I've been told by a reliable flathead guy that building a fan shroud for my '52 will make it run noticeably cooler. I'm hopin to take some decent road trips this summer and any help I can get on cooling would be appreciated. My question is: Has anyone here made a fan shroud out of license plates? if so, how'd you do it and how many did it take. I have quite a few layin around that would work great, but not totally sure the best way to go about it. Any pics would also be very much appreciated, as I'm a very visual learner . Thanks folks!
There's this option http://www.ebay.com/itm/CHROME-5-WI...Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item1e6942f213 you could bolt the license plate to it for looks,this way you have the contour.
Geno had one in his yard art. Here's a link to his profile and a pic of his shroud. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/member.php?u=74416
Thanks guys! Both links have been VERY helpful! By the looks, the chrome one would be the much easier option. However, I think the straight license plates have a cooler "vintage", if you will, look. Guess I will have to do some trial and error type stuff. See which I like better. Like I said, anything will help since I have the shroud-less radiator, 3 blade fan and little to no room for the 4 or 5 blade fan adapter.
It has been known in the past that three blade fans like to throw a balde off. It was recomended on one of these forums a few years ago to replace with a newer four or more bladed fan.
Yeah I looked into that, because of that reason (would hate to throw a blade out in the boonies of WY somewhere). The ones I could find all say that they move the fan about 1/2" closer to the radiator. I can barely squeeze my fingers in between the fan and radiator as it is and I'm not 100% sure about a relocation for either. I have talked to a few flathead guys that I know, and they have all told me that a fan shroud will work amazing wonders on these cars. But I guess even with a shroud, a 2 blade fan isn't gonna do me much good anyway.
I have had a couple rods with the fan within 3/8 inch of the radiator. If the motor mounts dont move, it works good.
As Don says the closer you can get the fan to the radiator safely, the better. A three blade fan here in Oz is all but useless, four blade is better but one of the six or seven blades are better. I use a flex fan off a 70's Ford on my engines. They bolt straight up with no clearance issues. A radiator shroud will help make the system more efficient. On my 55 and 58 I block the opening in front of the radiator so all the air hitting the grille area has to go through the radiator. I don't use a fan shroud and have never had a problem with temperature. Here in Perth in summer it is not unusual for the temp to creep up to over 100 degrees F and my cars have never boiled . Even with a 351 Cleveland under the bonnet is hasn't been an issue. Regards
For a fan shroud to be effective, about half the width of the fan blades must be outside the shroud. If this sounds crazy, jump on Google and research it. I spent many hours studying this before I made my shroud. Also, the shroud must cover the entire rear face of the radiator so air is pulled through the core and not around it. If there was a sane way to attach photos here I'd show you what I ended up building.
If anyone still has a junk yard near, look for a fan from a six cylinder Granada or Maverick with air conditioning. They are a seven blade fan with small diameter. Durring the 60's-70's-80's all Fords except 429/460 had the same ID on the fans.
The "shroud" in the picture is only working as a blade guard and does not work as a cooling shroud. For a cooling shroud to work, it must cover the entire radiator surface (except for the fan cutout) so the fan blades pull in air from the entire radiator surface. The one in the picture sure does not and is not any better than having nothing. The chrome ones are not any better, they are basically guards, nothing else. Walker radiator make PVC shrouds in different sizes and may have something that fits. Jegs has aluminum cooling shrouds. This is one style of a cooling shroud: http://www.getusedparts.com/auto_parts_guide/R/used_radiator_shroud.html
Thanks for all the input guys! And thanks to Ole Don for throwing out which makes/models would be good for a direct bolt on swap. Much appreciated!
You may remember some of our members have used 1965-67 Mustang radiators when swapping in a 289-302 these radiators are almost a bolt in for 1949-56 Fords so the Mustang shrouds would be a good choice: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1964-1965-1...ies&hash=item1e6824f06f&vxp=mtr#ht_2686wt_938 I would call it also budget friendly too.
Sweet! So it sounds like I need a Mustang shroud and a Grananda/Maverick fan. Does anybody know if these are "direct bolt-on"? With the budget being as it is these days, the less money I need to spend on upgrades, the better. Leaves more money for cruisin fuel and other projects.
Size wise the radiators are almost the same,the flatheads fans are located somewhat different than a later V8 so you may have to redrill some mounting holes,measure twice then mark and drill if needed.When I ran "roundy-round" back in the day with a flathead to upgrade the fan we had to grind off the rivets to remove the stock fan so we could bolt on a 4 or 5 blade.Use Grade 8 bolts and add star washers under the heads when you bolt it up.
I've bought one from a truck which had an Y block in it, it may be a good choice, with minor adaptations to do
I found one hangin on the wall in my garage, but I think it came with a box of parts I got when I bought my Bronco. It's a monster 7 blade steel fan. Not sure if I can get it to work or not, but I'm for sure gonna check and see if I can.
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