EP. 11 - COOLING an AIRPLANE MOTOR in a Volkswagen! - Radial Engine Kombi.

Art. If you can put some sides on the top duct to prevent air bypassing the radiator through the dimple die holes on each side it will help with efficiency. I suspect the flow through the louvres will be quite restricted but making it removable is clever and you can test it. Seems like a big coolant volume so it may not matter anyway.

Looks awesome Jordan. You may want a mesh over the opening to stop leaf litter or tumble weeds and debris being sucked up on top possibly blocking or jamming in the fan. Unlike a vertically mounted radiator any debris on the top wont fall away but may block your airflow.

A-and a radiator mount and shroud becomes art! To all the nay sayers worrying about debris, Model A rads are up front/unprotected and seem to hold fine (for the last 100 years). As per the scoop, go Manta Ray maw! Lastly, you and Ben are going to have to get Josh (drinks) a pace maker if you keep scaring him! Go Bennetts Customs, keep moving forward!

Looks great, my thought would be, since hot air rises the air should come in the bottom and out through the top of the radiator for the best air flow.

I love the louvers, however they will put a lot of back pressure on the fan, which will probably increase the heat around the motor and cause premature failure. The mesh reduces that substantially.

I like the way you rounded the corners and hid the welds. But, If I ever lay a bead that nice (especially vertically) I would not blend it in. I would likely take a picture and blow it up to poster size and post it in the window of the Kombi! Beautiful!!!!! By the way, I have noticed as of late we are seeing less of your plumbers crack. Now replaced with a cheek shot. I hadn't thought about the possibility of a thong, my first thought was 'Commando' 😲

Jordan I no the louvers look the part but wouldn’t a reverse of the top be better at releasing the air flow. Like a baking tray with one end missing. Proof of the pudding will be when you give her a road test. Cheers Tim. (Have you gone Aussie and started wherein a thong!!!) cheeky. Tim the Pom.

A vertical radiator expels air naturally, but this horizontal design might tend to trap it, since you won't have gravity on your side. You could use a centrifugal separator to deaerate your coolant. Lakos is one brand. Bell & Gossett is another or you could build your own. I like your channel BTW. You do beautiful work. Kinetic art.

Fan F'n-tastic execution of an incredible idea. that's all I got to say about that.....

Hay mate, Greg (AKA Moose) here to try and help you with desiding on what kind of air ducting on the Bug Wagon to use? i would try and apply something like what you see on trucks or land cruisers, a snorkel with pipeing to the setup you all ready have? or the scoops you see on race cars to kool there brakes, hope this gives you some idears, keep up the good work your fello hot rodder Moose.

The radiator carrier looks pretty impressive Jordan, re the scoop i would think come forward a little and go as wide as possible at the front tapering back to the radiator and attached to the top panel under the floor you spoke of so it forms a duct then the air cant escape and is forced into the rad, possibly a vertical stiffener in the centre of the scoop to stop any flex... if that makes sense!, which is what you may have been explaining. I see what was in the box now that guillo should make life a bit easier. Cheers Greg

I think if you put a little spacer between the radiator and the louvers, it will improve a lot the airflow. Curious to see the results of this design, here in Brazil we see a lot of VW bus engine swaps, and I've seen a lot of radiator configurations

everytime I see clecos it warms my heart... :D This build is rad AF

All I can Say is woooooooow! dude just the thought processes to come up with the idea . so so Kewl ty for sharing

Master Craftsman At Work Please Do Not Disturb

Each time I watch you layout your sheets it reminds me of my old highschool and college drafting classes!

Excellent craftsmanship as usual! Hard to explain this but I wonder if the radiator was tilted up to the floor at the rear it would create a higher pressure area above it. This combined with your scoop at the front might force more air though, as others have suggested close the dimple holes too. The fans could then be fitted underneath in the space created by the tilted rad where they will be more efficient. The louvres could still be fitted level underneath with a gap at the rear above them to draw even more air out.........maybe.

Any furry possum would be fortunate and honored to see that undercarriage in it’s last living moment. Well done!

Love the louvers Jordan, every part of that van is going to be so trick! Nice job!

Your attention to detail is spot on! Every piece you make is a of sculpture! Well done !