V2Rocket

bigger surface area is more important than more rows.
you only add more rows, if you can't fit a larger surface area.
but it's still not as good as just making a larger-face, skinnier radiator.

FWIW.

vt951

I suspect there would be a much higher take rate on a radiator that mounts in the factory location. Personally, I don't like the idea of moving the radiator back that far, as it uses up all that space in front of the engine that makes it so much easier to work on. I know you're looking at doing that to make room for a larger FMIC, but there are alternative ways to fit a large intercooler while also keeping the radiator in the factory mounts. Just my 2 cents. I'm sure there will be a lot of different variations in how people do the cooling systems, so there's no right or wrong way.

Cjar

I would like to keep as much room up front as possible, but the great thing with this engine is there isn't much you need to get at on the front - change the belt, replace water pump, maybe change the front seal. No timing belts and associated regular service required up front on the 07K.

I've never seen behind the bumper on a 951, but on my '83 there is basically zero room for a FMIC that's taller than 6" or thicker than 2.5" (while keeping AC) without trimming the valence. Maybe that's all that's necessary if most of the guys here are doing N/A or milder turbo setups? If I were in that boat I'd probably do what Mike is and run a stock (or stock-replacement radiator from Wizard) and use the shorter intercooler from Vibrant. Running to Napa for a longer hose run is much cheaper than custom radiator and mounts no matter how you slice it.

If this option from Griffin works out, I hope to have a low-cost rad with both ports on the left, that has 500hp cooling capacity and will fit in the stock location or rearward, with just some adaption required to fit the stock 944/951 radiator mounts.

Please chime in everyone, I'd like to come up with something that will work for all.

Craig

senior_squishy

Honestly, I'm not trying to mess around with any of the heat exchangers on mine. Actually everything north of the pulleys I'm going to try to keep as stock as possible (Flip-up headlights & drive motor are the LAST things I remove from this car). My setup will be N/A for about 2 years, maybe less, and once I have the weight and balance change figured out, I'll add more power and think about doing all the fancy bigger heat exchangers. Also knowing how hard it is to keep belts on this thing, I'm leaning very heavily towards electric AC. The ones I linked a while ago are going to be the way to go.

Brian Smith

I would rather have it mount in the stock location and have the fittings on the correct side as well.

Brian

EastEnd944

Does the success of the oil pan on the track mean that production pans will be made soon? I'd be very happy to have my engine sitting in the bay before it gets so cold that I can't feel my fingers while working in the garage

Also in terms of cooling, it appears the majority is looking to keep things close to stock. While this wont be helpful to those doing so, I thought I would mention that I've decided to attempt doing a rear mounted setup, and while it is more work to do so I believe it'll be more beneficial for my build. I had mocked up my engine and realized that If I keep the radiator in its current position it will be very difficult to mount my turbo in front of the gallardo manifold while keeping the exhaust piping as direct as possible. My goal is to place the turbo perpendicular to the motor itself, and have the turbine inlet bolted directly to the outlet of the manifold. This should also place the compressor outlet in almost a direct position to have a short and straight pipe going into the intercooler, keeping both intake and exhaust piping short and direct as possible. Since the coolant inlet and outlet are on the rear and side of the engine running plumbing to the rear should be a pretty straightforward task, and the longer lines should add additional coolant to the system as well as give it more time to cool before re-entering the block. I already have the spare tire well removed and am not running an exhaust to the rear, so there is plenty of room in the back to mount the radiator. My largest concern is airflow, however I plan to run some strong fans and make a shroud to function as a scoop for cool air. This is obviously more work than fitting a radiator up front, but I'm hoping that it'll be worth it.

I'm definitely interested to hear some of your opinions on this, as I know people have brought it up in the past on rennlist and have been shot down rather quickly.

