Technical 59 Ranchero Windsor swap runs hot- what have you done- update bad Chinese temp gauge verified.

My 59 Ranchero has a 65 289 /c4 swap, and is running hot, between 210 and 230 . I have eliminated any gasket, water pump timing and running issues a new radiator, and am down to airflow. As these Old fords did not come with a fan shroud, I am curious if anyone who has done this swap has had similar issues, and what parts you have used to fix it. I do not want to go with an Electric fan, so my current plan is to put in a 3 inch spacer to get the fan closer to the radiator, and remove the parts store 7 blade fan and replace with my old standby 70s Ford Truck 7 blade Fan. I have found 1 custom shroud, buts its pricy, and several ot factory app shrouds that are close. Any specifics will help. Thank you

 

In my opinion you shouldn’t need a fan shroud.try and keep the fan 1” or so to the radiator.
Also make sure the fan isn’t on backwards. Thermostat stuck or in upside down?

 

I would run the factory fan and space it closer to the radiator, and also try another guage for comparison. 289's don't tend to run hot, even if they are amped up a bit

 

Hot on the open road or in town/idling?

Ben

 

Is it puking before it gets hot? If so, that's an indicator of a head gasket on backwards.

I replaced a 289 with a 351w using the same radiator, fan, water pump, etc and didn't see any increase in temp.

 

Mostly Idle issues, runs ok on the road. Iwill replace the gauge when I get it home, but my infrared is showing it to be accurate.

 

If you can fit a 3" spacer behind the fan that will certainly help a lot. Get that fan up close to the radiator where it can pull some air through it.
Don't late-model water pumps turn in the opposite direction for the serpentine drive belts ?

 

No puking, All gaskets installed correctly, thermostat oriented correctly, correct water pump matched to timing cover and plate, Mild cam, 204/214@050,correct timing chain, initial timing at 12 btdc, new avs 500 cfm carburetor, aftermarket 7 blade fan from Jegs, correct orientation ( but suspected problem )and 2 inch spacer(needs a 3) manifolds, duals, new Champion Aluminum radiator.

 

If it is overheating at idle, most likely you either have an air flow issue (not enough fan), or a blown head gasket.

 

Is your bottom pulley smaller in diameter than the top pulley ?

 

Do you mean the fan may be installed incorrectly and is pushing air?

How are you determining the exact coolant temp?

What application is the WP pulley off of? Dia.?

 

What thermostat temp is installed?

Has it been tested in a pan of hot water to see what temperature causes it to open?

 

If you have an air flow issue, then it should be easy to diagnose. In that instance, the car will run cool going down the road, but then heat up when you're idling while stopped. But then it should cool back off when you start moving again. If that is the scenario, then you have an air flow issue, because the increase of airflow from the moving vehicle and the added RPM of the fan spinning at driving speed is sufficient to cool it. So if you have a 180 degree thermostat in it, and it runs at 180 cruising around, but then sitting in traffic it runs up to 230, then it's likely an air flow problem.

If the car is running hot while you're driving, you have a problem elsewhere. Could be a bad thermostat. Bad water pump. Blown head gasket. You'll have to figure it out from there, perhaps by a leak down test of the cooling system.

Is the first scenario what you're experiencing?

 

This what I have done twice. I suggest you go to Summitracing.com . . . Enter Fan shroud Kit…. Check the box for brands “summit”… you will see 5 or 6 with dimensions…… select the one that best fits your core.

For installation, remove your fan and install the pulley. Then work with the shroud body to mount it to your 4 radiator mount bolts. When that’s done, take some kind of a marker directly from the water pump shaft and mark the center in the unit.

You can now make the circle any size you need for the fan. I leave 1/2” all around and 1/2 the blade is inside and 1/2 is outside the edge. The kit has most every you need. I have mounted them horizontal and vertical. I then can use a spacer or not to set the proper depth. The edge where the shroud is next to core has a rubber protection. A split vacuum hose with RTV to hold it.

The 40 Chevrolet in the photo was mounted vertical. I painted it black. Our dirt track car is horizontal and left raw aluminum and actually needed more depth so I added an additional ring of aluminum. It’s blue in the photo.

These work and are simple. The 40’s fan is only a 4 blade at 14” and the engine is 10-1 compression and built. The race car is 14-1 and 422” running racing gasoline not alcohol with 600+ hp and run hard neither have any heating problem.

Good luck I hope this helps. You have a lot of room to work with.

