? Sealing Off Rad Support For Cooling

[tflyboy77]

I'm working on sealing off all of the holes and gaps in the radiator shroud or ducting the air on my 77 Trans Am.
I have an aluminum radiator with twin electro fans and full shroud. I'm having issues getting enough air through it on the road course.
My question is, what are some good materials to use or methods to seal or duct the air better in order to increase cooling at high speeds. There are big gaps between the rad support and the fenders, tons of small holes in the support (factory AC holes etc.) and a small gap on each side of the radiator.
I looked at making a nascar style radiator duct but the nose of a trans am has so many curves and angles I'm afraid I'd make a career out of fabbing it.
All of these gaps are also not doing me any favors in the aerodynamics department either.

[71RS/SS396]

While those holes and gaps are certainly not helping with aero, I question if it's even hurting the aero much since the air can go under the core support if that's not closed off to the lower valence. I highly doubt closing off the holes in the core support will help your cooling at high speed. You have something else in the design of your cooling system causing that.
Your radiator may not be efficient enough to cool the engine at sustained high rpm, the a/c condensor could be blocking too much air, if the fans are running and your shroud is fully enclosed with no vent flaps it will dam the air going through the radiator.

[bmbrzmn101]

How about engine baffling seal like the air cooled aircraft engines use. Buy it in sheets, cut to fit. rivit in place. You can even find it in different colors now, not just black. Just an idea.

Chris

[tflyboy77]

I like the aircraft seal idea. I work in aviation.
71rs. I see were your going. I don't have AC but I do believe it could use a bit more radiator. I am currently maxed on size without a major core support mod. I am using a champion radiator which is one of the cheaper yet 100% welded radiators. Changing to the high dollar Radiators just isn't in the budget and I am doubtful if a high price unit would really fix everything.
I had also considered closing the bottom of the nose since there are more than enough openings in the front of these cars but that gets back to aero which is really not my first priority but would be a nice added benefit.

[Rick Dorion]

What specific issues are you having on the road course?

[71RS/SS396]

I like the aircraft seal idea. I work in aviation.
71rs. I see were your going. I don't have AC but I do believe it could use a bit more radiator. I am currently maxed on size without a major core support mod. I am using a champion radiator which is one of the cheaper yet 100% welded radiators. Changing to the high dollar Radiators just isn't in the budget and I am doubtful if a high price unit would really fix everything.
I had also considered closing the bottom of the nose since there are more than enough openings in the front of these cars but that gets back to aero which is really not my first priority but would be a nice added benefit.

You can get a radiator that will fit your car with a more efficient core. I have no problem keeping a 760 hp second gen cool on the track for a 30 minute session. Do you have a oil cooler? What are your oil temps? The oil also contributes to cooling the engine. I understand a $1000 radiator may not be in the cards... is an engine rebuild if you cook it?