Yes, i have gotten into a built flathead by accident. A machine shop 1500 miles away has built me a flattie and didn't really follow my instructions too well and went all out...just wanted a good driver maybe 253 ci so now he has put an electric fan on a very historical traditional 32 tudor. He says the car may not stay cool with a mechanical. Damn , I really want that mechanical traditional look and we discussed this momentarily up front but some builders get carried away. Does anyone have experience with this type of a build and could suggest a mechanical setup for me to lay on my mechanic, and will keep this rad a motor cool? Thank you...alot for any good suggestions. Guy
Well 45 years ago I ran a 296 8BA with about a 15+" 6 blade fan and it cooled fine with 180* stats here in Phoenix in the summer. Stop and go traffic on 108-110 days if would creep up to 190* cooled right back down when I got moving. Radiator was a 4 core flathead Cadi. What the hell ! they did not relieve the block ???
This is the fan ***y that I made for my 32 with a 290 CI engine. It consists of a 39 Ford Std fan mounted to a cut-down old generator. It works great. You could just get a pulley for your alternator to do the same thing. I've never had good luck with electric fans, but maybe that's just me Jim
Thanks John I'll ask about the block...I've seen relieved heads but not a block...I'm fairly new at this though. Guy
Kinda late in the day to do a relief job. That should have been done about the first thing before boring let alone ***embling. Ran ones of those light weight flywheels also. 1900 Lb T Roadster PU, pretty quick street car back in 64-66, didn't lose many street drags.
What I don't like about electrics is the "deadband" between Fan Off and Fan On. If you drive in relatively cool weather, and are moving most of the time (not stop'n'go) you'll save a good amount of gas (HP) not turning a fan. But when you get in traffic, the fan won't come on until the engine is hot, and runs until it's down 20 degrees or so. Temperature cycling like that is hard on gaskets, for one thing.
I run a byp*** switch just for that purpose so I can flip it on manually when you get in traffic...works swell.
I also ran a byp*** switch on mine and works well.I also ran a small indicator light on dash to let me know if it was on or off.It keeps my 239 cool never has run hot.
If you go with the electric, can you hide it in front of the radiator? It would a helluva' lot less obtrusive....
Yeah NOBODY could ever run a built flathead on the street until 1980 or so when the aftermarket perfected the streetrod electric fan! What a crutch! Electric fans are for garage ceilings and not old hotrods. My flat motor in my 32 was a stock 51 Merc using a stock fan and an original unpressurized Deuce radiator. I had to run thermostats to keep it up around 180 in the fall and it ran the same in summertime high 90s weather. I heard all the wives tales too. I didn't let it scare me. I'm glad I didn't. One of my favorite lines came about 35 years ago when a guy at Hershey told me that streetrodders believe that nobody ever drove across country until 1955 when the SBC came out. They were driving built flatheads back then too and none of them had any electric fans. Just say no to electric fans.
I have a 276 with a true 9 to 1 static comp. With a six blade fan hi flow t stats,not the cheezy over the counter ones,14 lb cap with a 50/50 glycol mix in a br***works 4 core radiator. bumper to bumper for over a hour in traffic on a 100 degree day it never went over 200.On a normal 70 to 80 degree summer day 180 . Never a issue except in winter,never goes over 150. Imo,Electric fans are just a bandaid for someone who cant get a mech fan to fit or work properly.Take the time and figure it out,its worth it.
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