My 3.3L Subie Conversion Thread, Got me some 914rubber stuff Options

[Chris H.]

Wow that is a great build! Thanks for the heads-up. They are turbo'ing it as well. Looks like you're Scorpion is really coming along!

[Chris H.]

Well it's finally been warm enough to test out the new aluminum coolant tank I was so dang proud of. And...it leaks. At first I though the cap was the problem, but after looking closely at it while running it's definitely got at least one pin hole in the weld around the coolant neck. It just weeps a drip or two once in a while after it pressurizes. I'm not a good enough welder to fix it, and I don't HAVE a good enough welder to either. Just thought you should know in case anyone is thinking about buying one.



Might go back to the globe if I can't get this fixed. There is a version with no puke valve in the back.

[A&P Mech]

That's a bummer! I bought my expansion tank from Canton racing. It has worked out perfectly. https://www.cantonracingproducts.com/cgi-bi...&key=80-202

I purchased it from the garage sale section and paid around 80 bucks because it was scratched. To be honest I still haven't found the scratch? Great product and good service.

Ray

[Chris H.]

Thanks Ray! Not a bad option.

[A&P Mech]

Here is a picture of it mounted. I made a bracket that allows me to bolt it into the stock relay panel mount.

[Chris H.]

Here is a picture of it mounted. I made a bracket that allows me to bolt it into the stock relay panel mount.

Very nice Ray. Always rewarding to avoid making any holes if possible. I have no experience with aluminum but after a few searches it looks like it could be fixed. It takes quite a bit of pressure for it to start leeching coolant. Probably be able to use a brazing rod. I’ll try to get a video of it. If I mess it up no big deal.

[BIGKAT_83]

Send that tank down here and I'll welder it up (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif)

Bob

[Chris H.]

Thanks Bob! I THINK I fixed it but we’ll see. If not I’ll send it right down. I brazed the holes with aluminum brazing rod. Now I just need to drive it around a while and see if it holds.

[Chris H.]

Of course I can't leave the car alone...so I swapped over to a horizontal radiator similar to rnellums' setup last year and it's working fine, but can't stop thinking about this one:



It's out of the Renault Alpine A310 V6 3.0. Monza-looking car that was not imported to the US.

So the original radiator I wanted to use years ago was the the 4.0 Jeep Cherokee rad but unfortunately it was too wide. This one is JUST narrow enough to fit. It's 10" tall and just under 31" wide. It would stand up vertically in front so I could push it almost flush with the front of the car. My only concern is whether it is large enough to cool the EG33. Assuming yes since the Renault is a V6 3.0l mid engine with radiator up front, but I guess there's only one way to find out. If it was a $50 RAD I would just go for it, but these are ~$200. What do you guys think?

Link to e-bay ad with more info:

Renault Rad

[76-914]

Is that Celica set up not working for you Chris? How's everything else working? Did you get it running to your satisfaction? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Mueller]

Of course I can't leave the car alone...so I swapped over to a horizontal radiator similar to rnellums' setup last year and it's working fine, but can't stop thinking about this one:



It's out of the Renault Alpine A310 V6 3.0. Monza-looking car that was not imported to the US.

So the original radiator I wanted to use years ago was the the 4.0 Jeep Cherokee rad but unfortunately it was too wide. This one is JUST narrow enough to fit. It's 10" tall and just under 31" wide. It would stand up vertically in front so I could push it almost flush with the front of the car. My only concern is whether it is large enough to cool the EG33. Assuming yes since the Renault is a V6 3.0l mid engine with radiator up front, but I guess there's only one way to find out. If it was a $50 RAD I would just go for it, but these are ~$200. What do you guys think?

Link to e-bay ad with more info:

Renault Rad

How the heck did you stumble upon this radiator? Talk about rare and obscure! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) I'm shocked someone is actually making this for such a small market, crazy...looks good.

[Chris H.]

Hi Kent! The Celica setup worked fine but I switched over to a BMW Z3 rad lying flat like Ross has so that I could reclaim the upper half of the front trunk. It's working well but this Alpine rad keeps calling my name. It SHOULD be a perfect fit and stand up right against the front trunk.

Car is running well. I bought a chipped ECU that really smoothed the power curve out. How about yours? Did you drive that V8 beast yet?

[Chris H.]

How the heck did you stumble upon this radiator? Talk about rare and obscure! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) I'm shocked someone is actually making this for such a small market, crazy...looks good.

An embarrassingly lengthy internet search a while back Mike..(IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) . Just kept searching for the dimensions until I found one that might fit. I agree...how many of these could they POSSIBLY sell??? I have never seen an A310 in person.

[mgp4591]

Hi Kent! The Celica setup worked fine but I switched over to a BMW Z3 rad lying flat like Ross has so that I could reclaim the upper half of the front trunk. It's working well but this Alpine rad keeps calling my name. It SHOULD be a perfect fit and stand up right against the front trunk.

Car is running well. I bought a chipped ECU that really smoothed the power curve out. How about yours? Did you drive that V8 beast yet?

