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

[bam914]

So I forgot to respond to your email. When I had mine I ran Electromotive ignition. On that system you can use a voltmeter to set timing and that is what I did. You can use the timing scale for a bus that mounts on the shroud. On a bus fan the alt pulley has a timing mark on it. This is not hard to duplicate. You could also ask Len since he ran one on his car and ran a Mallory dist.

[vitis]

Thanks Blake. I didn't want to bug you again about it since I figured you were busy. I'll see what I can find out from Len. I need to check with him about the HP heads anyway. Yeah, I could put a timing mark on the pulley and check the timing from the side where the alternator used to be. That would probably be the easiest.

Milt

[HAM Inc]

Hi Milt.

We ran a vanagon shroud for the reasons stated above. But when we built a new engine and added a second scavenge stage to the oil pump (mounted in the stock location) I had to modify a shroud and customize the tin. Long story short we ran the new engine with a 914 shroud. Saw no difference in operating temps.

I do like the vanagons tidy arrangement with no need to block off extra openings.

Milt I need to get back to your HP heads. I set them aside to deal with more urgent jobs, and didn't pick them back up. Lots of work already done, just need to get them back into the flow.

When do you need them form me to stay on schedule?

[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