vanagon fan shroud, poor timing? Options

[vitis]

Curious if anyone is using a vanagon fan shroud on their type IV motor. Got the tip from Blake Meredith as it doesn't have those lower wings on the shroud so it should cool the race motor a little better but....once I found one and got it home I realized that the casting did not have the normal hole in the top for checking the timing. So should I drill out the part of the casting in the fan shroud to expose the timing marks? Should I figure out some way of tapping threads in that new hole to screw the cover from a 914 shroud in the defect? I figure that hole will just be a great way of releasing those cooling vapors that I consider so valuable.

Thanks,
Milt McPherson

[vitis]

Thanks Len.

No particular rush on the HP heads. I would like to possibly have them in the next couple months so I could bench test the engine before putting it in the car. The real answer I need is the flow characteristics so I can work on getting the cam. I hope to have the car ready by the spring.
The main reason I like the vanagon shroud is that our shift linkage goes right at one of those lower wings on the 914 shroud and I had to cut it off. We have not had cooling issues but I worry about it.
Did you see the issue I posted about the timing mark? The solution sounds like using the fan pulley in a different location and a use a scale on the side of the shroud.

Milt