Charlie Stylianos

Again, thanks to the many who responded to my last
posts regarding upgrading my trombone equiped SC. The
consnsus was that if my car will be tracked (mabye 3-4
events yearly), that a front/bumper mounted cooler
would be the way to go. I've been patiently
researching and weighing the front vs. fender mount
cooler option and I have recently come across a good
deal on an OEM Carrera front bumper/spoiler.

<a href="http://ebay2.ipixmedia.com/abc/M28/_EBAY_acaf97e3bb6229a68e5dabf53c47a5e0/i-1_B.JPG" target="_blank">http://ebay2.ipixmedia.com/abc/M28/_EBAY_acaf97e3bb6229a68e5dabf53c47a5e0/i-1_B.JPG</a>



My questions are:

1) Will this bumper/spoiler have sufficient room for
mounting an oil cooler behind, or should I consider
another type.

1) Will this bumper mounted on my SC offer enough room
to mount a fan behind the cooler for slow commuting in
bumper to bumper traffic.

2) If not, will the cooler alone offer the cooling I
need for this type of city commuting in hot weather.

I'll need to make a decision soon, so all the advice I
can get will be appreciated.

-Charlie Stylianos

Bill Gregory

Charlie,

That spoiler looks like it might be a RUF or RUF look alike - it's not a Carrera front valance. There "should" be enough room behind it to mount a cooler, however, there will not be enough room behind it to mount a fan (unless it's critical enough to hack the front trunk metal). You're correct to know that radiator-type coolers rely on airflow for cooling. That type of cooler does a super job cooling, when you're moving (I used a RUF cooler on my 81SC, and especially liked the fact that the oil flowed right to left across the cooler, not top to bottom, which maximized cooling). If you do alot of bumper-to-bumper crawling in traffic, you may want to consider either a fender-mounted radiator-style cooler with fan or a combination of fender and front valance coolers.

The Porsche fender-mounted cooler and Fan are pretty hard to beat, and I've heard good things about the B&B setup too. I used an Earl's cooler and fan, but ended up going to a RUF front valance-mounted cooler. If you are going to replace your front valance, and your 911 is lowered, if you get a fiberglas front valance, remember that fiberglas fractures when hit - watch those curbs! RUF makes a polyurethane front valance which bends - I've posted pictures of it before.

GeorgeM

Charlie,

That's no original part that I've seen either. It does look like a RUF. Just realize that there's no bumper attached to that valence in the photos, unless the pictures are excluding something.

I made a custom valence from two used parts to fit a Mocal cooler up front in series with the fender unit. If you're interested in photos, let me know.

I'm with Bill about stop and go driving. You may find that the fender unit will suffice for your occasional track events by itself if you provide it enough air. If not, you can always add the front cooler later if you're willing to spend the bucks.

If you do win the auction, "meya"; it looks like a nice piece.

richard glickel.

That's NOT and OEm part. If it's polyurethane, then it may be a RUF valance. If it's fiberglass, it is not a RUF. This piece fits under your front bumper (which you retain). Yes, you can mount a front cooler behind that valance.

I think for your application, a fender mounted Carrera cooler, w/ fan, will give you the cooling you're looking to acheive. You can add a switch that will allow you to turn on the fan in extreme conditions (rather than waiting for the thermostatically controlled switch to run the fan at 240 F.

If that valance is, in fact, a RUF piece, it won't be inexpensive. New, the RUF valance is about $1,000.

You can purchase a new fiberglass valance from betterbodies.com on the west coast. Nice people, good quality & pricing.

Richard
'87 Carrera-3.6L

Charlie Stylianos

The owner has it listed as an 'ORIGINAL 911 Carrera front bumper / front spoiler.', and that it 'Fits any model from 1978 - 1984.' I have heard others saying it looks like a front bumber/spoiler off a 930. I have e-mail the lister asking for more specifics, but nothing yet.

Here are more pics, more thoughts/input please:

<a href="http://ebay2.ipixmedia.com/abc/M28/_EBAY_acaf97e3bb6229a68e5dabf53c47a5e0/i-2_B_T.JPG" target="_blank">http://ebay2.ipixmedia.com/abc/M28/_EBAY_acaf97e3bb6229a68e5dabf53c47a5e0/i-2_B_T.JPG</a>

<a href="http://ebay2.ipixmedia.com/abc/M28/_EBAY_acaf97e3bb6229a68e5dabf53c47a5e0/i-3_B_T.JPG" target="_blank">http://ebay2.ipixmedia.com/abc/M28/_EBAY_acaf97e3bb6229a68e5dabf53c47a5e0/i-3_B_T.JPG</a>

The fender mounted cooler, with all the goodies (fan, brackets, etc) will cost approx $1200. Where this fender and cooler will cost about half that. Has anyone seen this unit before, and anyway of getting a cooler and fan behind it?

-charlie

Bill Gregory

Charlie,

Hard to tell from the photo's what the piece is. Ask if it's fiberglass, which the price would suggest. You'll spend another $600+ for a new oil cooler to put behind that valance (thinking B&B, for example; Mazda RX7 cooler with welded an-16 fittings would be less expensive). B&B fender-mount (cooler, fan, and fittings) lists for around $865, and you could buy it for around $690 during a Performance Products 20% off sale.

As I said above, if you get the front valance and put a cooler behind it, you'll have to do some very creative engineering to blow fan air thru it, as there's just not room back there to easily mount a fan.

GeorgeM

The guy says:

"It's some sort of flexible plastic
The original material that they make bumpers of, not a fiberglass copy."

So, it sounds like it just may be a RUF, or a decent copy. Although I haven't seen any copies made of the flexible stuff.

$1200 sounds like an awful lot for a front cooler. I got my Mocal setup from BAT for about $600. I made the custom bracket, but all the fittings (including 90 deg angles to make the "in series" install work), Aeroqip hose and the 44 row cooler were included in that price (www.batinc.net).

Good luck with the auction.

Charlie Stylianos

George,

Thanks for the update as he was not responsive to my e-mails.

The more I read and research, I think I'm going to pass on the front bumper/valance for the time being and go with the fender mount cooler. The front mounted cooler is probably not be the best option for me right now as it will not allow for a fan behind the cooler w/o modifing the sheet metal. It will probably be an option in the future if the fender mounted cooler with fan does not offer the cooling i'm looking for.


I'm still debating carrera or aftermarket fender cooler with fan and 210 degree sensor.

Thanks all for your responses.

-Charlie
82 SC Targa

Bill Verburg

Just a thought, the B&B fender mount cooler w/ fan has been shown to be effective on a 3.6 transplant which resides in the Az. deserts.