I need help with an engine heating/cooling problem/questions. The engine is an H & H flathead, with an engine driven fan, there is no shroud, there are 180° thermostats. Under normal driving engine temp is not a problem, at highway speed temp stays around 185°. City driving, especially stop signs/stop lights - temp starts to climb. Once I get back to speed the temp drops back to 185° Were roadsters originally equipped with a fan shroud? Are they available, either original or reproduction? It has been suggested I add an electric fan, which one and where do I get it? Thanks in advance for any and all assistance.
210° to 215°, but it would go higher if I let it; I pull over and shut it off it approaches 220°. No, it doesn't push out any water, but I have a recovery tank. Yes, the system is pressurized.
My 2 cents. A properly constructed shroud should bring your temperature problems under control. Past experience on a '33 and my current '35 with same symptoms were corrected by a shroud. If you have to go electric; the previously mentioned Cooling Components fan/shroud is a good choice. The one we used on a different '33 fit right and did the job. Being incorporated with a full shroud it also looked good.
Thanks, thinking/hoping the shroud will do it. I can run all day with no issues, as long as traffic, stop lights, or stop signs don't interfere. If we're working on the engine and require it to be running for an extended period, a fan in front of the engine works fine. I have a call into Cooling Components.
Since this happens when you stop or slow down it's highly likely your fan isn't moving enough air. That could be caused by not enough fan blades, not close enough to the radiator, or both. It can also be caused by how your fan sits in relationship to the radiator core. If a lot of the radiator isn't covered by the fan then the part not covered wont be cooling at slow speed, or idle. My engine sits deep in the chassis so my fan didn't pull air through the entire core. Only maybe 2/3rds of the core covered by the fan. It was within 1" of the radiator, and is a 6 blade fan that pulled plenty, but still got hot when I stopped moving or moved very slow. I bought an electric 2800 cfm fan and mounted it in front of the radiator as a pusher fan that covers the top half of the core. Wired it with an adjustable stat that I set at 185 degrees, so whenever I'm stopped if it climbs up the electric fan comes on, and adds more air flow, but when moving temps drop and it shuts off. My car never gets over 185 now even idling for long periods stuck in traffic at 99 degree weather.
Roadsters were not originally equipped with a fan shroud and I have not seen many with one added. You maybe chasing the wrong problem. How far is your fan from the radiator? What fan are you running? What is the condition of your radiator? How far overbored is your engine? Is your timing correct and your distributer up to specs? How about some pictures? Charlie Stephens PS, I hate the way fan shrouds look, but maybe that is just me
I would think that since you’re running a hood you wouldn’t need a shroud. At least that’s what I’m hoping for on my build
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