Inliners International Forums General Discussion Bench racing I'm new here

Got my gasket set and my rod and main bearings yesterday. I also came by a Chevrolet oil cooler setup to go on the little feller!! It'll need new hoses made up and probably a small cooling fan. Just so happens that I've got several brand new fans just made for this !!

Where does the oil cooler connect?

The oil cooler mounts where the oil filter attaches to the block. I'll have to get creative when I install it, but it ain't that big of a deal!! GM uses 'em on lots of late model stuff. The oil filter just screws on like normal.

Most folks don't take into consideration that the oil in an engine is the first coolant in the operation of the machine!!

I'll have to look into that. I have a remote filter kit for mine. I was thinking of using a track type nose and using that space for the filter somehow. I'm not using that nose now but may use a firewall mount and could hook up a cooler between them.

Usually, the filter is before the cooler to prevent trash from accumulating in the core. An "H" bypass line between them and returning into the cooler's return allows the cooler to be shut down at low temperatures.
The cooler must have an air pressure differential between the front and back, even with a fan. A fan-equipped cooler hung in the engine bay will simply recirculate air around the cooler and back again (like a fan with no shroud).

Panic! Not your usual engine compartment configuration!! The radiator is in the trunk and the engine sits in an open compartment behind an empty grille! I'll be installing the cooler in that empty space behind the grille with the fan install in front of the cooler! This is a factory installed Chevrolet unit from a high performance, special ordered Camaro. I've done quite a few oil cooler installations and this one seems to follow all of the rules for proper operation.

My '97 dually has a very similar, factory installed oil cooler.

If you can mask the grill except for the cooler core IDT you'll need a fan since oil cooler load will vary with power.

I figure I can use one fan and keep air flowing through the oil cooler and the transmission cooler when I'm sitting in traffic. That and on long uphill pulls on the freeway are the only times that temp was any problem.

The last trip I took with the old stock 153 was about 250 miles. It was 100 degrees in the shade in mid July. It only offered to get really hot on long hard pulls grades of a mile or more. The engine was lean, (a problem I won't have this time) and the ignition timing wasn't correct, (something else I've cured).

I finally got to mock up my cylinder head and valve train! None of the rocker arm covers that I have will clear the stud girdle and I would have to file off the outside extreme corners of the two end pushrod guides. The existing covers also crowd the two end rocker arm trunions and I'm not fond of that either. If I were using aluminum rockers, I'd have to shave the corner of the to end rockers to clear the cover.

I'm going to take one of my cast aluminum Mercruiser covers and cut the flange off of it. I've got a pair of SBC extra tall, cast aluminum covers, so I'll remove the flange from one of them, TiG it onto the 4 cylinder flange upside down. This will create an adapter to use the other SBC cover and eliminate any unwanted modification to the valve train. Using the small block cover will furnish extra space for the entire assembly operate and save me having to fabricate an entire rocker arm cover!!

If I remember correctly the two end rockers were rounded to clear the valve cover in some of the roller rocker sets sold for the sixes.

Would a spacer between the head and the and rocker cover work? Have you seen the cover Tom sells? It has more room inside.

Some guys on the HAMB have adapted repro Frontenac covers it get more room. I tried to adapt a GMC but lacked the skill.

MY Trys

Another

Beater the duggan/deppe covers need more to them ,Main reason being is the Head surface was taller So that made for a shorter cover height. But they have way more room inside, This is one thing I am going to address When I get the time to play more with the molds I bought of his stuff To me this is a easy fix.

And to answer the Rocker question Yes some of the rockers did indeed need rounding off #1 & 6 But now the comp pro-magnum rockers and other are more stream lined now clear with out having to do anything.

I'm using the Comp Cams Ultra Pro magnum rockers. MAN!! Those things are nice!! They really don't present a problem.

I HAVE looked at Tom's cover. Not sure it will clear the stud girdle and I already have the pieces mentioned in my previous post. The welding will cost me little more than a good lunch and will both adapt and space the cover up, giving me the needed clearance and I won't have to trim the pushrod guide plates at the front and rear.

I've always been a "bucks down" racer/builder, so if I can save a dollar here and there and still get the performance I'm looking for, I'll find a way!

'Sides!! Think how folks will react, seeing a big, tall SBC cover on that little engine!! There'll be some people scratching their heads!!

Larry. I forgot you got some of the D/D stuff from Scott. I had not even noticed the height problem.

I like making things too that's why I tried the GMC cover. It could have caused some head scratching too. Those things are not as straight as they look and the metal is very thin. I have a plain cover that is much thicker and I think I could make it fit. But I have one of Tom's now with a matching side cover. They will get me going and I can play with the others later maybe.

