As I'm nearing the point of turning the key after 3 years of work I thought I would share what I did for a front oil cooler. First off it's a 75 chassis that has a 911 3.0 installed. Living in Florida I knew a oil cooler was a must. After looking at what was done in the past by others I decided to go a different route. My criteria was I wanted to be able to use the front trunk as a trunk. This will be a street,AX and DE machine. So based on that I went about laying this out in my head. Once I had a basic plan I started buying parts. First off was a MB oil cooler from a diesel. It's made by Behr and well built. I then came up with my mount which basically is two 1/4-20 by 6 inch long bolts welded to the tub facing forward. The cooler has two hoops that slide over the bolts. I made some stand offs to keep the cooler spaced away from the tub for good air flow. I used -12AN hose to go from the cooler to the rear mounted Mocal thermostat. I wanted to keep the length of the hoses to a minimum so I ran them straight back. Under the tub just off center are two channels in the tub. I glued tie down plates to the tub and zip tied the lines tight to the floor. In the rear is the normal routing to engine,thermostat and oil tank. Yes I know my setup is more vunerable to a front end crash or doing something stupid but 911's have had front mounted coolers for a long time mounted up front and low so it can be done. I will be making some stand off blocks in the trunk just high enough to have a front mounted full size spare and then the carpeted cover. Will barely be noticeable to the common eye. I know this isn't for everyone but I'd thought I'd share now that I have everything installed. I am now fabricating a stock valance to have a cutout/snout around the cooler similiar to a early 911 RS valance. Hopefully the pics will show it off.
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Not bad ... you did what I was going to do, except I was going to run copper or aluminum tube underneath the car for additional cooling.
Nice job --- it'll work.
what kind of debris protection is going over it?
oh, and nice location/install. =-)
Damn, I have the mesh screen and bump bar from an '82 Cab ... get outta my brain. That's what I was going to use for cooler protection. Was going to mount an 11" X 14" Long Tru Cool flat like the A/C condenser.
I like the placement. Are you sure you want to trust the zip ties. I think I'd use a clamp like the one pictured below. Much stronger and is secured with a bolt, not glue.
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I would guess the first tech inspector that sees the zip ties will fail the car for the reasons mentioned. I realize you were worried about the fluid head losses but most racers run the oil lines up the outside of the longitudinals behind the covers or through the boxes for protection. If the car bottoms out then all will be ripped away very quickly and in all probability you would never be able to save the engine and anyone behind you will be really pissed off!
I had the race car bottom several times and once was when going over a curb at PIR and another time was on a track which was flat but you can't argue with gravity! In those cases the bolts that held my race seat down and were only a washer and nut thickness off the bottom were wiped nearly clean off the car.
It's probably better that they're flexible braided lines though. If they were hard lines, one bottoming out on a gator strip at the track, and they'd be permanently dented, possibly leading to failure. The braided lines will bend, and flex, and still come back to allow oil to flow. Still, the zip ties might not fly with a tech inspector. I would find a way to get those clamps on there.
-Josh2
Nice installation! You went out of your way to avoid what I consider the bane of conversions... loss of the front trunk.
Some of the GTs used a similar setup. I've got a pic somewhere. They simply used some steel tubing to protect the cooler from getting beaten up too badly.
All you need is a few inches behind the cooler to get a good air flow, so this should work just fine ...
Andy
I was thinking something like a single chin bar in front of the cooler at the bottom edge.
-Josh2
While I admire "thinking outside the box", I can see no reason to mount
a cooler & lines in harms way when good protection is easily available.
'back in the day' I had the same setup.
I ran the lines behind the passenger side rocker panel though.
I eventually moved it inside the front trunk and vented the exhaust upwards. Here's a pic without the front airdam & splitter showing the cooler.
Good job though! My first setup worked well. I'm sure it will work well for you too.
Why can't hard oil lines be plumbed through the longs?
I used to have the GT spoiler on my first 914 with the oil cooler, the cooler was only the size of the opening and i think a 4 pass but it did do a good job on the 2ltr 4. I ran braided line down the underside recessed channels. The only problem i ever had in many years of driving is when i hit a retread on the highway at 2am in the middle of Montana, it took out the cooler but the lines were still there.....
FYI i went through about 4 of those spoilers over the years because of the low clearance.
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Thanks everyone for the feedback it is appreciated. You've given me a few ideas about the clamp mounts that I may incorporate. Just a few things.
1. This is not a race car, as I stated in my original post it is street , AX and DE.
2. Yes I may incorporate a chin bar to be safe. However the bottom of the cooler is over 6 1/2 inches off the pavement. Yes I could hit a street curb but it's going to hit the suspension pieces also and I've never had that happen in any car I've driven.
3. I don't accept that just because the oil lines are exposed that they are an accident waiting to happen. The oil lines on almost every 911 since 1970 has oil lines exposed on the outside of the passenger side rocker. Yes they are hard bronze lines but they are right in line with debris flying off the front right tire.
4. As stated Porsche did install a front cooler just like I have on the 914 GT but yes they also mounted them in the trunk. So that's a push ?
5. My 911SC is set to Euro height and I have a AC belly condensor that is almost the full width of the car mounted directly under the seats. It is exactly 4 inches off the pavement. I've been running this car with this condensor at this height for aprox. 3 years and have never even scraped it on anything. That includes AX and DE.
Just saying I did my homework and for me I have a good solution based on my experiences with my 911 and other Porsches. It doesn't mean I'm right and time will tell if I am. It's all good.
Still... I love the look, and the best part is that it doesn't cut any big holes...
-Josh2
I do some thinking also. I passed this way bout 10 years back. Everything is out of harms way. The spare is gone tho..... a small inconvience. I haven't had a flat in 30 years. If you think you have it handled, it must be true.
An old pic
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There is a huge difference between breaking open your A/C system if it should ever happen and the oil system. There was a very nice 911 totaled at the PCA CA Speedway race last year due to oil dropped from a car in front when a filter seal failed at speed going into turn one. It was a fine German oil filter if I was told right? The front mounted coolers all had protective louvered covers as stock I think to protect them, at least our 930 did.
is this a track car? did I miss that statement somewhere?
John learned his track lessons at the race track. I wish I could tally all the money I have saved from his bits of wisdom shared here and at 914 club.com
.....Placing your OIL LINES on the bottom of the floorpan makes no sense.,road or track debris can rip the oil lines off the car. (one poster already gave you an example of what happened to him).....If it happens, in a turn, oil will spray onto your rear tires,......instant spin....IF you hit a cornor barrier, concrete wall, another car ETC,ETC....I hope you are wearing a "HANS-DEVICE" so you don't snap your neck. BE sensible...relocate the oil lines whereby they are PROTECTED.
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