4 replies to this topic

[rally1380]

Hi.

Building a 71 clubman rally car and fitting a sumpguard so figured it would be a good idea to fit an oil cooler to keep the engine happy.

I'm retaining the fresh air elbow feed thingy that sits behind the grill to feed a bit of fresh air to the heater in order to keep the screen mist free.

So...the question is where abouts is the best place to fit a 13 row oil cooler?

I have got a minispares braided clubman hose kit which seems ok so might as well use it (unless anyone has a better suggestion?).

Fitting instructions that came with the hoses suggest fitting the cooler behind the grill, but as i'm retaining the fresh air elbow this space is pretty packed - also this area is masked a bit by a rather large Cibie spotlight.

I was thinking that low down on the front of the subframe would be ideal, but wanted to hear what other people have done, as i may be thinking a bit blinkered and missing an obvious solution.

If mounting low on the subframe, i'll protect the cooler with a mesh grill to prevent stray branches (from any 'offs') from putting a hole in it and ending the fun!

Cheers in advance.

[Cooperman]

You may have a problem with the fresh air vent as it runs via a plastic tube in the engine bay and is thus a risk if there is an under-bonnet fire. I built a 1970 Clubman GT rally car and we deleted this.
The oil cooler is vital with a sump guard and it can be mounted horizontally behind the grill on brackets from the front sub-frame. You don't need a mesh grill in front of the cooler as the sump guard prevents rocks and stones coming up from underheath and the front grill stops big bits hitting the cooler.
Make sure the engine bay is completely fireproofed from the interior and note also that all hoses carrying hot fluids inside the car must be metal braided and that this includes the heater hoses. Those hoses must also be painted red inside the car.
Don't forget to strengthen the front tie-bar attachment lugs (the 'ears') by welding on triangular plates made from 4 mm thick steel plate. if you don't, the ears will bend back on rough roads.

[rally1380]

hello again...hope you're well?

The fresh air supply for my heater comes in from under the wing (like later types) so figured this would be ok from a fire risk point of view - hense the reason for retaining the air scoop behind the grill....plus i've sourced a brand new and now obsolete clubman intake elbow so seems a shame not to use it?

Just out of interest, how do you fireproof a firewall completely? the hole behind the carbs has already been plated, which is a start i suppose.

[Cooperman]

Really all you can do is plate over and seal the big hole in the front bulkhead and make sure all the small holes are sealed as well. I've used grommets held in with RTV sealer.
If the fresh air elbow is plastic and you have an under-bonnet fire, the fresh air vent could melt, emit toxic fumes which could travel along the under-wing trunking and thus into the car. That's why some scrutineers won't allow them. There must be no possible access for fumes from under the bonnet into the car, for obvious reasons. If the scoope was made of aluminium you would be OK as it would not give off toxic fumes in the event of an under-bonnet fire.
PM me if you want more rally car specs.

[rally1380]

Good point.....will still keep hold of it though as i'm sure there aren't many of these around and the car may end up back as a road car one day???

will PM you...cheers