[Fot] GT6 cooling

[Scott Janzen]

Honestly, I think there could be another problem besides radiator size, though
I don't really know the capacity of those Scirocco rads.
You can find photos of my car and the radiator and fan on BritishRaceCar.com.
Just type in GT6 once you get there.  A bunch of FOT cars are on this site.
When I got the car it had what I was told was an old Corvette radiator,
cross-flow, wide and not very tall, leaky and weighted a ton but basically
mimicking horizontal shape of the the grille opening.  I replaced it with an
aluminum one of the same dimensions I had someone make up, and added a good
shroud.  Frankly, it is too much cooling.  I run a small orifice in place of
the thermostat, and int the hottest days of summer it stays at 190 when on the
track, and in cooler weather I have to block off part of the radiator with
cardboard to keep the temp up above 160.
The fan is typically only running when in the paddock after a track session or
if we are on the grid for too long, but then I just shut it down.
I've slowed the pump down with pulley size as much as I can - at 6-7000 RPM I
suspect there's still too much flow.  I've heard of people trimming the
impeller on a lathe.

Check to make sure you don't have an air lock or blockage somewhere and have a
good radiator shop look at the radiator, and check the thermostat in a pan of
water on the stove.  The only temps that matter are when you are running on
track - agreed that temps other times will be a problem without a fan.


On Feb 10, 2014, at 9:24 PM, Edward Dunn wrote:

Jason, et al;

I've tried without a great deal of  success to race a '71 GT6.  Currently
getting about 1.2 races per engine.  Getting a bit too expensive for me,
compared to my Spitfire which is pretty solid.

I won't begin to compare with my wife's vintage Formula V, which just runs
and
runs (on pump gas...) and for which a race engine rebuild costs a whopping
$1600...

It appears now that the current issue is cooling.  Running a plastic VW
radiator, stock water pump.  What pulleys are working for you GT6 folks, and
what other things can you suggest to keep temp under control?

Right now, it's got a fresh, relatively mild zero-hour engine, cam, stock
carbs, external oil octopus, Accusump.

I am perplexed...


Ed Dunn
Penngrove CA
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