[FC] bottom shrouds and damper doors

[Mikeamauro at aol.com]

"...In regards of the lower shrouds...In the summer time here in the  
Tucson desert, I believe with the shrouds and damper doors , t-stats off my eng  
runs cooler... In the cooler months, I put the shrouds  back on in order to  
have heat in the cabin. Some say the eng was engineered to run year around 
with  shrouds and dampers on, to regulate and have even temps of the eng and 
the oil  temp. . Was the corvair, and especially the vans ever tested in 
the  extreme  desert heat,,,? ...So what is the general  opinion out there?  
Leave them on or take them off?...Ron J Bloom..."


My 2-cents: here in Florida, with both my Corvairs, I seasonally  remove 
and reinstall the lower shrouds. If I do not, during summer months, even  with 
the heads modified with a .032 quench distance, running 93-octane  premium 
fuel, and using SafeGuards, knock and ping can be an issue (for power  and 
efficiency, I typically run 14-degrees initial advance in the van, and  
17-degrees with the 67 coupe... both have 110s). I must add: both vehicles are  
air conditioned , and have PG transmissions. The crux of the issue, back when 
 our vehicles were engineered, the available fuel was much higher octane;  
hence, then, Corvairs would likely run OK, in all seasons, with the lower  
shrouds in place. A hot engine is not necessarily totally bad, until the  
temperatures reached cause detonation.
 
Mike Mauro
67 Factory Air Coupe  _http://rides.webshots.com/album/58895182BNCYAp_ 
(http://rides.webshots.com/album/58895182BNCYAp) 
64 Greenbrier Deluxe  _http://rides.webshots.com/album/570726324yWHxul_ 
(http://rides.webshots.com/album/570726324yWHxul)