Spacenuts nose mounted raditor setup video 2novas2

[ydeardorff]

Spacenuts nose mounted radiator setup video 2novas2

I was watching this video again, and just noticed a couple of things..

First a custom fuel cell, and nose mounted radiator..


Next a rather unique lil thing,

The nose scoops of Spacenuts car have been cleverly reversed, its done in such a way its barely noticeable, yet acts as a functional set of vents for the radiator in the nose.

One other trick thing, is how Spacenut designed the gas tank,... see how the shape of the gas tank actually acts as the bottom of a plenum to force the hot air up and out the vents?

Very cool little set of mods! It adds nose mounted cooling, and adds the fuel tank in the nose which adds more weight to the nose as well. good X2*thumbs up*

 

[farfegnubbin]

Lauren has done a whole lot of cool embellishments to that car, and the modified hood vents are one of my favorites. What I love about them is that they are 100% sensible and functional AND she very artistically "stayed true" to the design mofits of the original. What a cool combination. I remember that the first time I saw that hood and realized what she'd done, I broke out it a big grin like, "Yes, of course...just graft in those existing vents facing rearwards! Great idea!"

Dave (at Sterling Sports Cars) and I have actually discussed it, and he had the attitude of "Cool! Make it happen and we'll take a mold of it and produce it."

I wonder what radiator she used. And I wonder if those fans are thermostatically controlled or if she has to run them constantly. I'll write to her and ask.

I like the fabrication work on the tank. I get a little nervous about haveing a tank up front and in close proximity to wires, but she didn't really have much choice. If I'm not mistaken, she has an Alpha engine in that, mounted in mid-engine configuration. So the tank had to go somewhere, and I think she found the best solution for it.

I wonder how her car actually drives. the way it's set up, it should be a very nicely balanced ride. Anyone want to do a "road" trip to England?


The other hood variation I'm considering would be to essentially start with Lauren's modification to establish the basic borders of the scoops but to bridge them together as one, wider, rear facing scoop. The overall sides and borders would be the same as hers, but they would just be seamlessly connected to eachother side-to-side. I think this would still look good, still stick with thas particular style motif, and yet would allow even more air to flow.

Thanks for capturing and posting those screen shots, Yaughn. I've been wishing I had a few still pics of Spacenut's hood.

 

[ydeardorff]

No problem,

Placing wires next to the gas tank is common in almost all cars, you just don't see it.
As long as the proper care is taken and the ground wire is disconnected prior to any maintenance, you should be fine. Given the body of the car is non conductive is an even bigger plus for you. My only concern would the the flash point of gasoline. Having the tank up front is a great thing, it adds weight to the nose which is critical to the proper distribution of weight in the car, and makes the gas filler unneeded on the body.

I would only think of a way to make a heat shield over the tank, the air coming in through that radiator would be damn hot, and gasoline doesn't like heat. Er maybe I should say it does! too much!!!!

However with proper insulation the tank would stay safely at a comfy temp. A couple thoughtfully placed louvers under the nose between the heat shield and the tank itself would direct air between the two, that would exit the nose vents.

That would solve the issue totally.

I would only sculpt the tank to act more like a duct, to help the airflow more smoothly.

I would imagine the rad fans are thermostatically controlled. Most fans that Ive seen have te temp switches installed in the fan itself.
It does give new hope to the front mounted radiator issue though! we just need to find out what radiator was used, and how well it works.

 

[ydeardorff]

Reply from Spacenut:

Hi Yaughn - thank you for your comments. The Green Machine is my Nova, which I have tried to update beneath the skin while still keeping the original lines which so attracted me to the car in the first place.

The engine and transaxle I am using is from a 1978 Alfa Romeo Alfasud Ti. It is only a 1500cc normally aspirated boxer engine with a single overhead cam-per-bank and twin downdraft carburettors. The body of the car is completely unstressed and is supported by a custom steel tubular chassis frame. This is why the bodywork around the front mounted fuel tank differs from the production Nova.

I have used the original Alfasud coolant radiator, mounted at an angle of approx. 45° in the nose. The radiator is supported by 20mm chassis tube extensions from the main 30mm box members and the fibreglass bodywork is extended down and around it. The flat panel between the front of the compartment and the top of the radiator is important to stop air bleeding around the radiator before it can pass through the core. It goes without saying the spare wheel well has been cut out completely. The nosecone has what looks like an air intake but is blanked off across the middle. Normally that is where the licence plate is fitted. On my car I have cut out an oval intake, leaving connecting webs each side to retain the shape of the moulding. Even with this in place the moulding is pre-stressed and tries to adopt a slightly different shape. Cold air is passed through the radiator under ram air pressure, and the hot air is exhausted through the reversed vents in the bonnet.

I fitted a pair of Alfasud electric fans (normally only one is fitted) just in case cooling was marginal, but I am pleased to say that at speeds above 40mph the engine stays cool without the fans being needed. I recently drove 260 miles to a show and the fans didn't come on once!

I don't know how this set-up will work with a 2.5 litre Scooby Turbo though. Its definately the best cooling solution (don't even consider rear or flank-mounted radiators), but you will almost certainly require a bigger core, probably with 3-rows instead of my 2. Also be very careful of air-locks - they form easily on long pipe runs but can be expelled by keeping the header tank as high as possible (in the engine bay is the only option) and putting in strategically placed bleed valves. I used standard domestic radiator bleed valves, but I am using 32mm copper pipe so I could use plumbing solder to make the joints.

Good luck with your build - I look farward to seeing a video walkaround of your car soon!

Lauren