Radiator cowl, home made.
Discussion
Okeeediddlydokee, not happy with existing fans and as the rad will have to come out to fit new ones, I was thinking of doing something similar to those ally rads you see in the shiny shops. That is the plate across the rad with the two fans.
So, how does one cut these two holes at home, if it is possible? I assume a pair of scissors is out as is a comically large drill. I am also assuming they (plates with holes) are not off the shelf.
In all reality I will probably just get a pair of Spall or Kenlowe and butt them up to the face of the rad. Still going to need some bending tongues to make new brackets. But just wondered if the holes in a sheet of metal were doable at home.
The old cowl BTW does exist but the fan failed, new ones fitted but they drag a lot of current and are straight bladed, old cowl used to make a mounting bracket for the new.
Redo the wiring while I am at it.
So, how does one cut these two holes at home, if it is possible? I assume a pair of scissors is out as is a comically large drill. I am also assuming they (plates with holes) are not off the shelf.
In all reality I will probably just get a pair of Spall or Kenlowe and butt them up to the face of the rad. Still going to need some bending tongues to make new brackets. But just wondered if the holes in a sheet of metal were doable at home.
The old cowl BTW does exist but the fan failed, new ones fitted but they drag a lot of current and are straight bladed, old cowl used to make a mounting bracket for the new.
Redo the wiring while I am at it.
My kenlowe fans fit directly to the radiator via rad fixing toggles so there are millimetres between blades and rad surface, the intention is to blik up the sides with rubber sheet although not done that yet. I've got an original pair of fan cowls but the way the kenlowe's are made they are surplus to requirements as the fans are in their own cowls, any way rubber is the way!
On the old cowl there's a rubber flap to either side that lets air pass when the fan is off. When the fan turns on there is slightly lower pressure inside the cowl and the flaps get pulled shut, so all the air passes through the fan.
With two fans I would have thought there's enough space between the blades to allow all air through but you do need to leave a couple of inches gap between the flat plate and the back of the rad to allow this air to flow.
As for cutting, Geoff, get some aviation snips and draw a line around where you want to cut. You could finish it off with a drill-mounted grinding stone. Tin snips come with "left hand" and "right hand" models to go around curves.
If you use relatively thin sheet to save weight, plus some angle aly on the inside to stiffen it, and pop rivet it together, it should be a relatively easy job.
With two fans I would have thought there's enough space between the blades to allow all air through but you do need to leave a couple of inches gap between the flat plate and the back of the rad to allow this air to flow.
As for cutting, Geoff, get some aviation snips and draw a line around where you want to cut. You could finish it off with a drill-mounted grinding stone. Tin snips come with "left hand" and "right hand" models to go around curves.
If you use relatively thin sheet to save weight, plus some angle aly on the inside to stiffen it, and pop rivet it together, it should be a relatively easy job.
adam quantrill said:
Wot - no billet aly and a CNC machine???? ;^)
Funny you should say that...;)A few years ago I did a job (not a million miles from your place, southeast of Peterboghorror) in a place that used literally tons of aluminium plate in different thicknesses. The end of the job over-ran and I was packing up when my old man (who was helping out) suggested trying to blag some offcuts 'for jobs on the car'.
I had a word, the staff member looked the other way and several tasty offcuts found their way into the van
Unfortunately I've used most of it on jobs for wok, not much left for me now
I put in a new fan and moved it nearer to the rad core and sealed off the flaps and edges. I haven't been out in the car yet as I am MOT bound in a couple of weeks. I also re-plumbed the cooling pipes and wired in a proper over ride switch and there is a big difference when I ran the car car up to temp on idle as everything cooled down a lot quicker than before. Big test will come when I am back on the road in a couple of weeks though.
I have just had my rad recored, fitted a new fan and refurbed the cowl by replacing the rubber flaps with nitrile. There are also rubber flaps on the front of the side mounting brackets which seal the sides of the rad and ensure all the air is directed through the core. I replaced these with nitrile as well.
Might be too far then. At the moment they butt up against the rad and pull and seem to do OK though I am never happy in traffic. The old single fan and cowl were taken off in my paranoia, the flaps had I think shaped off. I thought that if I am going to change the fans then I can get some other stuff done as well and maybe improve it.
We have a long reach hole punch in work but that would take ages nibbling away and leave an edge sharper than a Great Whites gob and would need fettling. Thought of tin snips and know about left and right etc. Great fun watching someone mangle a sheet when they want to cut straight but did not know they have a left cut
But don't trust myself to keep it good unless I had an unlimited supply of free sheet alloy.
One other thought was cutting tool from a lathe on a bit of wire attached to a nut and bolt in the centre and spin it around. I know alloy can be soft but methinks that might not be so easy.
