no louvers engine lid

Hi All

I may want to change the 10 louvers engine lid of my '72 SB for an un-louvered one. I'm a bit concern with engine temperature and overheating. Taking into account that the engine is a 1600cc, is this type of engine lid not advisable? if so, would some extensions on the lid hinges help?

thanks Ant

Reply to
Ant
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overheating.

....................I'd say that you're style of driving would determine how necessary those louvers are. If you drive at high speeds for sustained periods of time, your engine will probably be starving for enough air flow to your cooling fan to maintain a reasonable temperature. If you drive shorter distances or at slower speeds, you might not have a problem. Maybe a head temp. gauge would be good insurance to keep you out of trouble.

Reply to
Tim Rogers

VW was concerned, too, and that's why they put those extra louvers in the lid. In my humble opinion, VW screwed up big-time at the very beginning when they put the louvers under the windshield instead of having only louvers on the lid. But what do I know. My VW based kit car runs a 2165cc ACVW. The primary air intake is a scoop on the lid. Here:

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A lot of the air comes in there, runs over the top of the engine and then into the fan. The engine compartment is sealed
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and the headers are wrappedall the way to the mufflers. (That part makes a huge difference.) Itruns cool in citydriving and even after a hard run in 100F weather I canpop the lid and grab the carbs - very cool, and the sheet metal is far,far cooler than in my 1776 or stock 1600! So, IMHO I'd say you are stuckwith the louvers if you do any moderate amount low-speed driving becausethey serve to let heat out of that lousy setup. Stand-offs? For solid lids the top hinge standoffs look strange (IMHO) and the bottom standoff works just as well - which means a little. Here's a picture of the lower lid stand-off. It's nice because you can remove it in a second.
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Reply to
jjs

What kind of kit car is that? Wouldn't mind seeing more pics of it if you have them lying around.

Reply to
Mac

At the moment I only have this old picture. The wheels have been swapped out for chromies since, and the rear wing removed.

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Bradley GTII-e modified to ACVW engine (was electric).

Reply to
jjs

That looks very sweet!!

Reply to
Mac

Agreeing with what someone said earlier, I would not advise an early decklid over your 1600 if you spend any time on the freeways at 55+ MPH. My concern is, will the eariler lid fit? I thought they were a completely different shape than the decklids with four vents. One thing you might do, if you are mainly concerned with the number of vents on the lid, is put a 1970 decklid on. This has only two vents, but it is a one-year part, and might be difficult to find. ~Anthony

Reply to
Anthony

The same concern was raised when I saw a friend putting one on a 73 super he is restoring ...He put me in my place quite quickly by saying that our local VW guru recommended it for its looks and he wouldn't sell it if it would over heat his engine ... He followed that up smugly later by saying he asked about overheating and the same guru told him that no cooling air came through the vents and he thought stand offs were a waist of time ....

Next summer I should invite him for a long ride down I-20 and test the theory in some Georgia afternoon heat .. LOL Wouldn't do that but I hope to talk him into a temp gauge before he scatters that fresh rebuild all over this cool asphalt we have around here ... If it wasn't for ya'll I'd have to listen to the chuckle heads around here for advise

sidewinder

Reply to
sidewinder

The '68 on deck lids are interchangeable. I did just the opposite and put a

4 vent lid (Thanks Again MAUDIB) on my '69, for additional cooling out here in the desert.

If anyone says that no cooling is provided through the lid, ask them why VW offered them with the thermostatic vent behind (in front of???) the license plate. Maybe not to allow more air to enter, but certainly to allow heat to escape.

Reply to
Alan Nelson

Fit? Depends upon the supplier. As a rule, early lids require early aprons, but I think there are some fiber lids without vents that fit late models.

Reply to
jjs

One of those blind faith instead of informed decision deals . No amount of reasoning is going to change his mind .

sidewinder

Reply to
sidewinder

Well,....After reading all the other posts on the subject I have some to add,..................68 and up will phit fysically.............I believe ( and could be wrong ) the lids with only two sets of louvers was a 2 year thang..........70-71. All newer than that would have the "four set " lids.

The bit about having enough air is two-fold..............If you're just ruinning a 1600, you can get by with just changing to the "two sets" lid.............but will have to put standoffs of some kind ( lower or upper ) on anything larger...........without some other mods, but would be advised to stay with what you have. ( my opinion )

The second of the "two-fold" air issue , is that you can cause your engine to starve for air to use for combustion due to a vaccum formed by the fan sucking all the air into the compartment, and pushing it out through the heaters.................this would happen if you have the heaters, or not, cause it'll still shoot all your air out around the engine , causing a low pressure in there and enriching your fuel air mixture in a most peculiar fashion.................you'll likely have a car that runs a while on the freeway then just dies,.............flooded of course, then you'll be able to just jump in and start it when you and your friends get back with the tow vehicle.

There is always a way around all these concerns. I shall attempt to introduce an idea, for lack of a model.

It's possible to just do what you are talking about, if you supply another source for your intake air, both for cooling and for combustion...............two seperate sources would be best, to eliminate the second of the Two-fold issues.

I'd suspect you'd want to make darn certain you don't try and pull air in from around, behind or near the engine, as it will be HOT air. Not a great thing for cooling air to be hot , ya know. However, it might not be such a bad idea to be able to control your air temp to the engine manifold/carb..............warm air to keep carb icing down in the winter sounds like a good idea to me.

Now, All that I have said so far has no model, but does put some fairly important info in front of any of the folks looking to read about things to be aware of for such a interchange..................So, take a minute or two, and see if you can come up with something that's gonna spin heads with the rest of us,...........................I have my ideas still, but have not atttempted the application ye, and look forward to seeing any kind of practical application of this stuff.

Hope this helps.

( any of you guys with the car that quits after a few on th highway see anything that'll help here?)

Remove "YOURPANTIES" to reply MUADIB®

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Artificial Intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

Reply to
MUADIB®

Hi.I think the vents were put in as a way for heat to get out as emmisions made the engines run leaner and hotter.I've seen several slick vents(owner made) hidden behind the plate.Me,I wouldn't take the chance for the sake of looks over function.Steve

Reply to
Ilambert

Where did you get that lower lid stand-off Stafford? Never seen one like it, great little item!

J.

Reply to
BergRace

No credit to me! It was on the '58 when I bought it from MIchah last year.

Reply to
jjs

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