UNstacking all the radiator/oil coolers,etc

[shorttimer]

Here's my plan. Instead of having a bunch of different radiators/coolers stacked in front of each other, I'm considering having a custom radiator fabricated. One which will be double thick, however full width but shorter, with an oil cooler on top or bottom & possibly WVO heater incorporated into the design for later use. That way one heat exchanger isn't robbing cooling from another. I know a guy in town who has worked fabricating parts for all sorts of professional road racing & he says it's entirely possible to do and also says it will work MUCH better than stacking them up. That's for the exception of an intercooler. He thinks it will cost less than buying separate parts & be a very clean install. Have any of you ever thought of doing anything like that? Just curious.

[jboogie13]

seems like it would work great, and as long as you can get those results at less or equal to the cost of individual components i dont see why not to go for it. just post pics 

[shorttimer]

No worries. I do plan on shooting some pix when we get to it. Hopefully within the next month or so. One of my friends wants one too.  He said he may be interested in making a few. I told him it would be awesome if they could just bolt straight in & have everything lined up with the stock body work & plumbing & he didn't think it would be any problem. I may have him fabricate a custom intercooler as well.

[CrazyAndy]

I also like this idea a lot.  What car will this be run on?  I had not considered a fabricated radiator, but since I plan on running an IC in a MK1 (where rad space is a bit of a premium) it would probably benefit me to consider integrating the IC and Radiator into double stack, separate units like you are talking about.  Something like how Hondas arrange their rads and A/C condensers, side by side.  I have seen some folks just run aftermarket aluminum Honda rads, but the hoses are typically mismatched due to that.  I'll be waiting on the results, and might be interested if the result is MK1 compatible.

[RabbitJockey]

I think just going on a junkyard run u may find some good candidates a lot of newer cars have some nice compact units Hyundai for example

[audilvr]

what kind of price range for the custom?

[air-cooled or diesel]

the main thing now is to find a spot where you can get plenty of air, and protection from debris, or make protection.
also that it doesnt run too cool also(coolers youre putting in)

[shorttimer]

Wish I could give more specifics. The concept is to have a dual purpose radiator/oil cooler that fits into the exact same space & mounting points that the stock radiator has. Should fit all Mk1s. Mines going an a Caddy. To accomplish this is to use thicker core radiators so they can be combined on top of each other, as one unit, rather than in front of each other, so they don't rob the cooling effect, yet still offer the proper amount of cooling. Yes, we do realize it's possible to over cool, so the oil portion of the radiator will be smaller than the water part. It will look just like one regular radiator, but the oil hook-ups will be the give away. The only real stacking will be if one chooses to put an inter-cooler in front of the radiator. We will look into being able to provide quality oil cooler lines with AN fittings. I will be running mine over to a sandwich plate between the oil filter & where it screws on. I am interested in any other ideas you guys may have. As far as cost, it's really hard to say. I know my friend isn't going to try & make a killing on them. He's a top notch fabricator that has spent most of his life working as a crew chief for some of the most prestigious road race teams on the planet & loves a new project. I'm really stoked he will take the time to do it. I can't see why the concept wouldn't work for the other VWs as well, provided they were specific for that model.

By the way, HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

[CRSMP5]

i have thought of and others... nls posted up the ic/rad thing almost 2 years ago... rad on rad hose side, ic by batt...

oil cooler... id want oil to air with no antifreeze at all... for most oil cooler sizes.. your way too big... for your thoughts..

so now think of a box divided into 3.. biggest area rad, then ic, then say 1/4 size of it all the oil cooler.. hell use it to seperate the ic and rad??

but no not new idea.. had this rattle in my brain 2 mo before nls did his.. and that was 4 or so mo before my toaster..

[TylerDurden]

I'd opt for a modular design too. That could allow modding, exchange or repair of one section, without involving the other sections.

[CrazyAndy]

^^ That right there would be what I 'd want to use.  I'm also gonna be running an oil cooler sandwich where the old oil/water unit was.  Only suggestion would be to make the IC part a little wider, and then it's golden.  Shorttimer might have another idea, but that's a good one.