Ed L. wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:03:Didn't mean to take a snap, just am having a bad day and over reacted a bit. I am planning to close off the internal passage next oil change to divert all the flow to the cooler. Also need to change over to tubing that has a stronger sidewall so it doesn't squish down going around bends which is where most of the flow is lost. The entire design was an experiment just to see if it was possible and soo far it has worked better than expected. Running a thermostat and three way valve would be cool but a but of overkill. Really can't see the need for it except during real cold weather or short trips, beside that the engine generates plenty of heat so a cooler will be an advantage almost all of the time. A thermostat and small electric cooling fan would really help when stuck in traffic. Even with the cooler the engine still get hot with stop n go traffic.
Of course, I've been watching this topic and just waiting to see how it was going...
I've thought about this, and if you don't mind I have some other thoughts...it simple concerns flow and pressures, and as we know from some past thread, the Savage oil pump is kinda low performance anyway.
I was just thinking about pressures as I used to do on the job, and in some ways you can also compare this kind of thing to electrical circuits. With that, think about the oil pressure as voltage and each fitting, change in direction, or reducer as a resistance or a load.
The first comparison is the way you have it now...it's like a parallel circuit. The line with the highest resistance will have the highest voltage drop (the cooler). The line with the lowest resistance will have the lowest voltage drop (the stock passage). Therefore you'll have more flow through the stock oil passage, and less through the cooler.
Now on the other hand, if you eliminate the stock oil setup and run all of the oil through the cooler it will become a series circuit. With each fitting you'll have a pressure drop and a loss in flow. Every 90 deg turn will take a bit more....on and on it will subtract until it gets to the filter compartment.
So to really do it...in my way of thinking...is that you have to have larger lines and capacity through every bit of the cooler setup. The velocity of the oil will slow in the larger lines and cool better and when it goes into the filter the pressure will be higher.
I'm just concerned with the final delivery pressure to the rest of the engine....as shown here...
Now, of course, I know that you can see what you have and know better than I, but what got my attention was the 1/8" pipe fitting that your cooler connects to. I know that you did that to adapt it to the engine, but what if it lowers your oil pressure to the crankshaft?
What you have now is safe for the engine, but I'd be worried about isolating the flow through the cooler at this point.