V2Rocket

a pretty big turbo is known to fit behind the passenger headlight area; adding a little bit of pipe (or an elbow) won't affect your performance/spool in any way you could feel or measure.

senior_squishy

When I pulled my 07k from the donor car I bought, it was around 20-30 deg outside, so I'm just used to it at this point. Winter break is the only time of year I really have to work on anything, and it's looking like that's when everything will be ready. I'm not in too much of a rush, but I definitely feel your excitement!!!


I saw BBI motorsport built a Pike's Peak hill climb 911 on Hoonigan's YT channel, but thats also an RR, so no long lengths of lines. My biggest concern would be line placement and protection, immediately after would be airflow. They made a pretty gnarly air scoop for their stuff, and unless you go plexiglass for the hatch, you might find yourself hacking up the body for some ducting, or even under-body ducts, which would be pretty wicked IMO. I say go for it; whats the worst that can happen? It doesn't cool enough and you fab up a solution for the front? It would still be a wicked cool build!!

vt951

Production pans will begin soon. I have 17 of the cast upper pans at the CNC shop now to get machined. We are waiting for the machine that they programmed our prototype pans on to be freed up, so hopefully this week they will be underway. Following machining, if all goes well with the fabrication and welding, I expect the first batch of oil pans will be ready to ship before the end of the year. I know this is a long time to wait... your patience is greatly appreciated! The people working on these pans all have day jobs, so it's not always easy to get a production run of fab and welding work done in a short amount of time. But, these are guys that I have used for many years and trust their work, so I'd rather wait a little bit and get it done right.

EastEnd944

Definitely on the same page as you, not in a dire rush to get everything. I'm hoping I'll be able to get a majority of the work done over winter break as well. I wanted to go with having the turbo behind the passenger headlight but couldn't figure out a way to get it to work on my particular build. The current plan is some under body ducting to hopefully force air into the rad at speed, possibly even NACA ducts to replace the rear quarter windows but that's far more expensive than I'd like. Since my exhaust wont run to the rear I plan on running aluminum pipe under the torque tube to keep them out of the way. I definitely agree about the worst case scenario, really wouldn't be too horrible if it doesn't work out. Only real downside would be moving some things around and swapping the radiator for one of different dimensions. Once I start getting things mocked up I'll post some pictures.

Also, Alan I hope you know I had no ill intention with that comment, I was only looking for an update as I started to get concerned I might've missed something with all the time I've spent away from the thread. I understand this whole process is a huge undertaking and I am in awe that you guys were able to get mike's car running and driving. I completely agree with you on using people you trust to get the job done right, even if that means longer waiting periods.

333pg333

I'd be interested in your build intentions. Is this for a racecar? Do you have any diagrams of your intended build with location of intake, turbo and other ancillaries? Rear mounted cooling has been done but as far as I'm aware it was only in the Orca series cars. Cool project but I wonder if the desire to have the closest proximity of turbo to motor isn't by virtue of a knock-on effect, creating other dilemmas such as rear mounted cooling setup? Perhaps I've misinterpreted your intentions?

vt951

None taken whatsoever. You guys are all being extremely patient, so sometimes I feel like I should explain why it’s taking so long.

V2Rocket

Nice thing if you're committed to a tear rad is you can go totally nuts with sizing--cut out the trunk floor and you can fit a 30x30 rad or bigger back there.

And a mega monster industrial fan, lol

senior_squishy

That being said Alan, I think sometimes I forget this is a custom job and on top of everything yall have day jobs as well. I know I really appreciate all the work being done; Sometimes it's just hard to contain the excitement of how awesome this swap is, and that we have the opportunity to do exactly what you're doing. Usually whenever I see threads like these, it's a one-off job & the fabrication is too complex to follow for anyone else who wants to do the same thing.

Power Window Repair

EastEnd944, those rear quarter panel regulators can be quite pricey. We offer a rebuild service for $199 on those regulators. Our rebuilds include metal replacements for the cheap plastic that breaks. Let us know if you need our service.