[JP Noonan]

Well if I were to do it the right way...

Use an adaptor plate (I've heard some are better than others as far as interference with the engine mounting bar, don't know which is which. One solution is to look at using a bus oil filter, made for the type-4 but is smaller in dia.) not a bypass that replaces the stock cooler.

Use an honest to goodness oil cooler not a trans cooler. Trans fluid is much thinner than oil, trans coolers can't always handle the pressure from cold oil.

Also use hydralic lines with threaded fittings instead of hose clamps.

If you live where the temp drops then use a thermostat (on the 911 "trombone" cooler they use thermostats) so you 1. get the oil up to temp and keep it there. 2. don't take the chance of blowing out a line or cooler.

The best place (practically speaking, if you want to keep the back trunk) is to put it up front like the 916 or M271 GT 914-6. Another place is to look at the "914 Lite" page the owner put a cooler under the trunk next to the trans with a fan.

Use a thermostatically controled fan.

All this is usless if you are running a car with a faulting stock system because you will still have "hot spots" causing engine wear and detonation. So check this first.

1. Engine compartment seal. It's hard if you have A/C but try to make it air-tight between the top of the motor and the bottom.

2. All the litle gaskets and seals. The spark plug holes, the oil pressure switch, the CHT hole. All these holes if left unpluged amount to a hole in your radiator, not a good thing.

3. Clean the block cooling fins on the bottom of the motor (while you're at it clean the whole block). Clean the cylinder fins (I've found 3 lost spark plugs and tons of pine needles in one motor). Also clean the trans as the VW uses the trans as a heat sink. Problem is you need to remove all the tin ware to do all this cleaning. I pull the motor and put in an old refigerator pan to catch all the dirt and carb cleaner.

Other things that overheat motors are too advanced timing and "luging" the motor in too low a gear. Luging a motor puts more strain on it at too low an RPM. The fan can't pull in enough air, and besides luging can bend the crank.

Mine isn't the only way. Just the right way (hahahahaha, that's pretty funny). Actually there is more to it we'll see if anyone else chimes in.