Nose section
Now is time to get ready for the oil cooler.
6-1-2010
Looking at the front of my car, it looks unfinished. What my plans are is to finish it out in aluminum and add oil cooler and maybe some pusher fans at some point in the future.
I tried to find the sheet aluminum local but was shocked by the prices they wanted. I ended up buying it from http://www.metalsdepot.com. I could buy it and have it shipped for less than half of what they wanted locally! I bought 2 24” x 48” sheets of .063 6061-T6 Aluminum Sheets for $88.80. Shipping was only $1.40!
I began by making a template from cardboard for the side pieces. I pictured making 2 sides and a horizontal piece to tie it together. I used gasket edging from JC Whitney to keep it from rubbing the body and keep it tight. I had used this same material on the fender linings and liked the way it turned out.
I purchased a low cost metal brake from Harbor Freight that allowed me to bend the metal to fit the opening. It worked fairly well, but the sheets that I bought were almost too thick. I probably could have gone with .040 and it would have been enough. To attach the cross plate to the sides, I used 10-24 pop nuts with stainless cap screws. This will allow me to remove the cover to install and/or maintain the oil cooler in the future.
I assembled it to make sure all fit together, then disassembled it and installed it in the nose of the car. I had to relocate my radiator overflow to the side of the passenger piece and will need to relocate my horn. It turned pretty good and I hope to get started on the oil cooler fairly soon.
