I appreciate what he's doing and have no skepticism of his project, nor it's execution.
That said and in your question to how:
The hotter and dryer the environment, the harder it is to cool a water-cooled engine with airflow.
Heat still rises and in an engine bay with the cowl as the highest point, being stopped, an open cowl can help.
In my experience with a totally different line of cars, the cowl seal doesn't help cooling. That's:
In ambient temps exceeding 120 F.
Daily driver type driving 85mph and under.
Observing temps w/ a scanner.
That said, cooling fan, humidity, use of the vehicle, and different characteristics of the exterior of the car do matter.
Carry on.
Thanks. The handling actually improved with the V8 as it was a major weight reduction from the cast iron V6. Extra power and torque certainly helps.
The fans are not an issue. They are fine keeping it cool when not moving, the times it runs hot are at speeds 50 mph and over. No fan is going to move as much air as that. I wish I could keep the sleeper look and have worked hard to do so, but it's time to get it done.




just tossing out an idea, but what about an external oil cooler?
I've tried looking into an external oil cooler, but the problem is adapting the stock water cooled one to work with an external oil cooler. Nobody that I've talked to knows if there is a "sandwich adapter" that will fit. The filter on this engine is massive and holds a quart all on its own. I'll continue looking at this though.
I spent some time today making a new shifter knob for the Audi. The stock one is plastic wrapped in leather. While it was functional, it didn't look very good for being 16 years old.
Bought a chunk of Yucatan Rosewood and turned down the shape I wanted.
![]()
![]()
Bored out the center for a nut to thread on the shift lever and did some final sanding.
![]()
The remainder of the hole inside was filled with epoxy and lead shot. It's now almost twice the weight of the stock knob. Finish it off with some gloss polyurethane and voila!
![]()
![]()
That's beautiful! May I ask why the added weight? Most times people want a lighter shift knob.
Tommy
Been restoring some classic 1950's British machinery
![]()
Clint
A lot of big projects in this thread, but the small ones are what get me.
Any kind of workspace can be beneficial for getting things done, even a table in a corner of the bedroom or a bench under the stairs.
I have a one car garage, turned into a shop.
It is finally cleared enough to be useful for some things.
Latest item is a bicycle mod.
Wife just bought a new bike, a Specialized Expedition Sport Low Entry.
Since Specialized doesn't manufacture and sell mirrors for their bikes, they made no provisions for a bar end mirror.
I had a Mountain Mirrycle bar end mirror I wanted to use, but it wouldn't work because the aero grips on the bike already had a mechanism inside the bar to keep them in place.
![]()
One solution that was suggested, was to cut the end off the grip and remove the internal mechanism. Then the mirror could be installed inside instead.
But this would leave the aero grip loose and able to rotate. Not good.
So I looked at the mirror itself.
It has a wedge against wedge method of gripping inside the bar end to hold it in place. This works with different inside diameters of bar, but not perfectly. It wants to mount at a slight angle. You have to be careful when mounting it. Here is what the parts look like:
http://www.mirrycle.com/instructions/mountain%20mirror%20assembly%20instructions%202008.pdf
This mechanism has a loose wedge with a barrel nut that the bolt goes through. The other wedge is molded as part of the plastic stem of the mirror. In addition, it takes a smaller and longer bolt than the grip that comes with the bike.
I determined that if I cut of the integral wedge, and then drilled and countersunk the mirror, I could use a bolt like the grip used, but about 25mm longer, I could mount the mirror on the grip and use the grips internal mechanism (With a longer bolt) to secure both the mirror and the grip.
So I took a hacksaw and cut off the wedge shape, filed the rough cut smooth, drilled and countersunk for the new bolt, and am going to go get a longer bolt. BTW, the "Bolt" is a M6-1 x 65mm socket head cap screw.
I love that having some basic tools allows you to solve problems that manufactures have failed to.
It's POWER!
Photos soon.
Bill
No disrespect intended, I firmly believe in "it's your car, do what makes you happy", but that logic is kinda backwards. Look at real race shifter knobs. They're usually hollow or made out of light weight, low mass materials and it's not just for overall weight savings.
Cheap, "Ricer" shifters are often made extra heavy because the kiddies like the way the extra weight helps them to shift faster. A heavy shifter deadens the feel. It also beats on synchros. Lead shot is even worse as it absorbs shock and vibration. What do you think is in a dead blow hammer?
Again, I mean no disrespect and you did a beautiful job. If you like the results, I'm in no postion to judge. Please don't take it as if I am trying to. I'm always envious of you guys that have woodworking skills. I have next to none. I tell people the thing I do best with wood is burn it in my fire pit.
Tommy
I Pooped in the garage twice today.
It's always a pleasure to not have to walk up to the house
I should probably put in a toilet.
I should probably pull down my pants.
there are lots of variables.

I've tried looking into an external oil cooler, but the problem is adapting the stock water cooled one to work with an external oil cooler. Nobody that I've talked to knows if there is a "sandwich adapter" that will fit. The filter on this engine is massive and holds a quart all on its own. I'll continue looking at this though.
Been restoring some classic 1950's British machinery
![]()
A Kenwood A700 mixer. This was my grandmothers & must have processed literally tons of baking products over the years. My mother really liked it for some jobs but was getting a bit worried that it was making funny noises & she thought she'd had a bit of an electrical tingle if touching it while running
So I got it all stripped down to find it in really good shape mechanically. The drivetrain is all quite beefy, they sure don't build them like this any more.
![]()
Bare metal re-spray on the cases:
![]()
Then on to the motor unit... not so pretty
![]()
Lots of cracked & melted insulation & some components missingFortunately I had found a repair kit on ebay with the full set of replacement electrical components & seals & it came with a good dummies guide to rewiring the motor with the modern parts.
![]()
There's quite a bit going on in there with the speed controller adjusted by the dial then the speed is kept load independent by a governor mechanism on the motor shaft.
Now on to the re-assembly, will post more pics when she's done.
Clint
Wasn't in my garage but moms filling up a moving dolly tire. Split rim exploded on me, throwing the tire to the side of my hand that was holding the stem in place for filling. Lucky my 74 year old mom wasn't in line of fire as no way she would of walked away from that rubber projectile that gave me a broken arm, fractured thumb and shattered knuckle.
Looking for a good quality air line attachment that has the clip on for tire stem and trigger valve 4' away. So far only 1' has been found.
Made a garden tool rack for a friend.
I spent some time today making a new shifter knob for the Audi. The stock one is plastic wrapped in leather. While it was functional, it didn't look very good for being 16 years old.
This morning at 1:15 I finished putting injectors in my 2007 GMC Duramax 6.6 C5500 work truck. Glad that's done. Hope to put more "stuff" on the shelves from the recent move. Tough moving from a garage you was in for 11 years.
I have to move because of my asthma and I have lived here for 25 years! I am dreading it.
JOhn
