Oil cooler installation 1973 S - options

[NorthernThrux]

My car, a '73 S, did not come with a fender mounted oil cooler according to the LOA from Porsche. Nor does it have one. General wisdom on this Forum suggests that an oil cooler is a good thing to have, especially when air temps go above 30 deg C. So I am contemplating 3 options to right this.

1. Add proper trombone, OEM hard lines (& thermostat ?) just like the factory would have done.
2. Add proper or Canford trombone, Elephant finned lines (and thermostat ?) to enhance cooling.
3. Add the 74-89 thermostat, lines and fender cooler, all factory pieces.

Option 1 is the most "correct" and expensive, and arguably correct doesn't matter since, correct means no cooler.
Option 2 is semicorrect, and enhances cooling while preserving the trombone loop.
Option 3 is probably the best for cooling, is factory OEM, but is not "correct" for '73.

So what to do ? All can be easily removed, so I can return the car to the factory delivered condition if anyone wants to do that. The car will definitely be driven, maybe autox and most likely not shown. Robert is welding in the supports for a trombone into the fender if I decide to go that route, and I do like the elegance of the elephant finned lines and a trombone. But is it enough cooling or should I go to Option 3, all factory correct, but not for '73. Decisions, decisions.

To me the greatest value is in keeping oil temps down. But I don't want to reduce the value of the car either, though all can be removed, so no arm, no foul there. I suppose the question is which configuration enhances the value best ?

Thoughts ?

[kentf14]

Well, tough decision. What happened with the original trombone you bought from Tom? Are you considering installing that as a correct original?
I think the configuration you chose really should be dictated on your intended use of the car and how close to original you want to be. Since you don't have an idea of what your average operating temps are, it's going to be tough to know if you need something more than the trombone.
On my own car I've got the original oil lines and thermostat with a carrera cooler with the thermostatically controlled electric fan. I've thought many times about putting the trombone back on, but then I get stuck in traffic on a hot day and appreciate the extra cooling. With this setup my car never gets above 190 and typically operates spot on at 180.

So, no real answer but that's my $0.02

Kent

[Longballa]

You'll also have to weld on the supports for the oil lines running down the bottom side of the rocker.

[rvdv]

None of these options will enhance the value of the car. The car is either correct or not correct, there is no such thing as semi correct. If you were track the car and autox it it is a wise move to add additional cooling, I would put on the system which gets you the most cooling, this leaves out the trombone. Like you said if some day you want to put the car back to "correct" you can.

Rudy

[NorthernThrux]

What happened with the original trombone you bought from Tom? Are you considering installing that as a correct original?

I didn't. Upon pressure testing, Tom found some pinhole leaks, and I decided to pass on it. First rate guy to let me know rather than try pass it off.

[NorthernThrux]

None of these options will enhance the value of the car....there is no such thing as semi-correct.

Yeah, I didn't really mean in $ value as installed. More as in would some future owner ascribe value to the fact that the car had been run with a cooler and therefore cared for ? Prior history won't matter as the engine is being completetely rebuilt, although it is in excellent shape internally and does not seem to have suffered any heat related issues despite having been owned by Ernie Lader, a sometime race car driver in the Daytona 24 and Sebring 12 (not that he raced this car in those races-but you know how it goes-once a racer, always a racer). And this is the bit that makes me wonder if a cooler is needed, though I have no evidence how he or any other PO used the car. It had some PCNA stickers and probably ran in some club races or autox in its first 20 years.

Maybe I am overthinking it as returning to original is so easy other than a few tell tale mount points.

Ravi

[edmayo]

My vote is to put the cooler on even though in your climate it is not near so critical as it is where I live. Here it's a no brainer!! I think you can accomplish most of your objectives by going with a trombone. First it is 'more' correct for your year, second it will probably be all the cooling you need up in your frozen tundra (), and finally if you or anyone else should ever need more cooling the hard work is already done, it's easy to swap the trombone for a radiator type. And lastly, unless you can find one of those one year only thermostat set-ups you won't be able to make it 'absolutely' correct anyhow. The install just needs to be as close to factory as possible. I have a thread here somewhere that shows one of the installs I've done. If you can't find it let me know.

[NorthernThrux]

I will look for that thread tonight. We are often in the low 90's here in the summer. This summer we set a new record at 98.6 F. Winter in DFW I know ! But I'm going to follow your advice Ed. My enthusiasm for "correct" was considerably buoyed when I came across NOS thermostat, oil lines and even mounting brackets for a '73S/RS. Only the trombone (from the same source) is a bit rough (but no leaks-just 2 dents), but like you say, that can easily be replaced with a later multirow or Behr cooler with the same 30x1.5 mm fittings. So the only thing not "absolutely correct" about the install will be the fact that it didn't come that way from the factory, but it will be exactly as the factory option would have come. Good Karma today for me.

Ravi

[kentf14]

Congrats on getting your parts together. FWIW, last time I checked, those lines and TStat from Dave weren't NOS (really NNS), and could be bought for a little less from Porsche (Pelican, dealer etc).
Make sure you also get the right crossover oil line.

Best of luck with the install!

[edmayo]

I'm glad you found all of that. I think you'll need a couple more pieces to attach that thermostat to the tank, but you got the hard parts found.