ferrari.

And now; with headlights!

 

[GregW]

Re: oil cooler vents

Hi Lin,
No, I haven’t done this. If I did put vents in my shroud, I’d make them with a hammerform. Give them some depth and a ram pipe look to them. Then weld some tabs to the outside back edge of the pipe to screw the grill into. Not an easy job. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif

 

[GregW]

Re: oil cooler vents

Hi Lin,
I’m not sure if you’re cutting the shroud for a look or simple practicality. I spent most of today working on an air scoop that feeds the oil cooler without cutting anything. I’ve mounted my cooler between the frame rails and slightly in front of the radiator. There is 1 ¾” horizontal space between the bottom of the shroud and the top of the sway bar. It’s here that I’m putting the scoop. Here is a shot of the oil cooler location. It’s a Setrab cooler, a little wider than the ones from the usual suspects. I made brackets that mount it in the toe bar holes.

 

[GregW]

Re: oil cooler vents

Here is a shot of the scoop partially assembled. It’s upside down in this shot and needs painting before I put it all together. The bottom (not pictured) will extend to the rear of the cooler to help protect it from debris. I should have it installed tomorrow and I’ll post a shot of it finished.

 

[Randy Forbes]

Re: oil cooler vents

Nice job! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

 

[Lin]

Re: oil cooler vents

Greg,
Nice looking work! I will be eager to see a shot of your final install.

Lin
1960 in restoration
1959 Bugeye

 

[anthony7777]

Re: oil cooler vents

grgw, /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gif

 

[GregW]

Re: oil cooler vents

Well, today was a busy day. Went to the San Diego car show (220 miles round trip). Good time, lots of great cars and people. Came back and put the scoop in this afternoon. No real problems, though I did have to unbolt the swaybar. Thanks for all the positive comments, I hope the finished product still pleases. I’m happy anyway. One note to Randy, I used copper pop rivets. They might look good on your car too. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Lin]

Re: oil cooler vents

Very nice! I haven't seen anything like that done before and I have looked at a lot of Healeys.
Lin
1960 BT7 in restoration
1959 Bugeye

 

[ynotme2]

Re: oil cooler vents

Awesome job. Looks great. Nice Fabrication

 

[59BT7]

Re: oil cooler vents

Greg,
Great lloking oil cooler installation. I thought that would be an ideal place to put one and not have to cut the shroud. Any chance of getting diagrams of the pieces to make another? Or did you do it all by trail and error?

I am aways from that type of work yet, still fighting the rust issue, fortunately only surface rust, just lots of it.

Cheers,
Dave Duffey
59 BT 7 project

 

[GregW]

Re: oil cooler vents

Hi Dave,
Thanks. I’ve done a fair amount of modification on my car, so I don’t know if any diagrams would help you. Once the decision was made to put the cooler between the frame rails, I searched around until I found one that would fit. 3”x16”. With that in hand, I was able to fabricate some aluminum brackets to mount it to the frame. My sway bar is thicker than stock, giving less clearance. I tried to place the cooler far enough forward so the cross piece of the frame wouldn’t spoil the airflow. All that has a bearing on the dimensions of the scoop.
Once the cooler is in place, take some measurements, and make a template out of cardboard. That way you can tweak the design before committing it to metal. I used a soft aluminum to avoid beating it with a hammer and leaving marks. After the unpainted photo was taken (page 1 of this thread), I rolled a couple beads to give some rigidity to the upper piece. Otherwise, it was too flimsy. It's actually a fun and pretty easy project, but I enjoy this kind of thing.