76 subaru conversion Options

[carphappy]

You don't need tight mesh. I do not get any road debris in my front trunk.

I had a bottom vent on my last conversion car. It worked well for cooling but there are drawbacks. Air gets under the car, which is the worst place for it. On dirt roads dust will blow out and circulate into the cabin if the windows are down or roof is off. In stop and go traffic hot air will circulate out and into the cabin. The last one may be good if you live in a cold climate. The trunk pan is part of the structure that hold the front suspension on the car.

wish i knew that before i cut the floor. i was concerned about the structure of the front suspension, i added an additional cross member in front of the radiator in hopes of compensating for the metal that i had removed.

[carphappy]

You don't need tight mesh. I do not get any road debris in my front trunk.

I had a bottom vent on my last conversion car. It worked well for cooling but there are drawbacks. Air gets under the car, which is the worst place for it. On dirt roads dust will blow out and circulate into the cabin if the windows are down or roof is off. In stop and go traffic hot air will circulate out and into the cabin. The last one may be good if you live in a cold climate. The trunk pan is part of the structure that hold the front suspension on the car.

wish i knew that before i cut the floor. i was concerned about the structure of the front suspension, i added an additional cross member in front of the radiator in hopes of compensating for the metal that i had removed.

this reminds me, one of the most noticeable structural, handling improvements i have made was to add another cross member in the rear of the car, below where the original steel bumper was attached, basically stopping the left and right rear from moving up or down independently. anyone without a rear bumper might want to look into it.

[flmont]

I wonder,.how much air turbulence,.MAY be created under the hood,.. with the hood scoop/vents in which ever direction,front or back,..I would think,.in at bumper,..out at top of hood towards windshield...??? would be the best flow pattern..

[mgp4591]

I wonder,.how much air turbulence,.MAY be created under the hood,.. with the hood scoop/vents in which ever direction,front or back,..I would think,.in at bumper,..out at top of hood towards windshield...??? would be the best flow pattern..

That is the best flow pattern- that area in front of the windshield is a low pressure area so it you fill it with air from the front of the vehicle not only does the low pressure pull the air through the ductwork, it also helps stabilize the car at higher speeds. I'm not a fan of the look necessarily but it does work well so make it as pretty as you can... the general math works out that you need twice the outlet area as you have for the inlet area and the straighter the ductwork is, the faster the air moves and which makes it more efficient. I'm still not a fan of the way it looks tho... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

[76-914]

You don't need tight mesh. I do not get any road debris in my front trunk.

I had a bottom vent on my last conversion car. It worked well for cooling but there are drawbacks. Air gets under the car, which is the worst place for it. On dirt roads dust will blow out and circulate into the cabin if the windows are down or roof is off. In stop and go traffic hot air will circulate out and into the cabin. The last one may be good if you live in a cold climate. The trunk pan is part of the structure that hold the front suspension on the car.

wish i knew that before i cut the floor. i was concerned about the structure of the front suspension, i added an additional cross member in front of the radiator in hopes of compensating for the metal that i had removed.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just weld an 18ga frame around whatever you cut out or weld a louvered panel in after you open it up.

[carphappy]

i like what you did, just out of curiosity, any opinions on brake upgrades while sticking with 4 lugs. i went with the vw fox upgrade.

[76-914]

Brakes? What brakes? Really don't know. I'm running stock rebuilt calipers. The only work they get is when I see RADAR! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)