Air Intake

[gps350se]

Hi Folks
I am rebuilding a 90 SE and am doing lots of mod's.
The engine being built will need a lot more cooling.I have just taken my fuel tanks out and i am thinking of ducting the air directly from the vent and missing all that wheel arch stuff out. Has anyone done this?. The only thing i can see my be a problem is a wet air filter should it rain.

[cnh1990]

One of the purposes of the wheel arch box is to help silence the air intake noise. as long as you don't mind a big sucking sound it will be okay. You can also channel the air through the the left ducts as well as the lower naca ducts. Carb equiped cars also has electric fans mounted in in engine cover. Don't run the engine without the cover as the you will not have the foil heat sheild on the reverse side of cover and heat is hot enough to cook the deck paint and make it orange peel really bad.
Calvin 90 SE

[gps350se]

Thanks Calvin the fan's in the engine cover sound a good idea.

[83 turbo]

Calvin, I did not know that lotus had actually put fans on the engine cover, it is a mod (I thought unique) I was considering doing to my own car, to help with cooling when stuck in traffic etc. Do you know which models lotus put them on? and how many fans they fitted? Diameter?
Thanks, Jez. UK

[cnh1990]

My really good friend Jim has one on his 85 turbo G car. It is supposed to prevent vapor lock on carb equiped cars with louvers on the hatch. I'm not sure if the ones with a glass hatch back are equiped such a fan. Whenever I am near his car and give him a hand to remove his hatch he always reaches under the hatch and unplugs a mod plug to disconnect the fan before we remove the hatch cover from the car. I recall it only had one fan and it even stays on if the car is switched off so it has some type of thermal switch on it.
Calvin

[83 turbo]

Should not be too difficult to rig something similar on my car, i'll add it to my ever increasing list of stuff to do on the car. Thanks, Jez U.K.

[cnh1990]

You can still get a hatch with a fan as it comes up for sale once in a while. Only thing I don't think your car has vented louvers as in the 86-87 HCI cars does it?
Calvin

[cnh1990]

oops meant to say 85-87 cars

[83 turbo]

Calvin, mine does have the vented louvres, I believe it was the non turbo model that had a glass panel instead of the louvres.
Thanks, Jez.