I can't seem to bring myself to covert! I just dropped a 383 in my A and the thing runs a lot hotter than that old trierd 350. Am I making a mountain outta a mole hill? Electric fan? Burned up stroker?
Make it practically invisible by putting a fan shroud around it. You can make the shroud out of aluminum or stainless if you feel the need for more shiny.
There was a thread here not too long ago where a guy disguised his electric fan with some crazy chrome grill from an old desk fan. Man, it looked great
I know that boiling over at a stop light is so very traditional but electric is a lot less worrysome. An electric fan and shroud is your best bet. MHO. .....Bob
Here is Bobby Greens, thread. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=162030&highlight=electric+fans+are+ugly
if your running a 32 grill shell get a pusher & hide it under the grill, if not mount it normally like anyone would, gett he biggest you can get in there & get "S" blades. Electric fans are like altenators, they don't look traditional but they work so great ya gotta throw caution to the wind & do it!! JimV
It may not be traditional, but I run them on every car I have. I feel sorry for those caught in traffic and are puking when I pull up side of them. I only run them when I have too. Running down the road, no fan, temp climbs up to 200 and I turn them on.
He reports a hot running engine and is talking about a fan swap. Rather than write down all the reasons for a hot running engine I thought I'd get a little more info on the fan question.
Rule of thumb that my dad p***ed on to me is: Ok when moving but Overheats at idle = need more fan Ok when idling but Overheats when moving = need more radiator
How did cars manage to work for fifty years, with closed engine compartments, without electric fans? Do your homework, and get by without an electric fan.
Not all did. I had an XK150 that would routinely overheat in traffic due to poor airflow. An electric fan cured it. I think a lot of the issue is fan placement due to engine configuration. A SBC has a fairly low fan when you put it against a tall radiator in a Deuce shell, for example. The hottest part of the radiator isn't getting enough airflow. There was a tech recently on fan risers that would probably help a lot of cars. A good fan shroud would also probably make a big difference.
I got nuthin' against electric fans I run one in the pusher but there is a lot more to cooling technology than just the fan. For instance does the air have to flow through the radiator or can it flow around and or over it? Or how much water is your pump actually moveing? do you have a cheapo walmart T stat in your new ultra zot high dollar stroker or did you drop the extra 5 or 6 bucks and get a fast acting Stat from someone who produces stats for high performance engines. If I couldn't convince myself to switch to an electric I suppose I would have to convince myself to build a proper fan shroud. But I also migh just look into a high volumn water pump like a flow cooler and maybe even a decent t stat. Just a thought I'm not raggin' on ya.
Is the engine compartment going to be open? As nice as your engine looks so far, I'd go the extra mile to use a mechanical fan. Electric fans cool great, radials ride great, EFI crate motors run great, new Toyotas get great milage, especially hybrids, see where this is going...
This first one is especially cool(pun?), he built it himself, just like it would have been done fifty years ago. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=170022&highlight=water+pump+riser http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=168231&highlight=water+pump+riser http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=119484&highlight=water+pump+riser http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=150509&highlight=water+pump+riser
Hmmm. Like maybe how the vacuum advance is hooked up? But this is a fan post, not an overheating post.
They didn't, fifty years ago you could get air for your tires and water for your radiator at either end of the gas pump island without using coins, any guesses why. Cars overheating on hot days was as commom as bias ply blowouts, flat tires and just broke down on the side of the road...Is that a part of the "tradition" you're trying to keep?
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