Engine Oil Cooler Mounting Location Options for a 1994 Chevy Camaro

Question:

I have a 94 Camaro Z28 project car, LT1, sixspeed, which will be 98 street driven, and 2 on a road course track. The LT1 stroker will be making approx 450hp and 490 torque. I know most oil coolers mount in front of the radiator. I just wonder if the extracted heat from the oil cooler prevents the radiator from effectively cooling the anti-freeze blend. I Assume that since the 94 Camaro is a bottom breather that there may not be enough cool air flow to properly cool oil and coolant. Do you have any knowledge of an alternate location not in front of the radiator to mount this oil cooler on my Camaro? Thanks for your assistance.

asked by: Paul Y

Helpful Expert Reply:

I own a 1998 Pontiac Trans Am and have a very large transmission cooler plus an underhood ram-air kit (Fast Toys Ram Air) that blocks about 50% of the direct air flow that would go through the radiator and I have had no cooling problems. The cooling fans on our F-body cars are very powerful for cooling the radiator fluid and you should not have a problem with airflow through the radiator.

Also, our bottom breather style radiators are very efficient. You will notice that most modern cars have gone to this style because of how efficient they are and how aerodynamic they can make cars when they don't have to have a grill through the front of the car.

I am also aware of the cooling problems that the LT1 engines have, especially when you start making pretty decent power like you will be doing. You are definitely on the right track by installing an engine oil cooler.

However, if you would still like an alternate mounting location for a engine oil cooler I would recommend the style that they kindly refer to on F-body forums as Dope-Style or Dope Mount. I attached a picture that shows how this looks as it is pretty hard to describe. There are many guys who do this with good results.

For a engine oil cooler I would recommend you get a Derale Tube-Fin Engine Oil Cooler Kit # D15502 over the Derale Hyper-Cool Remote Engine Cooler Kit # D15660 unless you wanted to get even more creative with the mounting location. With the fan installed on this kit you could pretty much install it anywhere there is clearance since you would not need direct airflow for it to work properly.

I attached an FAQ on engine oil coolers for you to check out also.