Water Jackets For Turbocharging

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California Racer
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Water Jackets For Turbocharging

Post by California Racer »

You cannot get rid of the heat to pour on the turbocharging with an air cooled Corvair engine.

Solution is to water cool it with separate water jackets for cylinders and heads.Plumb them together with tubing or hoses.

The Corvair engine has two things in it's favor to facilitate water jacketting cylinders and cylinder heads.

1 It has 'dry deck' head gasket seals.

It does not have sandwich type head gaskets.

2 The crankcase halves do not need water jackets.

That greatly simplifies the task.

Engines do not cool the crankcases only the cylinders and heads.That is where the heat is made with combustion.

It has been 60 years the Corvair has been out and ONE person before this made a water cooled Corvair engine.

Now with turbocharging having a revival the Corvair engine sort of screams out to be turbocharged.

Big turbocharging.Indy and Formula style turbocharging.

To do that you need to water cool it.
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thewolfe
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Re: Water Jackets For Turbocharging

Post by thewolfe »

For big turbocharging you also need a way to keep the case together and heads from lifting under high boost conditions. There were once ARP case bolts and head studs available but not anymore. Maybe you could get custom ones made.
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azdave
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Re: Water Jackets For Turbocharging

Post by azdave »

Lloyd Taylor and his water-cooled engine are described in the Corsa Communique for Nov 1981 by famous Corvair subject author Bob Helt. Lloyd's Corvair was also a custom 4-door convertible. I know of at least 3 other attempts to water-cool a Corvair engine. If it were that doable we would see them in many more instances. It's a topic discussed over and over, almost since the Corvair was first turbocharged.

Taylor Water Cooled Corvair Engine
http://autoxer.skiblack.com/nallm/Taylo ... engine.pdf

A few other threads...
viewtopic.php?t=6739

http://corvaircenter.com/phorum/read.ph ... 259,page=1

http://corvaircenter.com/phorum/read.ph ... 089,138571
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nirvairna
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Re: Water Jackets For Turbocharging

Post by nirvairna »

Wow, that Taylor Water Cooled engine was quite an achievement! Thanks for posting that link :chevy:
66vairguy
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Re: Water Jackets For Turbocharging

Post by 66vairguy »

Looks like C.R. has been reading this. https://www.total911.com/water-cooling- ... 1-history/

Nothing new.
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Deadwolf
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Re: Water Jackets For Turbocharging

Post by Deadwolf »

I would think if someone wanted to do this the best way would be a new casting of the cylinder jugs. Probably want to mold 3 jugs into one solid bank to let the water flow around them.

If you could afford the 4 billet Aluminum slugs big enough to pull it off and either were a machinist with access to CNC machines or had someone available you could pull it off.

Another possibility would be machining each jug separate, but making them bolt together with gaskets. You would need one pattern for outer jugs and one for inner jugs. An electric water pump and radiator and you would be off to the races.
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