1970 stock oil cooler location

Raymond · 02-22-2002, 07:38 PM

can anyone tell me where the oil cooler was located from the factory on a 1970 T coupe? thanks.

pwd72s · 02-22-2002, 07:41 PM

The same place it was located on a 1970 911S..only it was standard on the S models, optional on T's. Up front, right front fender...a radiator cooler.

Raymond · 02-22-2002, 07:53 PM

ok. if a car didn't have one and runs a constant 180 degrees, how cool would it run with a factory '70 cooler in that location? and why would something like an oil cooler be optional on an air-cooled car??

pwd72s · 08:12 PM

If you're running a constant 180? In your location? I wouldn't bother worrying about getting a front cooler. That's when the thermostat controlling the flow to the front cooler opens, 180 or so. The need for the front cooler seems to be climate related, but also horsepower related. Horsepower above 170 or so is about where the line is. If your '70 is a stock T? You're under that line. And I'd better do an apologetic edit here...your '70 T did come with an oil cooler...but it's mounted at the rear. Go under your car, look up..right side of the engine, towards the front of the car? See that funny radiator hanging down? That's the standard cooler. The optional front mounted cooler is in the right front fender, with hard lines running from the oil tank to it. Hope this explains it....standard equipment, T's had one cooler, S's had two.

Raymond · 02-22-2002, 08:17 PM

it's stock except for the 2.2 S barrels and pistons, solex cams, and K&N filters. the only time i've ever seen it go over 200 or so is going up the grapevine (huge hill north of LA). going down that hill makes it go down to 165 or so! i always thought the cooler was in the right front wheelwell, and my car doesn't have on there so i was wondering what gives. thanks for the advice.

i'll post pics of the car as soon as i get my scanner.

Jack Olsen · 10:53 PM

One thing to remember about operating temperature is that you want it to get up to 180/190, as quickly as possible. It's why your car has a thermostat(s). Guys who boast that their car never gets above 170 always make me laugh. Either your gauge is broken, or there's something wrong with your engine. Operaing temperature is necessary and good.

Occasional periods where the oil -- at some point in its progress through the engine -- is heated to 212 degrees is also good, since that is what will remove the moisture in the oil supply.

220 and above is bad.

250 is "too damn hot."

But below 180 is not very good for the car, either.

Fishcop · Fishcop's Garage

Talking of cool, I found a typo in Jacks last note! Can't be too many of those?

Jack Olsen · 02-23-2002, 12:51 AM

Martinis with dinner.

Raymond · 02-23-2002, 10:19 AM

jack, i'm not 'boasting' that the car runs 170 or such. that's the purpose of my inquiry, that the car runs a constant 180 degrees and stays around that unless i'm climbing the grapevine. it drops below 170 or so going down the other side of the vine. i was wondering how much cooler it would run with an oil cooler... if it's 180-190 now without a cooler, i don't know if it should have one. the gauge and thermostat's fine because it absolutely does fluctuate, but does stay under 200 which seems fine for living here in SoCal. thanks for your input everyone.

Raymond · 02-23-2002, 10:29 AM

and jack, did your car which is a T have one from the factory? mine's a '70 and i believe yours is a '73. mine looks nearly identical except mine's silver with chrome headlight rings. nice car, i've seen your great website.

911nut · 911nut's Garage

Oil temperature in any internal combustion engine is related to engine speed. The higher the average revs, the hotter the oil will get. Conventional mineral based motor oil begins to break down at 300 degrees F. If you are running your car at a track and the oil temp gage gets to 300 degrees your engine won't explode or sieze up. All it means is that ,if you are running mineral oil, you should change it right after the track event.

Jack Olsen · 03:15 PM

Raymond, I didn't mean you as a 170-degree boaster. If your temps are consistently under 200, then you don't need an external cooler.

My car may have come with a factory cooler, since this was often the case in southern parts of the US with factory-AC equipped cars. But by the time I got it, someone had added an aftermarket cooler in place of the original.

Quote:

If you are running your car at a track and the oil temp gauge gets to 300 degrees, your engine won't explode or sieze up. All it means is that, if you are running mineral oil, you should change it right after the track event.

911Nut is an engineer, and I'm not, but I would disagree with this advice. If an early car gets up to 300 degrees, I think the condition of your engine oil is the least of your worries. The two things high operating temperatures damage are seals, especially in earlier cars, which get cooked and start to lose their ability to function -- and the engine itself. On metal wear charts for temperatures above 210 degrees, the rate at which metals break down increases dramatically between 220 degrees and 300 (and above). It's not linear at all. It goes up, and then really goes up.

A good rule of thumb with an early car is to pull over and cool down if you get near 240 degrees. If you're at 250 in an early car, you're doing damage. With later engines, with more modern seals and synthetic oils, you're not going to bring on the apocalypse by running 250-degree temperatures, but it's not a great idea, either.

pwd72s · 02-23-2002, 06:42 PM

Jack? You think maybe Raymond should check the accuracy of the gauge and/or the sending unit???