Dual Spal Fans Install
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Joined: Oct 2009
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Dual Spal Fans Install
I recently purchased two 12" spal from a Ford Taurus at a salvage yard for $50. The Taurus shroud will not work so now I need a shroud for my two fans. Has anyone had to do something similar.......if so where did you get the shroud? I see Jeg's has a generic one for dual fans.....will that one work?
71/350 automatic with a Dewitts 26" core aluminum radiator
71/350 automatic with a Dewitts 26" core aluminum radiator
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 4,883
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From: North Easton Mass
I recently purchased two 12" spal from a Ford Taurus at a salvage yard for $50. The Taurus shroud will not work so now I need a shroud for my two fans. Has anyone had to do something similar.......if so where did you get the shroud? I see Jeg's has a generic one for dual fans.....will that one work?
71/350 automatic with a Dewitts 26" core aluminum radiator
71/350 automatic with a Dewitts 26" core aluminum radiator
My radiator has a single fan and as you can see the mounting doesn't cover the whole backside of the radiator. This is the way it came from DeWitt's and I assume they know what they are doing. I haven't had any cooling problems either with the original engine or the LS1.
Rick B.
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From: Oquirrh Mountains
St. Jude Donor '09
Pro
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 533
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From: Boca Raton Florida
I recently purchased two 12" spal from a Ford Taurus at a salvage yard for $50. The Taurus shroud will not work so now I need a shroud for my two fans. Has anyone had to do something similar.......if so where did you get the shroud? I see Jeg's has a generic one for dual fans.....will that one work?
71/350 automatic with a Dewitts 26" core aluminum radiator
71/350 automatic with a Dewitts 26" core aluminum radiator
Pro
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 533
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From: Boca Raton Florida
The good news -- the custom shroud fits my big block radiator perfectly.
The bad news -- the front suspension interferes with the driver side fan. I measured the radiator but I failed to measure its location in the engine bay. Turns out the big block radiator is mounted one inch or so to the left of center. That puts the edge of the driver side fan too close to the upper control arm shaft. If you order a shroud like mine, have the fan holes shifted one inch to the side (one of the measurements you supply).
Offset radiator makes sense because the big block engine is offset two inches or so to the right of center. Probably a driveshaft angle issue.
Anyway, I cut the fan rim down by about 1/2 inch so it clears the upper control arm. It's tight but I think it will work.
The bad news -- the front suspension interferes with the driver side fan. I measured the radiator but I failed to measure its location in the engine bay. Turns out the big block radiator is mounted one inch or so to the left of center. That puts the edge of the driver side fan too close to the upper control arm shaft. If you order a shroud like mine, have the fan holes shifted one inch to the side (one of the measurements you supply).
Offset radiator makes sense because the big block engine is offset two inches or so to the right of center. Probably a driveshaft angle issue.
Anyway, I cut the fan rim down by about 1/2 inch so it clears the upper control arm. It's tight but I think it will work.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2000
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From: Who says "Nothing is impossible" ? I've been doing nothing for years.
Glad you are getting it sorted out.
The fabricators that did my custom Spal / BeCool setup told me something I didn't know. They actually said the fans should be back or in other words there should be about a 1/8" inch gap between the fan(s) and the radiator. A shroud covering the whole back of the rad isn't necessary as you can see in 72LS1Vette's pic, it looks like there is a gap in there too.
BeCool Rad with low profile 13inch Spal fans
Installed
The fabricators that did my custom Spal / BeCool setup told me something I didn't know. They actually said the fans should be back or in other words there should be about a 1/8" inch gap between the fan(s) and the radiator. A shroud covering the whole back of the rad isn't necessary as you can see in 72LS1Vette's pic, it looks like there is a gap in there too.
BeCool Rad with low profile 13inch Spal fans
Installed
Pro
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 533
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From: Boca Raton Florida
Glad you are getting it sorted out.
The fabricators that did my custom Spal / BeCool setup told me something I didn't know. They actually said the fans should be back or in other words there should be about a 1/8" inch gap between the fan(s) and the radiator. A shroud covering the whole back of the rad isn't necessary as you can see in 72LS1Vette's pic, it looks like there is a gap in there too.
The fabricators that did my custom Spal / BeCool setup told me something I didn't know. They actually said the fans should be back or in other words there should be about a 1/8" inch gap between the fan(s) and the radiator. A shroud covering the whole back of the rad isn't necessary as you can see in 72LS1Vette's pic, it looks like there is a gap in there too.
I think I would have been fine if the gap had been 1/8 inch. The lunch tray design gives about 1/2 inch gap and the fan edge at one inch puts me pretty far back into the engine compartment. Some days I envy the small block.
Everything's torn apart but I think you can see how little room there is after a big block gets stuffed in. I managed to trim the fan rim on the router table and then chuck it in a drill to smooth the edges.
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From: Boca Raton Florida
You've got about as much space in there with that big a** radiator as I have when my radiator is out.
Here's a better view of how little space there is.
On the passenger side it's wide open spaces. It's a bad view but there is more space on this side. Yes, the upper control arm is floating -- I want to put a brace like yours in but the sites say it's only for small blocks.
