Rear mounted radiator Options

[SteveSr]

Ok,so I read this post yesterday and saw a picture of a "factory backed" oil cooler mounted in the rear trunk. And someone said how about a radiator mounted in the back? I would like to try this, but what would be a good way to get fresh air in?

SteveSr

[lapuwali]

I made the radiator comment.

When running water cooled, you don't need any of the tin or other panels in the engine bay to seal off the upper and lower sections. There should be a good amount of airflow from under the car. Some ducting to channel some of this air into the engine bay and into trunk should get you a fair amount of air in. One key element is getting the air OUT, which is why I suggested replacing the rear badge panel with a grille (small-hole mesh in black would look nice, IMHO).

I would duct the radiator so you split the trunk into air in and and air out sections, so the air coming through the in ducts has to go through the radiator to reach the rear grille. Something as simple as a pair of flat panels to either side of the radiator, which is mounted angled so the leading edge is as high as you can get it, should do the trick. The area behind the rear grille should be a low-pressure area at speed, which will help with extraction.

This may end up being just as much trouble as a front-mounted setup. You're swapping plumbing hassles for ducting hassles, and you're still losing a trunk, just the rear one instead of the front one. Just something different. This would probably be more worthwhile with an engine that doesn't require a huge amount of cooling (SBC is probably out, as would be turbo rotarys, et al).

[bernbomb914]

you are adding the weight to the wrong end of the car for balance.

Bernie

[airsix]

you are adding the weight to the wrong end of the car for balance.

Bernie

Use a turbo Subaru 2.0 - it weighs 40lb lighter than than a 2.0 TypeIV. If you can do a cooling system under 40lb you'll have >225hp with the same weight and same weight distribution as stock.

-Ben M.

[Mueller]

it seems like it wouldn't be too difficult to run some tests with the rear trunk floors cut out....in fact a few race cars that I've seen posted have the rear floor missing....I wonder what the air pressure is like in there???

one could add vents or grills to the rear lid for the intake air and have it blow out towards the transmisson.....you might want to remove the rear valance to ensure the hot air exits the underside of the car....with a setup like this, you could run a pretty darn large radiator

the ~size of the Renagade unit is 28x14....one could pick up an all aluminum radiator from Summit racing for $180 in a 31x19 size and gain 33%