Hi all,

just after a bit of info. i was always advised it was better to keep temp cooler in the buggy oil than hotter.
The sidewinder ive just bought the seller said the complete opposite. Hes done away with the dog house cooling tin, and also reduced the hole in the fan shroud by putting a plate over the top to reduce this. His reasoning for this as follows.

"You need a min of 113c to get the moisture out of the oil. If not your engine not last long, 90c is the temp of a everyday water cool car. The oil temp is around 120 c"
He also mentioned, VW bus, Beetle etc was all in a deck lid, where the buggy isnt and is open so will help cool the engine anyway, but sometimes this is too much.

Is there some reasoning in his idea? Or am i better off putting back to how VW intended?

Thank you.

Aiden

My opinion...... Oil system in a T1 engine is simple two direction operation . Whilst engine is "cold" the oil does not circulate through the cooler. As the engine oil temperature rises following engine warm up the system valves operate to direct the hot oil thro the cooler.

So..... Yes a engine hanging out of a buggy is in a different environment to it`s original placement but the oil is there not just for lubrication but has an equally important role in transferring heat from the metal components preventing over heating and engine destruction. A water cooled engine absorbs heat into the water which is cooled by the radiator. An air cooled engine is totally reliant on "air cooling"... Do you drive your buggy far ? Do you drive it for extended periods ? Do you want to risk overheating. (Pre dog house cooler positioning resulted in No 3 cylinder being prone to "dropping" an exhaust valve as the cooler sat above no 3 cylinder.

A buggy engine is in a compromised environment from that of a Beetle for example. The principle of cooling the heat from the oil still remains. Return your engine to how it should be I say. I am sure other forum members will give you there opinion also...   

113 degrees to evaporate water, no wonder I can't get my washing dry.

What Paul says.

Buggy engines can tend to run hotter than in a full bodied car as they don't have a controlled air flow, they can tend to 'stew in their own juices' so to speak. Except for the carburettor(s), they can tend to run cold... nightmare!

If you run minimum of fan housing with shroud over the doghouse cooler, cylinder tins and the little clip on ones bellow the cylinders/above the pushrod tubes you'll be fine.

Cylinder head temps are much more important than oil temps as that's where the heat is made, once the heat has made it through to the oil it can be too late so timing, compression ratio and fuel mixture also play an important part.

I knew of the oil cooling mods the previous owner had done to this buggy and had assumed he didn't use his buggy much and certainly didn't do any long journeys at sustained speed. He is quite correct that to remove water you do need to get the oil to a certain temperature. However if at the moment (not summer air temps) you have managed to get your oil up to 120C, come the summer when the the air temp is higher you are going to seriously overheat your engine. Remember your engine is aircooled, the warmer the outside air temperature then you get less cooling.  VW knew what they were doing when they designed the oil cooling and air flow on their engine and just because in a buggy the engine hangs out the back in the open it doesn't necessarily mean it cools better, although when fitted to a beetle or bus it is enclosed, because the full tinware and rubber seals ensure the air airflow  is directed in all the right places and cooling air is cold, taken from outside the engine compartment. Paul1953 is correct on a duel relief case when the engine is cold and the oil is thicker it does not flow through the oil cooler, it is diverted directly to the galleys that feed the crank and cam as the oil warms up and flows better it is then allowed to the oil cooler.                                                       
           My advise would be to reverse his mods back to standard.                                         90 to 110c is acceptable although in winter when air is cold you may struggle to get it up to 80c.  Oil temps will vary greatly dependent on air temp, length of journey and engine speed.
On my engine I have the minimum tinware that is required for a buggy (as stated by Manxdavid) + a 1.5 ltr oil sump extension and in the summer on a longer journey at sustained speeds of 75 mph my oil can still get to over 115c at which point I'm throttling back to manage the temp. On some of the journeys I do, with your modifications I would not get to my final destination

Just to show you the minimum tinware in picture form

VW spent time and money on a good working oil system why ruin it, if you motor has the flaps and the thermostat fitted it will warm up faster.
Buggies are limited use not doing 10,000 miles a year so any cold running degradation takes time but overheating that kills them rapidly

thanks for all your help, i will return it to how it should be, dog house cooler tin ware, cooler's in between tubes and barrels and do away with the reducer on back of the fan housing. hopefully no damaged caused from previous owner.

Totally agree with comments, VW obviously know what they are doing.

anyone have any tinware for sale hahahaha.

thanks

When I replaced my engine in 2012 I tried to get the cooling system back to the VW original spec



As I had all the original tinware from the original engine I left the flaps in position



I had to buy a new "Hoover bit" which was missing from original engine, it blocks the gap in front of the oil cooler in the fan



Original 1972 cylinder tins with cooling vanes to direct air correctly over cylinder head



"Item 2" is the original hot air feed to the carb air filter to stop manifold icing
"Item 3" is the original thermostat which I use during the winter to get the engine to warm up quicker
"Item 4" are bottom tins made from supermarket heavy duty baking trays cut down to suit and mounted on my engine cage

At 3500 rpm the fan produces 1200 cubic feet per minute of air flow through the oil cooler and over the cylinder heads

Chris