Oil cooler..........round two, AKA fun with foam! Options

[East coaster]

So after a little brainstorming on an oil cooler layout, I figured I better actually do it.

Started out by figuring out the mounting of the cooler itself. It's a very large (4 x 24 fin area) and I think a good fit for a 3.6 since it doesn't have an engine mounted cooler. I started by cutting sections out of the front support tray for clearance and then re-boxing the area to keep the shelf rigid and serve as a mounting point for the front of the cooler.

Here's a pic of the cut outs...........

[East coaster]

I layed up the glass right over the foam. I did a small test piece first and the impact was minimial, so I decided to go that route. I had planned on sealing the foam plug prior to lay up, but then said screw it. This was intended to be a "one off" sacrificial plug with no intent on producing more than one finished part. With that said, sorry to those who've asked, but there's no plan to produce these parts.

I did hope by posting these pics that someone could make these or any fiberglass parts they desired in the same sort of fashion. The whole process took 3 days of part time work. It's not really that difficult....Really! It's more like a third grade paste and glue project. People on this site have "mad" skills and this is an easy project. It requires no special tools (hacksaw blade, razorblade, paint brush, sand paper) and about 30 bucks in materials.

Most of my previous experience has been with more "finished" parts, where the plug is created and worked to a near perfect finish and then a female mold is created. The female mold is then used to create the actual part. This requires more work upfront, but lots less work on the tail end of the process and allows multiple pieces to be produced. This was actually the first sacrificial piece I ever made.

The plug could've been sealed with bondo, drywall joint compound, clay or any number of things to make the plug more finished and help to protect it during layup. I actually like the idea of the clear packing tape or aluminum tape (real duct tape). I've used both in other fiberglass project and they work great and are simple to deal with.