The 32 roadster we are building has the engine in the correct place with a stock firewall and I am using a Rootlieb hood. There is not enough room for the stock fan. It hits the radiator. Am I missing something?Any ideas. Please save me from electric fan hell.
If you are using an 8BA.... I thought mine was not going to fit when I was building the frame too. It turned out that the radiator would lean back some when bolted down without the radiator rods in place. (no body on the frame) I ground off the rivets that hold the stock F1 fan blade to the assembly and then bolted on a thinner aluminum fan. It's not 100% traditional parts but at least it's not an electric fan POS. Everything in the picture is genuine Ford parts except the fan blade. The car was originally built with only the original Ford hood top so the radiator location is exactly where Henry put it. The 39 trans with a Deuce mount up to the original K frame located the engine front to back. It didn't look like it would fit at first but it's got a lot of miles on it since then There was no HAMB when I built this but I knew that they had been doing this for years and years.
Tommys right. If your using an 8BA the fan can give you issues because the water pump shafts are longer causing the fan to be farther forward.
Why don't you post a picture of what you have so all of us don't have to guess at your issue . 32-39std engines all have generator mounted fans in most cases unless you have a correct 32 fan they are all too short. If you have a 42-48 lower mount fan you will encounter similar issues addressed by Tommy's post. 39-41 use a crank mounted fan so thats out all together.
Yes, and need full facts...is this with early Ford trans and '32 crossmember, so basic location is known stock, or is there some other trans and engine was hung in relation to radiator without reference to '32 rear mounting. If block is an 8BA, you will pick up some room by changing front hambper to a '48 distrib and pump setup. The stock 8BA setup shoves the gen forward so belt clears distributor, and that would account for a LOT of trouble. As noted, '32 fan is the longest of several so something odd is going on here.
As everybody said - you need to give us some more facts, some pictures and exactly the combination of parts you're running. Here is what we need: a) Flathead engine model/year b) Water pump style c) Stock engine/trans location or not? d) Motor mounts - so we know what you're doing e) Where is the fan hitting -- the tank or the fins? f) Pictures g) Money - are you willing to swap out or buy the parts necessary, or are you trying to shoe-string the operation h) Pictures . . . i) Beer There should be no problem if you have the right combination of parts! If you're running a late 8BA type engine, then it gets tricky due to the water pumps and fan belt location. The easiest thing to do is to setup the whole front of the motor to be 59AB style - with a generator mounted fan, front distributor, etc . . . everything fits perfectly with a stock style fan. If you have questions, drop me a PM. B&S
I was given the following advice about putting a 8BA in my 32 roadster: "The stock 32 front cross member comes very close to the stock pulley and will not clear the 8BA crank pulley. In order to fit a stock frame you need to run an 59A cam, a front mount distributor, 37-48 water pumps, and an early single belt crank pulley." Hmmm.
Yep - exactly what a few of us are saying . . . put an early 32-48 style cam, timing gear, timing cover, distributor, water pumps, crank-pulley, etc -- onto the 49-53 block and then you'll have the setup that really works for an early V8 car. The same goes for 33 and 34. Yes, it takes a bit of planning and work (pulling the heads and changing of cams), but it is by far the best setup.
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