Pictures of your flat radiator setup would be great to see! Do you vent out the bottom or somewhere else? And the Alpine radiator looks suspiciously like the stock SVX radiator that I've planned to use. If you go the way of standing it up in front, how will that affect the trunk space you've got left and where will you vent it? And it's good to see you have the chipped ECU also! It works great in the SVX now so I can only imagine the difference it makes in a smaller chassis.... Did you pick it up used or send yours out?

[Chris H.]

Sure I can add some pics of my current setup. Right now it's sitting a little high on a somewhat temporary mount but you'll get the idea. I have not added any ducting yet so I assume the air flow is pretty undirected and could be refined. Before I finalize the install I want to be SURE this is what I'm sticking with. Air exits out the bottom. If I go to the alpine setup I could still build a shroud similar to (but much wider than) an oil cooler shroud angling downward to the floor vent.

The SVX rad is actually quite a bit taller than the Alpine rad. The Alpine is only 10" tall, whereas the SVX is about 15" tall and not quite as wide.

Regarding the chip, it's actually an earlier version of the ECUTune chip. Same map and also allows you to use 87 octane if you want. There is a switch that you install that retards the timing a bit in 87 octane mode...so...I won't be using it unless I do a long road trip or something. I actually bought the ECU with the chip installed from a guy who did a bunch of Vanagon conversions. Really smoothed things out.

[mgp4591]

Sure I can add some pics of my current setup. Right now it's sitting a little high on a somewhat temporary mount but you'll get the idea. I have not added any ducting yet so I assume the air flow is pretty undirected and could be refined. Before I finalize the install I want to be SURE this is what I'm sticking with. Air exits out the bottom. If I go to the alpine setup I could still build a shroud similar to (but much wider than) an oil cooler shroud angling downward to the floor vent.

The SVX rad is actually quite a bit taller than the Alpine rad. The Alpine is only 10" tall, whereas the SVX is about 15" tall and not quite as wide.

Regarding the chip, it's actually an earlier version of the ECUTune chip. Same map and also allows you to use 87 octane if you want. There is a switch that you install that retards the timing a bit in 87 octane mode...so...I won't be using it unless I do a long road trip or something. I actually bought the ECU with the chip installed from a guy who did a bunch of Vanagon conversions. Really smoothed things out.

Since the Alpine engine is a 3.0, I'd think the cooling would be sufficient. It's also mounted in the front too, correct? And I didn't know it was only 10 inches tall! I'm measuring around 17 on the SVX radiator and I'm still thinking about the venting solution but I don't want to go out the bottom - I'm trying to keep it as stable as possible at speed and in crosswinds since we have more than a few of when I drive out of state - almost anywhere results in desert.
And the switch on the chipped ECU is a neat option especially if forced induction is added. The availability of fuel options on road trips is nice to manage too - I'll have to look into that as an option. Thanks for the info!

[76-914]

Chris, freessm is the program I mentioned in the pm. Check it out. Youtube has some videos it in use. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[914forme]

The SVX rad is actually quite a bit taller than the Alpine rad. The Alpine is only 10" tall, whereas the SVX is about 15" tall and not quite as wide.

Regarding the chip, it's actually an earlier version of the ECUTune chip. Same map and also allows you to use 87 octane if you want. There is a switch that you install that retards the timing a bit in 87 octane mode...so...I won't be using it unless I do a long road trip or something. I actually bought the ECU with the chip installed from a guy who did a bunch of Vanagon conversions. Really smoothed things out.

Great Tip on the Alpine RAD, Ebay also has one listed that is a 56mm core thickness instead of the 40mm in your listing. Just in case you need a bit more cooling, in close to the same size.

Glad to hear the ECU Tune chip does the trick, stage one tune. That is, watched the videos on the turbo build with the EG and all the stuff he went thru to get it to run correctly with an MS unit.

Love to see this project continue to evolve and become more refined.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)

[motoTrooper]

Thanks for sharing your experience so far with the chipped ECU, Chris. Nothing like hearing from actual users of a product.

[Chris H.]

FYI I asked several vendors of the Renault A310 rad on e-bay what the widths of the two version were last week. Not all gave the same answer but based on the "most frequently used" measurements the 56mm thick version is allegedly 5mm wider than the 40mm (810 vs 805mm). Makes no sense but based on that it does not look like the 56mm version would fit vertically up against the front trunk without modifications. 5mm makes a pretty big difference this time. The 40mm version MIGHT fit but it's hard to tell without having it in hand. You could angle it forward and it would fit very low like an oil cooler under the headlight area (almost) for sure. And BTW I'm comparing/pondering all of this on a later 914. Pre-'75 you will have that semi-circle hoop up front to deal with.

I did some volume calculations of the rads (core length X core width X thickness)

Celica rad = 650
40mm A310 = 509
56mm A310 = 710

Baseline is the Celica which we know works very well. The 40mm is 22% smaller, the 56mm is 10% larger. Unfortunately the 56mm rad has shot up in price to ~$300 for the US import (the rest are straight from China). The 40mm is still $185.

Stephen I saw in another thread you might have one at your shipping depot. Let us know if you give it a try...

Probably should have kept the Celica rad and left it alone! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif)