Oil cooler a different path

When in doubt remember the KISS principle.

An 1835 probably doesn't even need an extra external cooler, if everything else is in proper working order (no air leaks around the engine tin, etc).

Don't overthink this.

Thanks Ron--nature of the beast--do it once so you don't get stranded. Yup-a bit ADD and surely ADHD-blame it on being a teacher-lol. Yes, there were issues from PO about the engine bay not being sealed around front tin--1/2 in gap that will be dealt with once engine is back in. Pulled head to determine the size of motor and had carbs rebuilt. Now its time to get on the road for some cruisng.. Many more items to work on come Nov.

If by front tin you mean around the bellhousing, don't worry too much about that seal (or lack there of); the engine needs air coming into the space above and around it to breathe, and the engine lid/grille in most cars doesn't provide enough air intake. What a lot of guys have done (and I believe VS Speedsters come  with already) is cut a 6-8" hole in the firewall directly in front of the fan intake on the shroud. In Beetles with high perf. engines I've known guys to leave off the piece around the bellhousing off to let more air in to the engine compartment, and the only thing to worry about is the fan sucking up a rag, plastic bag or even some big leaves from the road. The engine will need to be sealed off from the exhaust and around the sides, though. You shouldn't be able to see the ground from the sides or the rear of the engine compartment.

If your engine has an earlier shroud, get a doghouse shroud (and thermostat/flaps) and cooler and you'll probably find that's all it needs. I'm suggesting this instead of the block off and external cooler because leaving the cooler out of the shroud upsets the balance of airflow to both sides of the engine. Al

 Have the doghouse but no flaps or oem stat. Hole was in firewall in front of fan intake from PO(no screen as of yet) and a hole behind each carb (no screen either yet). Firewall was sealed up really good and yes--can see the ground around the tin from head to head over the exhaust. After its back in I'll fab up a seal for keeping exhaust heat out of engine bay. 

That will cause heat problems- hot, spent cooling air coming from under the engine, along with radiated heat from the exhaust will be recirculated into the cooling and intake systems, driving temperatures up. 

This is what you need to seal the engine bay around the tin:

http://www.gowesty.com/ec_view...;category_parent_id=

One side is foam and the other side is coated foam.  The coated side goes down.

Thanks for the link-I think I have a bus seal lying around here-looks like that should fix the gap.

Please read this:

http://www.geneberg.com/article.php?ArticleID=238

So what set up are you running Gordon? Excellent read from GB-Thanks

My set up is well documented in a 4-part article under Resources/Knowledge Base on this site, starting here:

https://www.speedsterowners.com...-1-mechanical-layout

but in summary:

2,110 running a stock 1971 fan shroud with the later, larger internal OEM oil cooler, later larger fan, all internal air vanes, stock VW thermostat bellows and linkages.  All original VW tins and heat shields were used where possible, and custom heat shields isolating the top from the bottom of the engine (same as those shipped with CMC kits, but made of HVAC sheetmetal instead of fiberglass).

I have a 6" diameter hole in the firewall right in front of the fan inlet, covered with 1/2" opening screen.

The engine cover is completely sealed around the edge (it's fully gasketed ) but I'm thinking of using four "button" cushions instead, as IM and Beck do, to see if that helps compartment air flow.

I have "full flowed" the engine case and installed an external filter and cooler as shown in the knowledge base articles.

Warm up is slow, but I seldom drive in temps under 50 or so.  This system holds oil temp to 205°F or lower, no matter what the ambient temps are, and at highway speeds Or less.

That's the summary.

Thanks Gordon-I appreciate you depth of knowledge and sharing of tech data.