New look for my Model A-what do you think?

I had to come up with a way to hide an electric pusher fan on the front of my radiator to solve my overheating problem which means canning the stock Model A shell and "grille". Didn't want to do the Deuce shell and grille like all the other A's, so I found a 34 grille. These pictures are of the car with the grille mocked up.

 

Looks GOOD to me, Man!

 

looks ok..what was, or is the reason your over heating?
ive heard so many tell me
"oh i have this little mustang radiator and it works just fine"..or "put this tractor radiator in there and no problems even in the worse heat of the day" all of them with SBC's or even hotter monsters.
sure you dont have another problem?...just wondering

 

It runs cool as long as I move. If I get caught in stop and go traffic it heats up, then cools as soon as I can drive a quarter of a mile or so. I've checked the radiator, replaced the cap and gone to a 160 degree thermostat. I think my problem is that due to the 5" channel on the body, the engine sits low so the ****** is under the floor with a slight hump. The mechanical puller fan is also low, partly below the bottom of the radiator. It's also small to clear the bottom water hose. The size and location cant pull enough air thru the radiator, so when I'm moving air is forced thru it. We put a shop fan in front of the car when it was idleing and getting hot, that made it cool down. A pusher fan will do the same thing as driving and forcing air thru the radiator.

 

It looks good go with it

 

I'll take your old grill , so it's not in your way.

 

Hey Randy, I think he just answered his own question so to speak,
with the motor sitting that low and the small fan, seems self inflicked.
I think the car is nice but when you go that low, you get a whole different set of problems. I personaly think that the 34 grill and shell doesn't fit with the square body of the 28 - 31 bodies, just my .02

 

Bolt it on and drive the **** out of it.

 

I like it. Is that the grill you got from Scott?

 

There is a company called snow white hot rods. They make a bolt on water pump that rises the water pump and fan up. It works really good. Not traditonal but works. and you can keep the stock grill.

 

Snow White's been making them for so long they ARE traditional. Get one, go back to your A grille shell. Then chop the top.

 

Fwiw, if that's a stock 34 grille and shell they're fairly valuable compared to the A's.

Overheating at idle sounds typical of an engine not running vacuum advance and if so, not sourcing it to manifold vacuum.

 

Put a Stewart water pump on it problem solved ! http://www.stewartcomponents.com/


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Sounds like your problem is air flow. Why not remove the belt driver fan and put an electric puller fan behind the radiator centered on the core with a shroud around it so it looks better.

 

It's your car and that's what counts, but I don't like it..doesn't look bad but just doesn't seem to fit the shape of the rest of the coupe. Sounds like you have several options ... Good luck

 

Fix you're overheating problem, and go back to the A grill. The 34 grill shape is wrong for any model A.

 

'34 grilles are too big, in my opinion. Too tall. What if you made the other grill thicker to accomodate the fan.....?

 

i say no if you want my .02.

 

Thanks for all the advice. Changing the water pump has been a thought, however, the pump is so close to the radiator that I need a very short pump. The grille is now on the car with the "hidden" fan, it seems, in our current LA winter weather of 75 - 80 degrees to be solving the problem. I spent a lot of time deciding how to create a set up to hide the fan, photoshop, cut and paste. Now that it's finished I like it more than I thought. It does seem to cause some "emotions" with some guys, mostly 33-34 Ford guys. Especially since it's a real 34 grille, in really good shape.

 

I wouldn't mind getting it out of my way since I know I'm going to keep the 34, if you want it let me know.

 

I barely noticed the grill or any thread that has your avatar on it! Too much of a focal point!!!

Nice 34 grill though!

 

I like the grille and your AVATAR.......if the fan cures your A's cooling problem drive the **** out of it.....

 

Tell us how your ignition timing is set up?

I'm constantly amazed at guys running a car with an ignition setup that leads to overheating and instead of doing something that's free or very low cost they'll spend a chunk of money on pie in the sky dreams.

Not saying that's you, but I'll bet you're running a mechanical advance only distributor....

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I did check the timing along with a hundred other things which friends suggested. Lot's of problems can be solved by things we don't think of, this one appears to be solved with the addition of the fan - and I like the look of the grille.

 

Good looking ride.

 

How does the ignition affect the cooling system, in terms that someone(me) who knows almost nothing about ignitions, can understand?

 

Another vote for using some form of a Model A style shell. '34 just doesn't work.

 

if the timing is too retarded you get late ignition which typically burns the air/fuel mix as it's on its way out the exhaust which generates excessive heat. bump the timing up or run a vacuum advance and you get combustion that occurs in the combustion chamber at the right time.

 

Thanks.

 

i like i like