I think I got pretty much all he had left of it. And may pieces are going to be fairly easy to make small mods to fit our L6s.

An affordable timing cover would be nice.

Larry sure had a full load of stuff heading back to Florida! Glad to pass the torch and finally meet him after all these years on the forum.

Beater
The timing cover is one of the things I will be addressing.
CNC-dude is was good to meet you as well, It is always good to put a face with / to a name and voice. I should be having the first around of Webber intakes in my hands here shortly.

I'm wishing you lots of success with these pieces. I hope the demand is there.I think there is some need for 2x1 & 2x2 down draft intakes but I don't know if it enough to actually produce them.

Good the see folks from here actually getting together.

I sold both 4cyl webber intakes I had and I made new head plates to mount them to the 4port head. The bolt pattern is the same But the ports are wider, So it was pretty much a Transition plate from one port size to the other.

That is cool! I have no business sense at all so I have now way to assess what the demand might be for a product. If someone has the skills, tools, and connections there are lots of opportunities. My son is working for a piece for Tesla right now that he hopes will turn into something. It's for production not the vehicles themselves.

That is cool, Back in the late 70s/early 80s I worked for a company with my Mom Making mostly Auto mirrors But they did do some home stuff but mostly auto. But like many other company's Sold out to china. So that end that.

Glad to hear you have it rolling right along Larry!

If I was going to make a simple universal part with multiple applications, I would look at a 235/261 (big port) intake stub: a flange with ears like stock and a tube with the port ID 4-5" long with an open end.
3 of them makes a log manifold by terminating in a 2" or larger cylinder running across.
It could be an IR, each tube could end in an S.U. flange, a Carter YH, Mikuni, KeiHin, etc. stub depending on the carburetor's mount.
Since the only force is vacuum, epoxy may be sufficient to assembly.
Add a tab here & there for throttle linkage, fuel manifold, choke, etc.

By making it expandable by about 3/4" and sleeves for port size it could fit the GMCs too. Kind of like Tinker Toys.

With un-drilled flanges it might fit other L6 engines including SV.

Options Are always pretty much endless .

I found a shop that can probably do the TiG welding that I need done, since I don't have a TiG welding machine. May be able to convince them to let me use their machine, although I hate to ask.

Almost ready to start putting everything together!!

Spent the afternoon cutting out the pieces to make the adapter. The 4 cyl. cover is considerably shorter than the SBC cover. I cut flat pieces of the SBC cover to make filler panels for the difference in length.

The bolt holes on the flat side of the Mercruiser flange will even line up with the ones on the V8 flange which really helps with getting the two pieces indexed. The wavy side of the 153 cover will require several small pieces be cut to fill small gaps.

I've decided to have the bolt holes in the V8 cover filled so I can drill and tap them for studs to fasten down the actual cover. I'll also stud the L4 head to aid gasket alignment and simplify bolting down the finished adapter.

Wish I knew how to post pictures. It's gonna' look really neat!!!

Yes, I'd like to see it.

BEATER!! I think I have your E-mail address here somewhere. If I do, I'll send you some pics!!

If you don't mind I'd like to see it.

Larry!! Message me your e-mail address or a phone number where I can text them to you!! I'll be happy to send you the pics.

Got the pieces delivered to the welding shop yesterday afternoon. Says he'll have it for me next week. Turns out the guy is a kid I used to coach when my son played baseball and football twenty-five or more years ago!!

Hey!! Beater!

I've looked and either can't find or don't have your e-mail address!! Message it to me or a phone number that I can text them to you and I'll send you some pics this weekend!!

Hey Blackwater, just google "free pic hosting sites". You can upload your pics there and copy the code it gives you and paste it into the "Image" option in the Reply box.

Be very careful which one you pick. Years ago I chose Picasa, a part of Google. In the fine print your pictures became theirs if they wanted them. Then they changed their service and you could no longer post to other sites and it was very difficult to download your own photos back to your computer. Last week I updated my OS and lost Picasa completely because Google has not updated it. Lots of old photos there.

So look around for what is out there. If you find a good one let me know.

Send them to me and I will post them. tom@12bolt.com

Tom!! Check your E-mail!! I sent 'em to you this morning!

Here you go. That is a bunch of pics.

Yeah!! I figured I'd show the steps that got me there. I often take a lot of photos so that if it works, I can reproduce the job and if it doesn't, I can maybe tell where I screwed up!! There are actually several more, but some are redundant and a few are just shots of materials and tools.

Thanks, Tom!!

Nice work, It should give you a boat load of clearance for just about anything.