Am I Welcome Here? Options

[horizontally-opposed]

Tonight I cut shrouding templates from corrugated plastic (looks like cardboard but is made of plastic) glued in place with 3M super adhesive to see if it makes a difference. If it does then I'll use the templates to cut the shapes from aluminum and put in place permanently. Foto attached of the templates (the screwdrivers and wood blocks are there to hold templates in place while glue dries).

I would so love to see someone do a front-mounted radiator setup that makes better use of the space at the front of the 914 -- whether it would be as simple as a space-saver spare mounted upright on the bulkhead or as complicated as custom ducting to preserve a little of the stock trunk or even a fuel cell mounted low so a chunk of the upper compartment could be reclaimed.

Or, could the area in front of each wheel be re-worked for smaller radiators that could have straight-through venting from the foglight grilles and then into the wheel wells? That'd probably be a lot o' work, though... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smash.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sawzall-smiley.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif)

I've seen several conversion cars done really well at the engine compartment, but none with a truly space-efficient cooling setup up front. I suspect it wouldn't be easy, but it would vastly improve the useability and appeal of these cars... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

[dbledsoe]

I am getting ready to start on another conversion in my white 76 (another Buick V6 conversion) and I was thinking along the same line as you. I plan to evaluate other cooling options up front, or possibly something in the rear beneath the car. I recall seeing one or two conversions where the radiator was laying flat in the bottom of the front trunk. The floor of the front trunk was cut out and the radiator sat in the opening and air was drawn in the front, passed over the top, and exited out the bottom, a shelf was then built above the radiator that allowed the spare tire to lay flat and still left some room around the spare and above it for tools, kit, etc.