 

Thanks, this is what I was looking for

 

I'm going to say that if you have enough space to add a 3" long spacer between the fan and water pump and can still have fan clearance, the fan is definitely too far away from the radiator to be effective.

You need a fan spacer, or a fan shroud, or both. You should have about an inch of clearance between the closest contact point on the fan and the radiator.

If you add a shroud, you want about 1/2 of the fan sticking out of the shroud or you could create problems with not having enough air flow at highway speeds.

 

Let's try this again before you make SUMMIT stocks go up.

It only overheats at idle/slow movement?

YES or NO?

Watch the coolant flow in the upper tank with the cap removed and the thermostat open. Do you see steady movement? If not, increase throttle speed (high idle). If the flow increases you need to increase the speed of the WP with a smaller diameter pulley.

Move the fan closer to the rad. How far away was the fan with the Y-BLOCK? With that air gap and no shrouding, there is no cooling air being drawn @ idle/low speed.

Then you worry about air flow or mechanical defect. It cooled a Y-BLOCK so it should cool what you have now. Also consider an coolant overflow system. There may be air trapped in the cooling system.

AFTER THOUGHT -

Exactly what period SBF are you running? Is it OEM or has been modified (cyl heads - front cover - WP - V-BELT FEAD)?

 

This is what caught my eye. The '62-65 small blocks used a different timing cover and water pump which is what you appear to have and would be correct for a '65 motor. These used a factory aluminum water pump, the only V-belt equipped small blocks to do so. In '66 Ford switched to a cast-iron pump. But only the '66-up pumps used the separation plate between the pump and the cover. The reason for the change was Ford found that poor maintenance and cavitation between the pump impeller and aluminum cover could cause erosion of the cover and potentially drop coolant directly into the crankcase. So Ford redesigned the pump/cover and added the separation plate. If the cover/pump are '65 and matched, there shouldn't be any plate. If someone managed to install one, due to differences in water passage design it's probably restricting water flow. And if they did manage to install the plate, you'll want to check for any mods done that may cause issues.

To the best of my knowledge, no one is reproducing the '62-65 timing cover although there's no problem finding the pumps. You can get new '66-up style covers from multiple sources.

 

If you have a big fan to stick in front of the grill and blow air through the grill try it and see if the temp stays down. I'm betting that you have the same issue I have had on my 48 Chev pickup in that the fan isn't covering that big of a percentage of the radiator and when sitting still the only area with air flowing through it is right in front of the fan, Get moving about 20 miles and hour and you see the temp drop back to where you like it.
Still on that engine 210/230 really isn't "hot" 210 isn't even at the boiling point. It's not a flathead with a 0 pound cap on it.
Still I'd say that the guys who suggest a shroud are on the right track. That and the fan sitting at the right spot in relation will pull air though the whole radiator.

 

Assuming the rad is in good clean condition internally.

 

The stock radiator in good shape and proper fan and spacing would keep an 352-390-428 cool….without a shroud.

 

I once built a SBF that would run hot. Turns out I had one head gasket on backwards.

 

YBlock assemblers are well aware of this…. I didn’t know it continued with SBF’s but doesn’t surprise me at all.

 

Backwards head gasket is my first thing to look into . Very easily done . Square tab out in front

 

The Felpro gaskets I used when I changed my head gaskets were marked “ front”, not all brands may do this.

I can see putting a aftermarket flex fan on backwards, but a stock fan should work either direction. The angle of the blades doesn’t change, as long as it’s turning the proper direction it will pull air. I’ve had good luck with odd numbered fan blades, 5, 7, etc. they seem to move more air than even numbered blades. Some of them look a little odd with three blades close together then a large gap to two other blades, have heard that has something to do with noise reduction.

 

I use a 17" steel bladed fan from Summit, it has 6 blades and moves a lot of air, I use it on all my cars and they never run hot.

I;m not a fan ,excuse the pun, of electric fans myself. HRP

 

The backwards head gasket on one side is a common mistake, as they look different on each side, and folks over-think it- there is no top & bottom, only FRONT which is clearly marked. As was said, look for the tab sticking out. FE's are that way too, very simple reason, no need to make two different gaskets when one marked FRONT will do

 

I could be wrong but it looks like the fan is mounted backwards in the picture on the original post.

 

Couldn't be. This was all ready discussed in a previous post. It was clearly stated on a stock fan, direction doesn't matter. Only on an aftermarket fan.

When FRONT is stamped on the hub, it indicates whichever FRONT you desire ...

 

Some of the Ford oem fans I’ve seen have “front” stamped on them. Must be for a reason eh.
The stocker should pull air towards the engine.