i have never seen a mechanical fan fail....other than disintegration...but that's pretty rare.. 4 bolts, and it's off. with electric fans...you have pull the fan off the radiator, and if it's done right, that electric fan will be buried in a fan shroud. i'd rather be able to pull 4 bolts to remove the mechanical fan, than worry about wiring on an electric fan. of corse, if a mechanical fan fails, they usually end up in the radiator...so if you are on the side of the road, you'd pretty much be out of luck anyway at that point.
I don't care, do what you want, what blew me away was the stupid pusher fan on the front of the raspberry roadster and the header collecters pointed at the running boards! Sometimes you just gotta shake your head.
I don't care, do what you want, what blew me away was the stupid pusher fan on the front of the raspberry roadster and the header collecters pointed at the running boards! Sometimes you just gotta shake your head.
I drove a blown flathead 32 roadster on a 500 mile trip this summer in (hot) CA. it has an electric fan on a switch. I used the fan a total of 10 minutes on the entire trip. the motor never got above 185 and the fan was used just while i sat still in heavy traffic. It does have an open motor compartment and no mech. fan configuration would work in the space. BUT... if you are running a generator it will not keep up with a good electric fan and you'll see a big dip in voltage if you idle around much. my .02
I say, go mechanical. It's simpler and looks better. If it's timed right and the cooling system is efficient, a mechanical fan will be plenty sufficient.
The Jalopy Journal
