I am fabricating a fan shroud for my 32 Ford and could use some input from you guys. The car will have a Flathead and a mechanical fan. The fan blade is low in the radiator/shroud due to the location of the original fan/generator mount. The largest fan blade I can use is 13. There is over 6 ½ of shroud/radiator core above the fan opening and I am thinking that at higher road speeds, where the fan blade is really no longer very effective, the airflow through the upper part of the radiator will be minimal at best due to the air hitting the wall of the shroud and having no where to go. Would it be a good idea to open up holes in the upper part of the shroud to give the airflow up there, somewhere to go. If the holes are in the shroud, would the fan draw air from the path of least resistance (the holes) while the car is not moving? Or because the fan blade is close to the radiator would it still draw through the core and not from the holes in the shroud. I am not sure. Radiator is 22x17 Shroud is the same size Fan blade is 13, flat front (no front pitch on the blades) Fan blade to radiator clearance is 1 9/16 top, 1 1/16 bottom Tips of fan blade are 2 from the bottom of the radiator core Half of the fan blade will be inside the shroud Shroud opening for fan is 15 (1 clearance around fan blade) Shroud to radiator core is 2 1/16 top, 1 9/16 bottom Thanks, Bill
I think the idea of a shroud is to draw as much air through the radiator so the added holes in the shroud would not be needed or desired. Now I think I see why you have fan clearance problems. An 8ba won't fit with a hood without firewall modifications with the stock fan?
The engine and trans are also set in the ch***is a little lower so the floor inside the car will be flat (no tunnel) and I do not want to modify the firewall from stock design. Fan clearance is tight. Bill
I try hard not to get anywhere near a modern or semi modern car...but.. I do recall some that did have extra holes, and those holes are covered by a rubber flap. I ***ume they open when driving faster?
Some radiator makers are doing just what you have done there, put some air relief holes in the shroud so air can come through at highway speeds. The ones I have seen put a flap of rubber over the hole so it is closed when the fan is ****ing air and it will open when you are moving. Don't know how effective that is, but they are doing it so they must have done some thinking first. Don
That's beautiful body! Here's picture of the 8ba in my 5-window. It has a t-10 four speed behind it with a flat floor but a curved toe board to make room for the stamped steel stock bell housing.
Punch louvers in the top. Allows air flow, looks more traditional and they are not as big as the holes you have marked out. Good luck By the way, not as easy putting an 8BA in a Deuce as one might think. Speaking from experience. dolsen37
First thing i noticed was the tire sizes...that looks so right to me. I seem to be seeing more of the old "touches" these days on hamb. Very nice indeed.
I am also running a stamped steel bellhousing with a Flathead Jack adapter plate to a T-5. I have about 3/4" between the bellhousing and the toe board.
You are really going to like that T-5. I have one in my roadster and it is amazing, 2200rpms at 70 mph with 3.40 gears.
The T-5 I am going to build will have a 3.50-1 First gear ratio and I am using a 49 Ford rear end with a 3.73-1 ratio. With the rear tire height it should work out well. Bill
The body is made by New Age Motorsports on the East coast. The body is very accurate and well built. One of the ways to get a flat floor inside is they raised it on an angle from the front of the seat to the firewall almost 2" With the stock firewall and flat floor there is all kinds of foot room. When sitting in the car you cant even tell it raised. Bill
You didn't want to change a fibergl*** firewall?? Now i just don't get it, sorry. It sure looked original in the first picture.
The reasons I want to keep the original looking firewall are. I am trying to build a early 50s period correct car as close as possible with some exceptions for better driving and the kickout on the lower part of the firewall has so much more room than a flattened one. In fact there is so much room inside that I will have a package tray behind the seat. Bill
I was having a heating problem with my deuce, and had Bad Donkey Hot Rods custom create a fan shroud that has a very vintage, blend in look. These are the same guys (Junior and Clark) that are doing the '32 5w build for Detroit. As you can see, the shroud mounting points are ribbed and uses bucked rivets. It leaves the radiator open, as others noted, but the shroud dramatically increases flow. I now run almost too cool, which is a really good thing with a flatmotor. I think they did a terriffic job for me. It really looks like it belongs in the 40's. Most people don't even realize that it was not a stock type piece. You can see the side rails attach at the four mounting points for the stock '32 shell. They are slotted to allow adjustment up and down. Pretty slick. Clark was the wizard designer and engineer. It is extremly tight. My radiator is in the stock position. I have an angle drive Vertex and a Stewart Warner crank drive tach all riding out front. The fan is a 55-57 Y-block Ford that has had the tips shortened. Get your fan up on the generator.
X2, looks old IMO. I am not an air flow engineer, so I don't understand how it works so well, with the other areas open....but I sure will take your word on it. I am guessing the circle around the fan tips does something to increase the flow, even though the rest is open. Very nice.
J. Fitzhugh's fan shroud looks cool, I am not that good a fabricator. I don't see the point to change my fan mount to the generator. It looks just as high up in the radiator as mine is low. I thought the point behind the fan shroud was to draw as much air through as much of the core as possible. His will only draw air through the core in the diameter of the shroud. Maybe that's enough, I dont know. Bill
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