The engine idles and runs great. Timing? seems so long ago when i set the timing. I wrote that in my book some where, i will look for that or i will recheck to see what the timing is set at.
Look into the 6 blade steel fans at Summit (Derale Rigid Race Fans) they offer a lot of different sizes and move a lot of air. HRP
To work at max efficiency, the opening in the shroud should sit right at the fore/aft center of the fan blade. You may want a fan blade with more blade pitch. The flatter the pitch, the less air movement. If you live where summer weather is hot, you should change to a lower opening temp thermostat. If you are going to use a cut down fan, pay close attention to balance issues. An out of balance fan can cause some really bad problems. The chrome fan you have does not have enough blade left to move enough air when idling. Increasing the fan speed by changing pulley sizes may help a little. not enough to do much good, though. As much as I hate electric fans, that might be the way to go. If you do, don't spare the bucks. Get the highest air flow and quality you can get. You can mount that up in the middle of the radiator where it needs to be, and no cross member problems, You can also install a switch in the circuit so you can turn it off at highway speeds, where you don't need a fan at all. They tend to be noisy. A little hint: Lower temp stat and drill a 1/8" to 1/16" hole in it to prevent steam pockets in the hottest part of the engine while warming up.
I bought the Derale rigid race fan but i did not have the clearance. It was too close to the radiator.
Most everything has been covered so I will just share my experience. I have a similar set up except running a SBC. The fan setting down low like yours without a shroud I was losing the top 5" of my radiator cooling when in stop and go driving in town. I built a shroud and it made a tremendous improvement. As suggested a good 5-6 blade fan is a very good investment. I have the twin sister to the fan you have setting on the shelf. Try to get your fan located with half the blade inside the shroud lip and half out. This setup really dropped my in town driving temps. Seldom exceeds 195. After installing the shroud my highway temps actually increased some. To counter this I installed some small flaps in the top of the shroud that open at speed. All is under control now. I am using a 3 row Champion aluminum radiator, a 180 thermostat with a 50/50 antifreeze mixture. Good luck
Overheating is generally an air flow problem or water flow problem. You have increased the water capacity by fitting a larger capacity radiator, with four rows of tubes. If it is overheating stationary and the temp gauge goes down as soon as you start moving (increasing the airflow thru the core of the radiator), it is a airflow problem. Both the original 4 blade factory fan and that 6 blade flex fan are not great at pulling the air thru the core. Despite the flex fan making a lot of noise, it is not much improvement. But yes, fitting the six blade fan along with a fan shroud will improve the efficiency of your system.
When the tips are cut off fan can not work properly. Air is escaping off the tip’s outward. Note the hooked tips on lower pic.
Shroud - good idea. That 6 blade fan - not too good. Personally I prefer Flex-a-lite stainless steel. Everyone seems to have their favorite. Timing definitely affects low speed cooling. Too retarded will heat at low speed or sitting still. A thicker radiator, one with louvered fins or many fins per inch may need more fan for proper air flow.
I am surprised your highway temp went up. Good tip about the rubber flaps. I have seen these flaps on electric fan/shroud set ups. Yes my fan sits too low and it is not parallel with the radiator . The bottom is closer that the top. TY
Wet water is another product for drag racing where engines run for 5 minutes max. I tried some in my Olds engine and it made no difference. Save yer dough for beer! Your fan should sit between. 3/4" - 1.5" Away from the radiator and higher up than where yours is.
My 1932 Ford sedan can sit in bumper to bumper traffic for over and hour and never get above 200 degrees, with the air on!, I run a sbc with a zips riser that centers a 17" engine driven fan that sits in the middle of the radiator. I am a Ford guy but I have never been able to keep a sbf cool with a engine driven fan and detest electric fans but in your situation that is probably going to be your only alternative to keep your cr from running hot. Use the biggest electric fan you can fit. HRP
Your set up looks good. Unfortunately for me i will not have that unless i rebuild half the car. So i will figure out my best option and see what works. As a last choice i will use an electric fan. But even the thinnest electric fan will hit the pulley . I might be able to fit a pusher fan in front of the radiator behind the grill. Thanks for all the help
I can not claim credit for coming up with these but I just had to make my own pair. These will raise a SBC pump 1 3/4”.
Not sure how you can make a blanket statement like that. A proper cooling system will cool just about any streetable motor. If an engine is not cooling properly, its better to cure the problem and fix it using common everyday technology than resorting to band aid solutions. At the Street Rod Nationals over 10,000 street rods show up, and most seem to be able to sit in long lines on a hot day without problems overheating. It may take a little experimenting to solve a problem, but its doable with a little experimentation.
Not sure about inherent small block Ford cooling problems. I have had several, the only time I had a problem with low speed/idle hot running was when I had misread the specs and did not have enough initial timing advance on a 289.
I am considering using a pusher fan that will fit behind the grill. I have seen this on another car a few years ago. Anyone know who makes one that might fit?
Pusher fans tend to block air flow over the radiator, adding to cooling problems rather than curing them. And they look like crap through the grill, and sound like crap when pulling into an area where other cars are already parked and people are hanging out, not great for making an entrance to a car show/cruise.
He didn’t say his car was over heating. He just said it was running 220 and wasn’t comfortable with it. On a hot day sitting in traffic I stand by my statement even with proper cooling 220 isn’t unusual for a Hi Po motor. He’s working on solutions and has been given suggestions. More power to you if your Hi Po motor runs less than 200 sitting in 95 degree heat / humidity.
Maybe the o/p could use a shorter water pump to gain fan clearance. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fms-m-8501-e351s
Best solution I can recommend is a good shroud with the biggest fan you can fit in, but in the past I’ve been known to use a little helper fan (electric) at top of rad to help when the engine sits low or I can’t figure out how to get the water pump higher (like a zips type riser). Snapped a pic with a 32 rad and an old little electric fan to demonstrate what I mean.
Every SBF I've ever owned ran hot regardless of what I did. Usually could almost keep them under 240 f by installing the biggest 4-row core radiator I could find that would fit in the available space with the largest fan that would fit. Last one I had in an OT 4WD never would keep cool under a load at slow speeds; I finally installed an oil cooler so I didn't have to worry about the oil temp. and just let the coolant temp. run at where it wanted. Never want another of those engines in anything...
That ricky racer 6 blade fan will not move enough air while sitting in traffic to write home about. I had one of those on my 48 for years and when you were at a stop the temp went up and when you hit 25 or so it dropped like a rock. The chrome one will pull as much or more air and with the shroud should actually pull air though the whole radiator rather than a small circle down low on it.
Interesting to hear about sbf motors running hot, currently have them in three vehicles. My panel has a 302 with a/c - never runs hot in 100 degree weather. I pretty much stick with a shroud and proper engine mounted fan setup. Cooling is one of the first things I consider in a car build or engine swap. There are many factors that can cause problems; radiator choice, airflow in and out of the engine compartment, engine size and condition, and other factors which have been mentioned in this thread. Only relating my experience here in hopes it might help someone.
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