<VV> external oil cooler

[Frank DuVal]

Bruce,

I have to go with Bob on not needing an external oil cooler for "normal" 
driving.

The gearheads and racers would read the gage and understand what it 
meant, but the average driver that enjoys his/her Corvair will not have 
a clue what oil temp should be. Also, what is too cool?  I would think 
215 °F would be really cold for oil. Water temps for water cooled cars 
need to be over 190 °F for efficiency of combustion. Oil should be 
warmer. 215 °F doesn't seem hot enough to drive out the condensed water 
vapor.

I have never worked on a Corvair in non-race duty that had an external 
oil cooler. Wait, there was one, but it was owned by an engineer that 
liked to tinker. A 1966 Turbo convertable with relays and motors 
everywhere. His engine didn't seem to last any longer than my normal 
customers. i.e. it was still running after years of service.

These aren't VWs with the oil cooler heating one cylinder more than the 
other three. For "normal" use just keep the stock cooler clean and the 
oil will be fine. Most of us still change the oil every 3000 miles 
anyway. For racing or continuous high output power applications, more 
cooling would be good. A turbo can't keep itself cool at continuous full 
ouput power. But it is hard to keep your foot in it for that long 
without getting a ticket! gggg

Now if you can show an external oil cooler will keep valve seats from 
falling out, we'll talk. gggg

Frank DuVal


Bruce Schug wrote:

>On Apr 6, 2008, at 6:17 PM, HallGrenn at aol.com wrote:
>
>  
>
>>Arend,  Unless you are doing a lot of hard driving I don't see why  
>>you  would
>>want to add another oil cooler.  If you keep the cooling fins  
>>clean,  have
>>all your sheet metal securely attached and nothing is missing then  
>>your  engine
>>should operate just fine.  I drove two Corvairs over 50,000 miles   
>>(80K
>>kilometers) in Europe when I was in my twenties (and back then I  
>>cruised at  70 to
>>80 miles per hour with one straight run at 90 to 95 from Mannheim to
>>Bremerhaven with one stop for gas )and I never had any overheating  
>>problems with  the
>>stock oil cooler.  I still have the last Monza.  I would spend the   
>>money to be
>>sure that everything GM put on your car originally is still there  and
>>working properly first before you add an external cooler unless you  
>>are  going to
>>seriously race it or modify the engine.
>>    
>>
>
>Bob,
>
>I'm sure you know what you're talking about but, did you have an oil  
>temperature gauge? I suspect that if more Corvairs were equipped with  
>oil temperature gauges, more owners would want additional oil cooling.
>
>Bruce
>
>
>
>Bruce W. Schug
>Treasurer, CORSA South Carolina
>Greenville, SC
>Stock Corvair Group Member
>bwschug at charter.net
>
>CORSA member since 1980
>
>'67 Monza. "67AC140"
>
>  
>