History Electric fans

Thanks man, very helpful, very kool...

 

As lame as this thread is, this post and the one before it made it worthwhile.

 

Couldn't have been extremely effective either, considering the sort of CFM hog any kind of pneumatic motor is.

 

You know I thought all of my posts here were good, each one better than the last.
Now that the top two posts are in,,,,,its time for me to jump the shark with this one

 

A Vicki weighs more than Fonzie, better put on an electric fan to get that extra 40hp to make it over

 

How about some pics of the engine pans on the Packard. Another cooling item Henry didn't use.

 

They were used on the Model A. Most were tossed aside after some form of service requiring removal. On my 39 it appears that the inner fender was designed to help extract hot air from under the hood. There's a proprietary louver that lets it escape into the fender cavity. I don't have an engine pan pic for a Packard, but some google image search might help folks find it. Search tip: if you type in what you want and end it in "...for sale" under images you get pics of what you want. This is assuming someone might be selling a set of, let's say, "1934 Packard engine pans". Try it, it's fun...

edit: Ok, couldn't help myself and I tried it. I got these for a 37, installed on the frame where they belong, in this pic they're in primer. The 12s were louvered, this is a 37 12 chassis:

 

Old thread I know, but Motor Trend on Demand has an internet show called "Engine Masters" and they just tested this. The engine was a mild SBC and they tried four different types of fans. I have MToD so I can watch the episode one month before it goes to YouTube, if anyone else here has it I recommend watching it. Results:
Baseline (no fan):
MAX TQ: 406.9 @ 3900 RPM | MAX HP: 349 @ 5200 RPM

Test 1 (Clutch fan)
MAX TQ: 400 @ 3900 RPM | MAX HP: 335 @ 5100 RPM

Test 2 (Plastic flex-fan)
MAX TQ: 388.3 @ 3900 RPM | MAX HP: 325.1 @ 5200 RPM

Test 3 (Aluminum fan)
MAX TQ: 394.9 @ 3900 RPM | MAX HP: 328.7 @ 4800 RPM

Test 4 (Factory steel fan)
MAX TQ: 388.1 @ 3900 RPM | MAX HP: 318.6 @ 5000 RPM

 

Wow! I wouldn't have guessed that the fan pulls 14 horse power off the engine! I'll bet it pulls a lot less at cruising speed than at full-out high rpm. I wonder if a person could rig up a go-cart clutch so that it lets go at the highest rpm, making it fan-free for about 1320 feet of hard acceleration.

Or maybe an A/C clutch.



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I found it pretty interesting.

 

Check out the vid. It shows the whole graph for each fan.

 

that video was interesting but it didn't take into account which one pulled more air. on the street what good would 5 extra horsepower be if it over heats at idle?

 

So, I guess I will stick with my electric fans, which are on only when they need to be, allow the engine to get to proper operating temperature faster, keep it there more of the time, and switch off at 90 throttle, and above.

I know, not wasting fuel and throwing away useful power is not traditional.

 

If your engine overheats at idle with any of those fans on it, it is either in a terrible state of tune, or it is built wrong.

 

No doubt about it ever in my mind that the electric would use less power, but on an open engine compartment like my roadster, it looks like shit.
That's why I spent the big bucks to put a Zip's water pump riser on that SBC, in order to raise the fan up off the front crossmember and get a good sized fan on it.
Now on my '40 coupe with SBF, this wouldn't look so bad as it has a hood But it's a cruiser, not a racer, and a little power loss only results in a small loss in mpg

 

When i call my wife to pick me up out of town cause my car broke down, I think telling her picking me up is traditional, well you try that one. Some times just being smart is better than a concept.

 

Very cool fan shroud.
Similar to mine

Or maybe you aren't doing it right. My flathead is open for the world to see
I wouldn't say this looks like shit It may make people shit themselves but it looks right and tight

 

I wonder if anyone has posted these pics yet. Kind of an oddball car but I am pretty sure that these are traditional electric fans or should be.

Here's a link to info:

http://barnfinds.com/real-deal-gasser-1937-chevy-coupe/

 

Bandit Billy, I'm not real sure just what I'm looking at there! Do you have another pic from a little further away? I'm not seeing a grill shell if it's there,but I can see the circular grille of the fan inside a big piece of flat metal, chrome plated.
And I can see a bubble from a '33/34 inner fender, it appears, but no grill shell. Mine is an "A" with Deuce grill&shell just a little bit different set up and situation than a '33/34.

 

I run an aluminum radiator with a mechanical fan and no shroud. The fans pretty far from the radiator actually. It still stays about 190 degrees all the time no matter the conditions


"Keep on keepin' on"

 

There are days I'm not that sure either! I have the car tore apart right now for paint. I had not noticed that the grille wasn't installed in that pic I found on my computer. It is a 34 and it does have a one piece hood top, no sides with inner fenders on a high boy roadster. It does hide a lot more than your A. My electric fan is practically buried in that shroud. Not chrome, German silver and brass assembled and polished by Lee at Brassworks.

 

the short sighted, blanket statement may have helped to remind a few guys to get their motors in shape, but to guys that are jamming too much motor in too small an engine compartment with limited radiator space, in traffic, dead of summer in a southern place [us new englanders don't know geography] might have taken your reply as an arrogant insult............
the video tested just horsepower loss. i would have liked to see how they compared in air movement. the designs and weight were different . they could have taken a 18" metal disc, flared out a couple "fins", and it would have tested on top of their list, but would have been useless.
too many of these "scientific" tests get done showing half the info..... alcohol in gas, home solar, piped gas, etc......good to get all the facts.

 

I am a New Englander. No more than 40-minutes from you, until I figured out where the money river was.

I stand by my statement.

"...to guys that are jamming too much motor in too small an engine compartment with limited radiator space..." = built wrong, and short-sighted.

 

Actually a lot of us have been jamming too much engine into too small a space for a long time. That's hot rodding 101. LOL

Electric fans are an easy way out when cooling becomes an issue. I run them just fir that reason. if you can't get a fan aligned with whatever radiator that you are running you can always hang an electric right where you want it. its a remote fan of sorts.

No matter what you use for a radiator you have to figure out a way to make air go through it. Sometimes that involves building a shroud that is a sheet metal workers nightmare, or figuring out a way to move your mechanical fan or using an electric. Hell on my current build with the engine setback I am actually moving the radiator back to the engine. I may or may not run a mechanical but moving the radiator is the easiest solution, for me.

 

Where did you find that fan? I must have one!

 

You just have to scour the class ads, like everywhere. They still pop up on occasion.

I think that someone is probably making copies.

 

NOT an electrical or mechanical, it's a vacuum fan.

 

That has already been established although they did use electric fans that were just like those only different.