Electric fan conversion comments.
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Dec 2005
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Electric fan conversion comments.
I'm looking for input whether or not to convert my '79 L-48 to an electric fan set-up. I wondered if any of you have a good suggestion on what will work well and install nicely in the vette shroud. I do not have A/C anymore, and I don't have any cooling issues, I'm just looking to lower the overall weight, and make things simple up front. Thoughts ?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 3,030
Likes: 17
From: White Pine / Dandridge TN
You can spend a little or a lot... depending on what you want and need. Many of the guys have installed Dewitts dual fans or something similar. I went the low budget route and purchased a used 16" single fan and made my own mount using angled aluminum from Home Depot. I also purchased a wiring kit from Painless Wiring. It's functional and looks good. My temp never exceeds 185 degrees and I picked up power on the dyno. Best of all, the entire project was about $110.00.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 65,492
Likes: 230
From: Orange Park Florida
Simple, get a ~16"? '87 ish vette fan with mount/surround and mount that assy in your stock cut back fan shroud assy...
the obvous to ME on my '72 was attaching the lower tabs to the area supported by the cross thwart of the frame...and then to the top center mounts of the shroud with aluminum pieces cut and drilled to length...1/8" thick....inch wide....
MY setup been that way ten years now...
GENE
the obvous to ME on my '72 was attaching the lower tabs to the area supported by the cross thwart of the frame...and then to the top center mounts of the shroud with aluminum pieces cut and drilled to length...1/8" thick....inch wide....
MY setup been that way ten years now...
GENE
Former Vendor
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 5,593
Likes: 631
From: Brighton
Originally Posted by mrvette
Simple, get a ~16"? '87 ish vette fan with mount/surround and mount that assy in your stock cut back fan shroud assy...
GENE
GENE
As an example, we offer a upgrade package for C5 corvettes. These cars already come with a dual 11" electric fan package. This oe package is only 1700cfm. Our upgrade is two 12" Spals that look almost identical in size and blade size but the rpm is almost double so the CFM rating is 3200 cfm.
Spal also makes (4) four different CFM rating in there 16" fans, from 1600-2360cfm, you can hardly tell the difference from which is which.
The moral of the story is, you can't judge a fan by it's size. That means nothing. I have had customers downsize the cfm when they "thought" they were adding cfm.
If proven quality means anything to you and price isn't the first concern, this can't be matched for performance, looks, and simple installation.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 2,487
Likes: 1
From: Sydney
Originally Posted by Tom DeWitt
Not to pick on you personally but I see this suggestion a lot on the forum. Many have suggested using a late model vette fan, or other brand fan from the junk yard with zero knowledge on that fans CFM rating.
As an example, we offer a upgrade package for C5 corvettes. These cars already come with a dual 11" electric fan package. This oe package is only 1700cfm. Our upgrade is two 12" Spals that look almost identical in size and blade size but the rpm is almost double so the CFM rating is 3200 cfm.
Spal also makes (4) four different CFM rating in there 16" fans, from 1600-2360cfm, you can hardly tell the difference from which is which.
The moral of the story is, you can't judge a fan by it's size. That means nothing. I have had customers downsize the cfm when they "thought" they were adding cfm.
If proven quality means anything to you and price isn't the first concern, this can't be matched for performance, looks, and simple installation.
As an example, we offer a upgrade package for C5 corvettes. These cars already come with a dual 11" electric fan package. This oe package is only 1700cfm. Our upgrade is two 12" Spals that look almost identical in size and blade size but the rpm is almost double so the CFM rating is 3200 cfm.
Spal also makes (4) four different CFM rating in there 16" fans, from 1600-2360cfm, you can hardly tell the difference from which is which.
The moral of the story is, you can't judge a fan by it's size. That means nothing. I have had customers downsize the cfm when they "thought" they were adding cfm.
If proven quality means anything to you and price isn't the first concern, this can't be matched for performance, looks, and simple installation.
Thanks for sharing that info.
Do you have a photo of that setup or similar installed in a C3. Also does the standard alternator in a '70 produce enough amps to run a setup like that?
Cosmic
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Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 65,492
Likes: 230
From: Orange Park Florida
NOT a doubt in my mind of what Tom says above there, and surely those Spals will cool most anything, but my radiator is from a later Camaro Z28, and my fan is '87 vette, so they seem adequate so far for my 355" ~allmost 400 hp engine....
allthough I have no idea what the CFM is....
I"m getting ready to change around a bunch of other things, and it's going to affect the fan/radiator/shroud/steering reservoir, all of it...front support strut going in, and the hopeful arrival of my hydroboost will be in that process....
GENE
allthough I have no idea what the CFM is....
I"m getting ready to change around a bunch of other things, and it's going to affect the fan/radiator/shroud/steering reservoir, all of it...front support strut going in, and the hopeful arrival of my hydroboost will be in that process....
GENE
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 2,662
Likes: 8
From: Knoxville Tennessee
I installed two 12 inch fans to my '79 L 48 last year. I tried it with and without the shroud and it cooled better with the shroud installed. I had to fit the fans to the radiator and test fit the shroud over them until I got it to fit correctly. I did have to cut a small notch on the lower left side of the shrould to get that fan to fit. I also installed new seals around the radiator to make sure all the air was being forced thru the radiator instead of going around it. I'm sorry but I do not have pictures of this modification. It was before I had a digital camera. I bought the fans and thermal relay from a local hotrod shop and they work great. I had the radiator drilled about 3 inches under the left inlet and a bung welded to it to screw my thermo couple into. I hope this helps.
Bernie
Bernie
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Joined: Sep 2005
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From: South of giving a damn
St. Jude Donor '11, '17
IMO, use the right parts & toss the shroud, or stay factory. Quailty cost money. If you know the CFM rating of a fan then you can determine it's worth, otherwise it's a craps shoot. There is nothing wrong with buying used parts & modifing them to work, this is an expensive hobby and a few bucks saved here & there can mean the difference between stopping now or having enough left over to buy something extra. If money is tight & your factory system is cooling well, then why bother. My 79 L-48 runs fine in South Texas, with AC, and doesn't overheat, but there is a new DeWitt radiator & dual Spal setup sitting in the corner awaiting the 383.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 6,807
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From: Hoosier
Cruise-In III Veteran
Originally Posted by ratflinger
IMO, use the right parts & toss the shroud, or stay factory. Quailty cost money. If you know the CFM rating of a fan then you can determine it's worth, otherwise it's a craps shoot. There is nothing wrong with buying used parts & modifing them to work, this is an expensive hobby and a few bucks saved here & there can mean the difference between stopping now or having enough left over to buy something extra. If money is tight & your factory system is cooling well, then why bother. My 79 L-48 runs fine in South Texas, with AC, and doesn't overheat, but there is a new DeWitt radiator & dual Spal setup sitting in the corner awaiting the 383.
I've had the Dewitts rad and Spals on my 72 for 3 years now. It's a great improvement over the original, but bear in mind that the original radiator was trashed and the clutch fan was sloppy. I'm not regretting the cost of Tom's system at all, but if the orignal was not a problem, the change over would have been foolish.