I'm building a mostly stock 350 for my '69 convertible w/turbo 400, power steering, and I expect to be adding a Vintage Air system in my "Next Phase". In that this is my daily driver, and I live in Las Vegas, I'm trying to take whatever steps I can to keep engine/trans temperatures down.

It feels like I'm getting more sales pitch than information from Speed Shop counter guys so I'm hoping for some straight answers/experiences from the Camaro community.

What's the best setup for external oil coolers? I've seen adapters that spin on between the block and the filter with AN fittings, and I've seen adapters that send oil to a remote filter AND cooler. What's better? If remote filter/cooler, what order?...Adapter, filter, cooler, adapter... OR adapter, cooler, filter, adapter? What type of cooler? Tube or Plate?

Any additional oiling system requirements? I'm told I need a High Volume Pump...OR... a High PRESSURE Pump...OR a stock pump with no more than an 1/8th inch shim under the pressure valve spring...OR a stock "Z/28" pump. HUUUUUGH!!??

Maybe the most important question is...will any of this make any difference anyway?

From what I've seen, I think if you can keep the engine coolant cool. The oil will stay cool. If the engine oil runs hot, it will be very hard to cool the oil if the engine coolant is hot.

If I were going to run the engine hard as in a tow vehicle, or race car, I'd think about getting a radiator with an oil cooler inside the drivers side tank and put in a sandwich adapter to divert the oil to the rad and back.

A corvette cooler diverts coolant to the sandwich cooler above the oil filter but they do very little cooling because they are very small.
David

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The older I get, the faster I was!

I agree with David. Get the best coolant system components you can buy. In the long run you can't go wrong.

As for the pump, high-volume would be OK, but high-pressure/volume is un-necessary IMO for a mild engine. Most small block oil related failures I've seen are due to contamination and not a lack of volume/pressure. Run a quality motor oil as well. You may want to contact your chosen oil company for a recommendation about what type of oil would work best for you.

Thanks! External oil coolers sound like a lot of work, parts, and potential leaks of a vital fluid for miniscule benefit.

Now about that "Best cooling system". I currently have a stock 3-row radiator,water pump, shroud & fan (there is no fan clutch). Are there any benefits to aluminum and/or high volume pumps? "S"/triple-flow radiators? Electric fans? Etc.?

What suggestions do you have for a reliable, and effective cooling system for a car that sees daily traffic in a town where ambient air temperature reaches nearly 120F and the streets get so hot you can literally cook flesh?

Before you do ANYTHING else with your cooling system, go to www.stewartcomponents.com (http://www.stewartcomponents.com) and THOROUGHLY peruse that site. Go to the Q&A forum and read the posts. If you have questions, post them on the forum and Howard Stewart will personally answer them... this dude's FORGOTTEN more about vehicle cooling than most of us will ever know!

Howard is a big fan of high-flow water pumps, modified Robertshaw thermostats, aluminum radiators and Spal electric fans. However, if you are doing a total resto, he's got some good ideas on maximizing the effectiveness of OEM cooling systems (he makes water pumps that use the OEM casting, but all of the internals are modified for maximum effectiveness; they work great on the inside and look stock on the outside).

NO, I don't work for Stewart!

Good luck!

Big O Dave

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First of all consistent temperature of the engine is the important thing. If you have a 180 degree coolant thermostat, you want the engine to run within five degrees of that whether you're in the desert or the mountains. Next you want a higher capacity oil pan--7 quarts is fine. If you choose a cooler, then remember that the filter comes first as coolers can clog with any impurity so putting the filter first helps prevent that. As for pressure versus volume of the oil pump, both are good but follow the old rule of thumb which says 10 pounds of oil pressure for every thousand rpm of max performance. That means you want 60 pounds at 6000 rpm.