Still going to make new brackets I think and glass the old cowl back together.
Think the biggest improvement I made was the filling tin the air gap above and below to stop air spilling away and prevent some warm air getting recirculated in traffic.
Still, working OK at the moment. Buy fans, couple of sheets and try maybe? Not done any proper metal bashing in years, maybe I should just for the therapy
We have a long reach hole punch in work but that would take ages nibbling away and leave an edge sharper than a Great Whites gob and would need fettling. Thought of tin snips and know about left and right etc. Great fun watching someone mangle a sheet when they want to cut straight but did not know they have a left cut
But don't trust myself to keep it good unless I had an unlimited supply of free sheet alloy.One other thought was cutting tool from a lathe on a bit of wire attached to a nut and bolt in the centre and spin it around. I know alloy can be soft but methinks that might not be so easy.
Still going to make new brackets I think and glass the old cowl back together.
Think the biggest improvement I made was the filling tin the air gap above and below to stop air spilling away and prevent some warm air getting recirculated in traffic.
Still, working OK at the moment. Buy fans, couple of sheets and try maybe? Not done any proper metal bashing in years, maybe I should just for the therapy
I have something I bought many years ago at a car fest called a "nibbler" it was great at this sort of job. Eventually though it went blunt and doesn't nibble any more. Take a look at ebay item 131149730301 - it looks just like that.
It will leave quite a smooth edge, and they are really useful for cutting all sorts of sheet metal.
It will leave quite a smooth edge, and they are really useful for cutting all sorts of sheet metal.
Aldi do an air-powered nibbler from time to time, I have one somewhere, think it was about £12.
I also have my dad's ancient Lesto electric nibbler that he used for car bodywork repairs in the 70s/80s (and it was secondhand then!): dates from the days when men were men and power-tools were made of metal and would electrocute you in a heartbeat (pun intended
) - dunno why I didn't think of mentioning the nibbler either 
I also have my dad's ancient Lesto electric nibbler that he used for car bodywork repairs in the 70s/80s (and it was secondhand then!): dates from the days when men were men and power-tools were made of metal and would electrocute you in a heartbeat (pun intended
) - dunno why I didn't think of mentioning the nibbler either I have used the hole punch to make holes to suit but that is easy for smaller jobs. Selection of square and circular punches (and specialist connector uses etc) usually get you what you want within reason. Some of the larger cut outs end with jagged edges from the mismatch in adjoining hole punches. Tis the reason I am loath to use the hole punch. Does the nibbler do differently then?
Hmmm, didn't have my metal-cutting head on earlier... the Lesto isn't a nibbler, it's an electric shear (so there's another option for the mix ).
The nibbler usually works by having a narrow blade that reciprocates like a jigsaw blade, but it cuts a small shard with every downstroke, creating a slot as it goes. So if you mark an outline you need to cut on whichever side you don't mind losing some metal
The electric shear also has a reciprocating blade but it works like scissors, effectively tearing one side from the other, with no shards or kerf. The resultant edge is sharp but not jagged.
Here's the shear:
The business end:
Still in the original box
Obviously if you're cutting from a sheet edge you just go straight in, but to start mid-sheet needs a sizeable hole making for the anvil to pass through - a nibbler has the same issue.
).The nibbler usually works by having a narrow blade that reciprocates like a jigsaw blade, but it cuts a small shard with every downstroke, creating a slot as it goes. So if you mark an outline you need to cut on whichever side you don't mind losing some metal
The electric shear also has a reciprocating blade but it works like scissors, effectively tearing one side from the other, with no shards or kerf. The resultant edge is sharp but not jagged.
Here's the shear:
The business end:
Still in the original box
Obviously if you're cutting from a sheet edge you just go straight in, but to start mid-sheet needs a sizeable hole making for the anvil to pass through - a nibbler has the same issue.
Cheers for the info Ian.
I have access sot some gash off cuts. Me thinks I need to practice on the long reach hole cutter, measuring it up first to see if it is long enough. We also have some bolt up hole cutters so large hole for a starter are not an issue. Tis where the two rad holes meet in the middle I think I cannot reach or part of their circumference and will need something like a nibbler.
Of course, could ask one of the ali rad makers if they sell them separately......
I have access sot some gash off cuts. Me thinks I need to practice on the long reach hole cutter, measuring it up first to see if it is long enough. We also have some bolt up hole cutters so large hole for a starter are not an issue. Tis where the two rad holes meet in the middle I think I cannot reach or part of their circumference and will need something like a nibbler.
Of course, could ask one of the ali rad makers if they sell them separately......
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