Flathead Fan; Is this Safe?

Somehow the fan sticking out past the radiator shell doesn’t p*** the “look right” test to me. I have plenty of clearance between the radiator and the engine; is safety the reason most guys go with an electric fan?

 

Uh.............no, thats not safe and, it won't pull any air through the radiator either. Different manifold, or different generator/fan set up, or an electric fan.

 

You can mount a fan to the intake with one of these.

 

I would say not safe. I've been hit by mine and it is where it belongs.

I cant see the front of your intake but how abour one of these: http://www.speedwaymotors.com/p/802,280_1945-1948-Fan-Carrier-Bracket.html

 

Thanks for the reality check. The intake is the style without provision for a fan mount; guess I'll have to go with an electric fan.

 

Shame to have to ruin the effect with some generic plastic fan,why don't you make a little bracket to mount one of those adjustable stands as pictured,using the front of generator as the fan hub ( '48 lubed type hub works great)? .
The genny still mounts like you have but little chance of chopping up people as they go past.

 

What you have is the Early style Edelbrock "super" ... like `46-`47. this was ment to be a race manifold , but later it was sold as a street manifold , and came with a fan suport.
Go with what Mercmad said ! good advice!! ...
klaz
Bell auto Parts `48 :

 

Good idea, I should be able to come up with something to mount the fan in the center. Any chance since I am running the car without engine cowling and the flatty is pretty mild, I might be able to get by without a fan?

 

Thanks for the lead on the Wiand bracket. It gives me a good idea of what I'll need to make up. I have a spare generator I could use for the shaft bearing mount. I'll post back with a couple pix when I get it fabbed up.

 

you will probably want a fan from a later flathead like this one on ebay,I have extra if no one closer to you does
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ford...ryZ34202QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

I think everyone has answered your question.............so, here is an electric fan I am using on my AV8 Coupe. It's a three core with shroud and 17" fan.
If you are going for "the old look" a real fan looks period correct.

Oh................a flathead will not run without a fan cooling the radiator unless you are doing 70mph on the open road on a cool day. IMHO

 

Thanks for the advise on my other questions, A Copped Coupe.

 

Bracketless manifolds were also sold as street manifolds for '39-41 type Fords, which had fan on crank and so needed no further mods when generator was moved over to head.

 

As I remmbr way back we didnt run a fan, but then there werent many freeway parking lots. HMM maybe we were goin a little fast.

 

I ended up fabbing a bracket for the front of the intake to relocate the fan on an idler made from an old 3-brush generator. Thanks Mercmad!

 

those old flatties are prone to cracking even under the best of cooling conditions.....why take a chance?

 

How is the fan mounted? Is the shaft fixed in the generator housing? What did you use for bearings?

Neal

 

The fan is bolted to the mounting bosses on the early 3-brush pulley and the bearing plates are bolted to the custom intake bracket.

The pulley limits rearward motion and a step in the armature takes forward thrust.

The armature is supported by the stock bearings in the front and rear generator bearing plates. I cut the armature just forward of the windings and turned down the stub to fit the bearing in the rear plate.

I have more information on how I did the idler on my post at:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=193612

 

I see now how you did it. Seems like a good fix to the problem.

My two cents would be to watch and keep that back bushing lubed because the leverage on it will be higher than when it was in the generator. Hate to run the fan through the radiator.

Neal

 

Neat solution! I like it!

 

The neat thing about the early generators is that BOTH the front and back bearing plates have lubricator holes!

 

Neccessity is the mother of invention, well done, a simple solution to a simple problem.