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914World.com _ 914World Garage _ Front cooler install - part 3

Posted by: moparrob Apr 23 2011, 08:38 PM

Well, I finally got my front cooler mounted and the bracket completed. Now the cooler (RX-7) is rubber isolated and the bracket, fans and thermostatic fan control are ready to roll.

Here is the view from the front:

IPB Image

This is the rubber mounting:

Overall view:

This is what the fans look like installed:

I began mocking up (crudely) the cooler shroud using cardboard, then painted it black for contrast:

Next will be fabbing the shroud out of sheet metal....

Posted by: john rogers Apr 23 2011, 09:52 PM

A couple of suggestions from what I learned with my race car. First, make the top and angled section easily removable so the cooler can be blown out from the rear. Next it is a very good ides to cover the hole(s) you cut in the trunk floor with some screen to keep the clag from getting inside, air will still exit okay. Last of all I'd suggest some soft aluminum and cut it an extra inch all the way around to start and then trim to final size. A neat trick is to polish the aluminum or use an eraser to do the "engine turned" appearance. Looks great so far.

Posted by: moparrob Apr 24 2011, 09:19 PM

Thanks for the input John.

The way I have the cover designed, at present, is that the whole thing comes off in one piece. This does require, however, disconnecting the top oil line.

I like your suggestion so I think I will modify the design so that the forward piece stays in the car and the rear (sloped) piece removes separately.

I'll probably use some 18 gauge steel since I have a friend with a fab shop and he'll bend and weld the whole thing up pretty quickly.

I was planning on using some of these pre-fabbed louvered panels I found, with the louvers facing rearward to help air extraction and minimize dirt intake:

IPB Image

I found a guy who will make me two panels (7 x 14) with 4 inch louvers, out of 18 gauge steel, for under $50 shipped. I'm going to reinforce the trunk floor with some 1 inch steel (by 1/8 inch) around the perimeter that I am cutting out.