Killing off some frontal area?

[Chris D.]

Originally Posted by diesel_john

tricky part is making the air that you don't block go thur the radiator and not thur the cracks around the radiator, headlight wires, hood release cable, ac lines, bumper mounts, etc... if you just block at rad. it forces air thur the leaks in the chamber that's between the grill and rad., true it also slicks over the grill and diverts air around. Or are we talking directly on the back surface of the grill.

Aluminum tape works good over small holes, I use cable ties and plexiglass or aluminum sheet. I go the local recycler and buy aluminum by the pound out of the their junk pile. I scored a bunch of old road signs the county had scraped. One was so big I made both my side skirts out of it.

Frank Lee,
I am trying to figure out a way adjust the amount of air ducted to the rad. manually from the drivers seat?

Hey Diesel John, where can I see more pictures of your vdub?

I've got an idea for a scoop that you can adjust the flow to, long choke cable on a old 4" diametor wood burning stove fireplace flu plate piping extension and using HVAC stuff from home depot for the ducting..

[Chris D.]

I took the bugdeflector off today and used some rubber foam to fill the hood/grill gap..
I'm still adjusting the foam-rubber stuff.. almost perfect..

[diesel_john]

After you have the shape, i just drill a few holes around the edge of the piece your adding and fish the tie around something in the grill and zip. Locate the holes by something to tie to. I use sheet metal, roof flashing comes in rolls, house hold window plexiglass.

Chris D. that looks too good, store bought!

current vw winter configuration is post #7 this thread, flat grill with the license plate covering half of it.
you thinn' some kind of sliding plate thingy.

In the summer i need one square foot to keep water and oil cool, in the winter on a cold zero day, i can drop the temp gage enough to close the thermostat with the heater alone. I am only burning a gallon an hour, so in the winter i have to block just to heat the cab.

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by diesel_john

Or are we talking directly on the back surface of the grill.

Frank Lee,
I am trying to figure out a way adjust the amount of air ducted to the rad. manually from the drivers seat?

Yes I meant blocks on the back surface of the grilework, no leaks.

I think your driver-adjusted vent idea has merit. You could do a venetian blind sort of thing with cable control, or any number of ways to open/close I suppose. I would be tempted to rig an all-mechanical thermostatic control and let engine compartment temp decide whether to open the vent or not.

[diesel_john]

How would that work if I put a hatch cylinder behind the rad. and counter balance it with an adjustable spring, then a cable and two pulleys to some sort of a sliding door(also spring loaded) in the grill. that way it would be proportional not just open or shut. how could the opening be made aero efficient at partial opening.

Frank Lee what did you have in mind for a mechanical thermostat?

[DifferentPointofView]

Your hatch falls on you head unless it's to hot to be outside! mine too!!! best way is to take a detailing brush or something and shove it to where the fat part of the cylinder hits it and can't move. great way to hold up the hatch on those frigid mornings.

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by diesel_john

Frank Lee what did you have in mind for a mechanical thermostat?

A brass bellows and simple linkage, similar to those found on old air-cooled VDubs.