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Trial Fitting
Before getting the machine work carried out on the case I will need to decide which cooling system I'll use as this will dictate what sort of machining I will need to have carried out. This preferably needs to be decided before splitting the case.
I have several possible choices for the cooling. Keep the original 'pancake' setup, convert to a T1 style upright conversion, go for a Porsche style cooling fan (of which there are two types, upright and horizontal).
Pancake Cooling:
The pancake conversion would would work pretty well in terms as of sizing as it is similar to the stock T3 setup. However the pancake version is quite heavy as it uses a large casting and is not as efficient as the other types of fans.
T1 Style Upright:
The Type 1 upright style looks good but would stick up above the deck. I'm not too bothered about this as my manifolds will be too tall to retain the stock engine lid anyway. I would like to have used the T1 upright conversion but when I trial fitted the shroud the manifolds wouldn't fit. Even if they did the linkage would prove very problematic. I tried it with a non-doghouse shroud which I think is wider than a doghouse version so I might try a doghouse out of curiosity if I can get hold of one..
Upright Porsche Style Fan:
The Porsche shroud that I offered up has a reasonable amount clearance for the manifolds. The shroud I tried is a Willibald Tuning shroud. This is actually one of the first generation on T4/Porsche fan conversions and so is a bit taller than the currently available kits. This is good news and bad news for my particular conversion. First up, it means that the shroud I have probably won't get used as the newer kits are a 'lower profile' taking up less overall room in the engine bay (and boot!) giving me more room for the throttle linkage and F.I. System.
There also happens to be two styles of second generation low profile shrouds, one that retains the oil cooler in the stock position and another that is designed to be used with a remote cooler. The version that keeps the stock cooler location is frowned up by the guys on the Typ4Rum as the cooler doesn't get the airflow it requires. I will probably go with that version initially though just to get my project up and running with less messing about and then switch at a later date when I have determined how my setup is running.
The low profile Porshe shroud does raise on last problem though. I am planning to retain the Vanagon '205' distributor but looking at photos of the Porsche cooling system I may have problems with the clearnce of the vacuum canister. I may be able to turn the distributor through 180 degrees to avoid clearance problems.
Horizontal Porsche Style Fan:
This system might be a good compromise but I have two problems.
1. The kits are quite expensive and I don't have access to one for trial fitting purposes with shelling out the cash.
2. I have heard that they can eat fanbelts pretty quickly due to the 90 degree turn the belt has to do which is inherent with the design.
As a reference here some pics of system above. One from Reichert Tuning (Germany) and one from L.A. Performance (UK).
Since writing this page another cooling system has hit the streets, actually it's an updated and re-released version of the original DTM system. The newer version of the DTM is sold by Aircooled Technology