Vw beetle woody wagon rear engine door cooling?

[Mikhail_lewis]

I have the rear engine door on the beetle woody. I will be leaving the spare tire where it is mounted.

The engine bay? Other than being a stock beetle with no decklid, it is surround by plywood and some ventilation on the rear door. No metal fire wall even.

I hope mike Stevenson who designed the woody kit car design sees this and can offer me some input.

I am going to mount the rear signals on the top door. Leaving me more space for ventilation. I saw a floor vent cover that was made of wood. And it got me thinking i should make some sort of slatted wood vent cover design on the rear.

In the attached photos, the side panels have an inner insert panel that is where the engine bay area is. I was thinking of some wood hood scoop style inserts so i can get a forced airflow into the engine bay and out through the rear door ventilation.

Also where the 2x4 wood piece thats on the bottom of engine door is maybe 3/4 inch clearance from the flywheel. I want to really get it further away just in the centre area. The door will be fine, just where the 2x4 bit is im not really liking it for safety and maintenance reasons.

I feel like the restriction of airflow in the half wood half metal engine bay will become an issue with the travelling i intend to do. Also anything to keep an aircooled engine cooler will always help.

[oprn]

Hinging the door at the top would give you better access to the engine for maintenance.

[slalombuggy]

You would be better served taking air in through grills in the sides of the car. Where your air intake is now is in a huge low pressure area that doesnt have much air and what's there has a high volume of exhaust gasses in it. You need to think of your woodie as more of a van than a bug and take your cooling cues from what vw did on vans.

brad

[Wolfgangdieter]

Swap those ugly strap hinges out for some nice chrome/stainless steel marine hinges.
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CMC '57 Porsche Speedster Replica and Dolphin boat tailed full pan VW MOD-T Street Buggy

[MrGoodtunes]

Based on what has work'd for my (much lighter) buggy with enclosed engine (after toasting a few engines), here's where I'd suggest putting in some louvers:

I mirror imaged your woodie to indicate passenger side. That's approximately where I found success for incoming air for engine cooling via a scoop above rear right wheel:

Was not satisfied tho, until widening the pipe leading to shroud inlet:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8801863

[SBD]

What about a couple of sheet metal or fiberglass scoops under the car near the transaxle. They could have flexible hose attached to bring the air up through holes in the front engine tin. That way you wouldn't change the look of the car. It should provide good airflow when the car is moving and an old VW mechanic friend of mine told me these engines really don't produce much heat when they're idling.
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"Just $99 down and $64 a month for 36 months buys you a brand new Volkswagen Beetle!"

[CarlIseminger]

I am wondering if there has been any progress on your build? When I retire, my plan is to build one of these woody beetles, so am gathering information along the way. I too, am concerned about the amount of cooling that was available.
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1969 VW Beetle Convertible

[dustymojave]

I suggest putting vents in the back panels of the sides, Much like the vents in the rear "tailgate" shown above. Vents in the 1/4 panel area would not get much air over the fender to the engine compartment. That location shown by MrGoodtunes would also let rain and wash water into the 1/4 panel area and cause rust issues.

So like slalombuggy said, take a clue from VW's engineers and how they took care of it in Split Window VW Buses. Direct into the engine compartment.

I note that Mikhail_lewis said he's gong to mount the tail lights on the upper door for room for air to enter, I don't feel that's needed and will cause troubles with wiring since the door opens. For choice of tail lights, some lights meant to be installed on a flat surface would be best so the light is aimed at cars behind, unlike those shown on the Woody above. 39 Ford with LEDs, would be good. Ford Model A lights with the housings set into the wood work. Or LOTS of LED lights for trailers and such would be appropriate.

I recommend going for a vintage look.
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Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
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Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.