Aussie Desert Cooler.

[Ed]

Hey Julius,

I don't have the splash guards on as they didnt fit once i did the conversion.

I'm figuring they work by creating a low pressure area behind the core therefore encouraging air to flow through.  I can easily fab up something I guess.  Luckily no front timing seal drips for me :)

Still havent finished the shroud either, as my angle grinder died over the Christmas break and the tool shop was shut until this week.  I went to bunnings for a look and noticed all the 125mm disc grinders are now BIG in size.  I have a 125 mm grinder (bosch) and it is barely larger then a small 4 inch grinder.  I think I will get it repaired.

I also got my hands on an IR thermometer and it shows the top tank as being about 85 in temp, lower tank 75°C.  I'm decidedly more relaxed about the whole situation now.

the shroud will still be fitted as it can only be a good thing.

Cheers

Ed

[ratbox]

going to canberra on wednesday temp went to about 200 doing 110-115kph and stayed around 185-190 at 100-105kph don't know outside temp but it was hot cruising around in natex no matter what the outside temp was thur/fri coolish sat hot temp gauge sat on 190
have a 308 in an FB van standard big HQ radiator no engine fan and a 16" thermo set up to blow through no splash pans but louvered bonnet

[Ed]

Hey ratbox,

Mine seems to act similar to yours.
thanks for the info.  i found where my sender unit is placed seems to be in a little bit of a hot spot. anyway I have a hi flow thermostat on order which im going to try out just to see.

Did you see the size of the radiator in the green FB at the summernats?  it was very small, I asked the owner if it actually worked, and he said not really.  it was something he was going to change... still a very nice wagon.  Was it just me or did every one seem to have a blower on their motor?


Cheers

Ed

[blacky]

 Ed, if that grinder just stopped with no warning, it more than likely just needs brushes.
If you unscrew the two black brushholders from the main body of the grinder and remove them , check if one of them has a small pin sticking out the end that contacts the commutator. Bosch grinders have a built in cutout inside the brush so you dont wear the brushes down to nothing and destroy the armature.
A set of brushes should be less than $10 - while you are at it, pull the end off the gearbox and replace the grease and your grinder will be as good as new.
HTH

[Ed]

Hey Blacky interesting tip.

I had pulled the brushes but noted there was still some meat on them.. didn't know about the cut out, will have another look today.  the commutator is in good condition but hte brushes are well worn.

one thing i did notice was a large black resisitor or something.. and it was cracked?

the grinder was working intermittently then an electrical crack and nothing.

i will ring up for the parts and give it a go. I cant wait to get this tool operating again, it seems almost every job requires the angle grinder.

Cheers

Ed

[ratbox]

tried to talk to the guy with the wagon found him to be quite a wolly, he did one lap in the supercruise and it was hot, came over asked if i had some water gave him a bottle and all he did was tip it over his radiator, then he's back a couple of minutes later for some tape a clip came off his accelorater, so i thought i'de have a bit of a chat, he used the tape gave it back sat in his car and ignored me
lucky he didn't need to borrow anything else he wouldn't have got it off me

[Ed]

Hey ratbox,

He was probably stressed out because the blown small block couldnt keep its cool and his accelerator was threatening to stick to the floor lol. goes to prove behind every good car there are cable ties and tape!

Cheers

Ed

[Ed]

...Went to buy parts to fix my angle grinder (5 inch Bosch - blue professional series).. $58 bucks for brushes and a resistor so bought those and also spied a brand new green Bosch 4 inch for 58 bucks.  I couldnt be without my grinder so I bought that too...

hopefully I can finish up the shroud this weekend and test it out. 

Cheers

Ed

[Ed]

back to the shroud.

the foam was chipped out and ihad the basic shape.
it was then clamped onto a flat board so the flanges could be made.


after that it was starting to take shape.


Once trimmed the mounting holes were drilled and the unit trial fitted to car a few times.  The shroud is fitted by removing the engine fan first, a 20 minute leisurely job.

To smooth the external surface it was hit with a P80 disc on a DA sander to knock down the bumps then bogged and sanded and bogged and sanded and then sanded some more....  results pictured.  I also mowed the lawn in between bouts of sanding, I didnt get time to finish the edges though.



the shroud was then hi filled and guide coated.. only a coat of paint needed now.
pic of shroud propped on the wrong side of the radiator.



Cheers

Ed

[ratbox]

holly crap! there's more work gone into that than my whole car :o

[Ed]

ratbox,

I tend to get bogged down in details...hence the many year build up of this car...  If I had planned it better then an off the shelf shroud would have fit straight up, but hey my radiator support brace is not cut.

There are many hours in this single piece now, I'm deciding if it deserves a better finish than rattle can black. 

Cheers

Ed

[FC427]

Nice JOB Ed good to see you put an effort in to what you do and finish it professionally ........FC427.......

[JB]

I think this will fix all your probs ED, Looks FANtastic!!!  ;D ;D

[Ed]

I decided to give the rad shroud a splash of colour.

It came out better than i had anticipated.  Now let's see if it performs...

Cheers

Ed

[Ed]

Now for the happy finish... I'm not talking about dodgey Thai massage parlours, rather the cool running motor.

The shroud made a huge difference to stability of coolant temp and under bonnet temps... a definite must have item.

I also chose to install a high flow thermostat.  This thermostat had a massive impact on stability of operating temperature. A regular 160F thermostat simply does not perform like this one (made by Milodon, approx $30 compared to 5 to $9 for a regular thermostat).  The temp is really stable, fast flowing coolant does not seem to be an issue either.

Lastly, I installed a top hose filter which allows me to bleed any air out the system and filter the coolant too.. very handy.

thanks to all for your advice, opinions and suggestions.

Cheers

Ed

[FATBOY]

looks fantastic ed well done
regards fatboy

[TTV6FC]

My words exactly,top job Ed. :o

[Ed]

thanks Fat & Jamie,
Something I found out from my research was that the fan should sit inside the shroud approximately 50% blade depth or less. 

Some warm humid days in Sydney at the moment.  I may go and find myself a traffic jam to sit in, which shouldn’t be too much of a challenge. 

Over the course of fixing that bug, a few other jobs were completed as well.   Fixed a leaky heater, added a heater tap, re-wired the power distribution, added a series of circuit breakers, removed the crap commodore fusible links, fabricated a removable frame for the thermo fans, remounted the trans cooler… only a couple more jobs to go now… I think she’s ready to cruise to the Nats.. the timeline is a little more comfortable than last time.

now to get the gearbox shifting properly at WOT...

Cheers
Ed

[Glenn 'Stinky' Stankevicius]

Looks great Ed, but I reckon you should pull it all out and paint the radiator body colour too :P

[Ed]

Looks great Ed, but I reckon you should pull it all out and paint the radiator body colour too :P

:D :D :D
Maybe just to keep the hits on this thread going.  ;D

Cheers

Ed