The engine rubber in my 6 conversion doesn’t seal all the way ,there’s gaps down the sides ,could this make the engine run a lot hotter than normal
Click to view attachment

yes no good, cannot see the profile of the rubber seal, both mark and we make the seal with the z lip on it that fits under the sheetmetal

Don’t think it will kill your engine right away, however, it will let hot air up into the intake area. It will decrease your performance and richens your mixture on carded cars, as the air is less dense. Is it equal on both sides?
Mark

Do your seals have the lower lip to snap over the engine sheet metal? I can’t see that part of the seal in the photo, but it could just be hidden by the angle of the photo.

Have you tried pulling the seals over the lower lip(s) of the tin? Tough to tell from the pic if the gap is too big for that to happen...

At 1:26 into this video you can see how it's supposed to seal...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVkFtQxOoTY

Ian's video is great for showing how to install these. I saw your cross post on a remote oil cooler. I'd fix the basics 1st, then look at changing carb jets. If you keep the heat from coming up 1st. Your mixture range should be narrower. Right now I'd bet your engine compartment gets about 50 degrees hotter than it should in warm weather. You can see that on your gage measuring your oil temp. These are air cooled cars. it's technically a liquid. How well would your water cooled car work if you heated the water before you put it into the engine to cool?

Great News , I got some gaffer tape and sealed all the way around the engine so no air was coming up from below and the results where fantastic ,the gauge barely got too half way
Once the car had cooled down I got underneath the car and none of side seals of the engine bay had been attached to the tin wear ,I managed with a bit of difficulty to get them over the lip of the tin wear ,I’m hoping that now they are where they should be the temp will be lower
Here’s a pic of my car

Click to view attachment
Thanks for all the help and advice

Great looking ride! Glad you got it sorted. Are u in the film biz like me? (Gaffer reference)

No I’m in construction ,I didn’t realise how much the gaps could heat up the engine ,I really hope I have sorted it ,it’s been going on s while now

The 914 Rubber engine seals worked great on my /6 install. They are nice & wide, and make up for any gaps.

These engines are air and oil cooled, by the way.

Surprised me to be honest and struggling to believe that cured your problem,I have gaps like that with new rubbers and correct tin,if they were much closer you wouldn't get your engine in.
My motor is less powerful than yours but a 2.2 and in the same car,we get pretty hot here in the summer and I have driven my car middle summer in 30C + days and not got anymore that 210F after a hard drive.
Anyway good luck and go well

Factory actually put hog rings in the corners where they meet.

The cooling system is just that, a system. The air flows around at the whim of very small pressure differentials and compromises in the system can have effects. Hope that truly does it for you. Very nice car by the way. These things are big fun aren’t they??

Please correct me if I'm mistaken, but the rubber seals are not "compression" seals...they must be pulled over the lip(s) of the tin(s) to be effective, no?

What he said ..........

Yes, the seals have a bottom ‘lip’ that needs to be pulled over the engine tin bottom edge to seal properly, and hog rings were used to fasten the sealedges together.

What do these hob rings look like

They are the same as the ones used on seat upholstery ,a rolled open wire ring with sharp ends ,they install with special pliers,really you could make some out of hardened steel wire .

Will be included in all my future seal kits.
Mark