The cooling for a Lamborghini kit car is a frequently discussed topic. The V8 Archie kit has two recommendations, neither of which I used. One option is to extend
a pulley into the wheel well and use a belt to drive the factory water pump that was mounted upside
down. The second was to use a low clearance Moroso 63555 electric water pump. I tried to go this route, but the pump still didn't
have clearance between the engine and the rear shock tower. So, I decided to go with a Meziere WP136s remote electric water pump. It is mounted on the left side of
the chassis just to the rear of the engine.
Using galvanized pipe fittings, I fabricated my own intake system to address my clearance needs. This
system should push water equally into each side of the engine block effectively circulating the water out the top
of the engine through a Dendenbear ET1k expansion tank. This tank is mounted directly above the thermostat
and allows air to escape the system. I'm hoping this will greatly reduce any chance of air pockets
establishing in the cooling system. In addition, I fabricated a coolant tube that connects the expansion
tank to the electric water pump at the left rear side of the car just in front of the radiator. There are
two fittings welded in so that the heater core hoses can be connected to the original Fiero tubes that run under
the car. Of course they both leaked the first time, but the second time they held perfectly!
The radiators are four-core steel radiators purchased directly from NAERC. They are not mounted onto the
chassis, but rather onto steel brackets fiber glassed on the body. The radiators are connected to 2 1/2"
galvanized water pipes using Cool Flex hoses. It's not cheep, but Cool Flex is guaranteed for life and sure makes the
connections easy! The flexible pipe should also absorb any movement between the body and chassis.
The radiators are connected in series with the lower radiator outlet feeding the upper
outlet of the second radiator. Air from the radiators will be bled by the release values on the top
of each radiator. I will try this method first before having to install air release lines that lead to
another expansion tank. If I can release air from the three highest points in the cooling system
(expansion tank, radiators), that should remove any potential for air pockets in the system. For how the
system is wired, click here. Check out this video for an overview of the
system.
Oct 2013: Now that the engine is longitudinal, the cooling is much
easier. I installed a belt driven SBC short water pump. It clears the firewall by about 1/2".
There is now a dual belt drive system that drives the water pump. One of the belts drive the alternator and
the other drives the power steering pump. Brackets were made for both the alternator and PS pump. The
PS pump is a standard, mid-80's, pump from a Suburban with a built-in reservoir. Both items are mounted
pretty low to allow clearance to the cooling lines that run to and from the rear radiators.
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