Antique John Deere tractor got me thinking about C3 aero stuff.

[greg75vette]

I like this idea. Would you have a number of fixed panels to block of air and then "tune" the set up at the track or do you plan on using a lever in-cab to actuate shutters?

 

[69427]

I like this idea. Would you have a number of fixed panels to block of air and then "tune" the set up at the track or do you plan on using a lever in-cab to actuate shutters?

Ideally I'd love to have something that would automatically regulate the airflow dependent upon coolant temperature so that only the minimum amount of air that provides sufficient cooling is allowed into the underhood area. But, that seems a bit complex (although it could be done reasonably easy with a temperature sensor, some electronics, and some actuators) and might be possibly a bit "heavy" (I hate adding weight to a car). So for now, (it's still the experimental stage) I'm just going to block off the grill areas (relying on the undergrill holes for radiator air) and see what the coolant temps run. The main focus of this is for track days. If the airflow is insufficient for cooling at the higher speeds on the track, my plan was to remove a blockoff plate or reduce the size of the plate(s) to allow more air into the radiator.
I've considered using a cable into the "cab" to manually control some shutters, but I haven't currently figured out a clean way to incorporate them into the grillwork while retaining the stock appearance.

 

[mrvette]

Meanwhile toward a better street machine, with less underhood temps...an old thought from last winter,....

the Spals in my car are angled down to the floor, like the rad , so they do not blow any much air over the engine/headers....nor allow any lift under the hood, but I wonder if maybe I loosing some cooling power there, since the a/c seems stressed in summer....

so the thought is, would it make a difference IF the fans were remounted to face straight back toward the engine?? lower underhood temps and therefore making the a/c blow colder?? same sort of thing like maybe the stock fan position, but electric and of course wider....

anyone??

:clobbered::nuts: ?

 

[69427]

I stopped at a couple places at lunchtime looking for some grill blockoff material, but no luck. I first stopped at a craft type store and struck out, but did find some modeling clay to check my intake valve to cylinder wall clearance later on. Stopped at Blowes hardware, and nothing there either. I'm trying to find something similar to the production plastic sheet material that protects the headlights behind the grills on my '69. Anyone know who might carry something like that? McMaster-Carr probably does, but I'd sure like to find someplace local if I could.

Any suggestions?

 

[big2bird]

I like this idea. Would you have a number of fixed panels to block of air and then "tune" the set up at the track or do you plan on using a lever in-cab to actuate shutters?

Ideally I'd love to have something that would automatically regulate the airflow dependent upon coolant temperature so that only the minimum amount of air that provides sufficient cooling is allowed into the underhood area.

It seems to me that would adjust the front lift automatically, perhaps an undesired effect at times.:sweat:

 

[69427]

.....................It seems to me that would adjust the front lift automatically, perhaps an undesired effect at times.:sweat:

You are absolutely correct. On a cool day, the lift would be minimized. Excellent. On a hot day, however, the flaps/shutters would open fully, resulting in a semi-crappy lift situation identical to what I have to contend with presently. Restricting the air isn't a cure-all, but at least the worst case situation is not worse than the current situation.

 

[vette427sbc]

Bringing this thread back to show my small mod to help evacuate some of the air from under the nose. Just cut out the vents in my (real ) BB hood
I had the bezels out so I could paint them so I snapped a few pics:

Here is the hole behind the bezel. You can barely see the rad support right in front of the hole:


And a close up of the rad support as seen through the hole:


And an old pic of the bezels installed. I just painted them satin black. Hopefully they look as good in daylight as they do in the dark...


If you didnt already notice, I dont run any seals around my rad. The car will run at 195* all day in traffic, freeway and higher speeds. Besides that, I would think that running without the seals around the radiator would help with under-nose pressures since not all of the air has to be forced through the radiator. Ive also been running around with my front license plate mounted (zip tied). Besides keeping the LEO's happy, it should also help keep some more air out of the nose. The zip ties also let it sit on an angle so that it kind of flows with the lower valance.

 

[mrvette]

If you didnt already notice, I dont run any seals around my rad. The car will run at 195* all day in traffic, freeway and higher speeds. Besides that, I would think that running without the seals around the radiator would help with under-nose pressures since not all of the air has to be forced through the radiator. Ive also been running around with my front license plate mounted (zip tied). Besides keeping the LEO's happy, it should also help keep some more air out of the nose. The zip ties also let it sit on an angle so that it kind of flows with the lower valance.

James Bond, the zip tied front tag.....I like it, IF I had to run a front tag in Florida, I would have made the front grill to take one with just that concept, that at speed the tag would flip up out of the way via air pressure, it's only aluminum after all, and when stopped, the cops should be happy....

:drink: