Rear mounted radiator ???

[Moog]

There was a Fench Bug in February SuperVW with a 1.9 WBX. He had a Golf / Rabbit radiator and fan unit in the engine bay. The firewall was intact, and there was no ducting from the rear quarters. He'd also welded the vents up under the rear window and had no vents in his engine lid. I'm not convinced that it was the best approach, but on the other hand i guess it worked OK.

For my 2.1 WBX i'm going to try a late model classic Mini radiator (i.e. from 1997 to close of production, not a BMW New Mini). These had a modern type radiator at the front, instead of at the side of the engine bay like all the earlier ones. The rad is bigger than the earlier ones, but is still compact. I'm mounting it in the left hand wheel arch, behind the tyre, inclined over slightly. Ally ducting will prevent stone & spray damage from the tyre, while maximising air flow through the rad. Well, that's the theory at least...

I'll post up how effective it is when it finally hits the road [ETA: 2010 at current rate of progress...]