Still here? This is the blow by blow account of what I did with the aluminum
sill cover.
Hopefully this is a step-by-step if you want to try to make one for yourself.
(I just noticed in rereading this post that the procedure is a 12 step
program...something to ponder for the TR disease afflicted)
1) Eye ball your radiator and decide where you want to place the fan shroud and
if you can slide it down the outside of your radiator brackets. If you are
lucky (and can get the bottom past the lower radiator hose) you can get the side
pieces all the way down to the radiator shield.
2) Measure the distance across and add about 4mm (the sill cover I had was
about 2mm thick) to account for the two side pieces you will be attaching. For
my 71 TR6 the top piece was 17 1/8 inches.
3) Cut this first piece from your sill cover. You should have about 43 inches
left for the side pieces. You now have your top piece. Take and hold it over
the radiator (line up the ends with the radiator support brackets) and mark two
lines (on the 1 1/2 inch side of the top piece) on either side of the upper
radiator hose. The cut is made in the 1 1/2 inch side (which is just about the
width of the top of the radiator) of the top piece ). I made two of the cuts
that are needed with my radial arm saw and the third cut using the dremel. For
your information: I ended up with a cut out piece that measured approx... 1 1/2
inch by 2 inches. The 2 3/4 inch side will be the side that hangs out over your
fan DON'T cut into it.
Note on Cutting Aluminum: I made all of my cuts using a radial arm saw. I went
to Sears and got an abrasive (fiberglass reinforced) metal cutting blade for
$2.99 and put it on my radial arm saw. As long as I went very very slowly it
made for nice straight clean cuts. I wore eye protection, (DON'T DO THIS
PROJECT IF YOU DON'T USE EYE PROTECTION, as you will get metal particles flying
about) gloves and a bandanna over my nose and mouth.
4) Take the 43 inch side piece and cut the bottom of the L off (lay the 2 3/4
side down on your cutting table and up against a guide. Rip cut a 43 inch strip
about 2 1/2 to 2 5/8 wide. This width should be determined by the smallest
space that the side piece needs to side into or by something where it goes
between your radiator and engine. One could do a lot of cutting and fitting to
make the side pieces fit like a glove but I doubt that it would increase the
efficiency much more and would certainly take you a lot longer to make all those
cuts.
This rip cut can be done by a machinist (safest) for a couple of bucks? or on a
table saw equipped with a metal cutting blade (and using a push stick). Be very
careful and wear your protective gear. And if something binds remember that
aluminum is easier to come by than your fingers so let go of the darn thing and
duck.
5) Cut the 43 by 2 1/2 inch strip that you have in half. The length of the
side pieces is irrelevant because you are going to bend them according to your
need after you decide how long of a side piece you can slide down the outside of
your radiator support brackets.
6) I next held the top piece in its intended position over the fan and next to
the radiator. I then slid each side piece down into its intended position and
put a mark where it intersected with the top piece (this is where the bend in
each side piece will be).
7) I then made my 90 degree bends in my side pieces. I fortunately had a
Jorgensen wood clamp (those kind you had in shop class with the wood handle
screws) and used it to clamp right at the bend mark I had made on my side piece.
You can simply clamp two pieces of wood together at the bend mark to get the
same effect. I then bent the side piece over the clamp as much as I could by
hand and then used a rubber mallet to make it a nice 90 degree bend. I did this
to both sides. Amazingly enough the side pieces came out equal. Don't worry if
yours don't you can always make a cut on the end of the side piece if need be.
I ended up with two L shaped side pieces that were about 16 inches by 6 inches
and about 2 1/2 inches wide.
8) Took all three pieces and held them in place to see if any final adjustments
were needed before connecting them together. It all looked pretty good. So it
was on to the riveting.
9) I put the top piece down on my bench upside down and put a side piece (use
the 6 inch length to attach the side piece to the top piece) on top of it (of
course you want to line it up with the end of the top piece) and drilled a hole
through both, put a pop rivet (1/8 inch aluminum) in. I used four rivets apiece
to attach each side piece to the top piece. This made for a real tight
connection and a real clean look on the car.
10) Slide the now U shaped shroud into place over the fan and check for
clearances, adjustments, etc. that you might want to make before drilling the
holes through the side pieces that are used to attach the whole thing to the
radiator support brackets. I decided I didn't want the shroud to actually touch
the radiator so I kept it away from it when I marked the side pieces for the
holes I needed to drill.
11) Drilled the holes and put the shroud back on and attached it using 5/16
inch bolts about 3/4 inch long and using a locking nut and a couple of washers
(one on each end). The darn thing fit perfectly and stayed in place when I
torqued the bolts down.
12) The only thing I didn't like was that when I thumped the side pieces down
by the frame they acted like they could make a noise if they got to vibrating so
I pulled the shroud out and attached a small piece of foam rubber ( 3/4 inch by
2 inch) at the bottom and outside of each side piece. This worked great to stop
any noise when I thumped them again.
NOTE: You don't want the bottom of your side pieces to touch the radiator
shield or you will get grinding and bumping noise so cut the bottom of the side
pieces off a little bit if they touch.
Now the important question is....does the darn thing work?
And the answer is I'm not completely sure and it hasn't gone through the 95
degree test (although this weekend looks like it could get that test) but I did
give it the 88 degree test yesterday in stop and go driving in town and the temp
gage stayed between 1/2 and 3/4 on the hot side when it was consistently 3/4 to
HOT before at those temperatures. So I think it has helped. And it cost me $12
(including the cutting blade) not $50. More results later. Let me know if
you're interested and I'll report...but I won't bomb the list with results
again.
So far no noise from the shroud and it really looks good for a home-made (or
even a store-bought IMHO) fix. I took pictures of various stages of my little
project and will try to get those developed and scanned so that I can send image
files to those individuals that might be
interested. It was a fun little project and I did it in about 2 1/2 hours and
best of all it works.
I'm sure I've left something out so please let me know what it was or if I need
to clarify something. I hesitated posting this when I reread it and thought
about the dangers of cutting metal but I trust the good common sense (and
advice) of you listers and hope that you take all precautions necessary. And
with the latest thread hoping a "good" lawyer can help me.......
Cooling it in Denver
Bud 71 TR6 CC57365
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