The Money Pit

I had a mishap recently, where I threw my balancer through the hood at 7000 rpms, and am still in the process of fixing things...One thing leads to the next,...

Right now I've installed a new radiator support, got Dewitt to make a 1 1/4 inch tube direct fit radiator (should be good for 600 horse),and I now am looking at improving the electric fan I had. The single 16 inch Permicool actually worked pretty well, with exception on extremely hot days (like 95 degrees) and stuck in traffic. The old Griffen 31x19 radiator had 1 inch tubes,..So I think I was pretty close in cooling ability with respect to my horsepower level. It never boiled over,..just crept up little until I was able to get moving again,

I see a lot of dual Spal posts,..but was wondering what others had used with success with power levels sort of above average...
I may try a custom shroud, but am looking at this point for something of the shelf,...and proven to fit, and of course,..work.

I am running a VB&P spreader bar, which may need to be relocated,but otherwise,...it's a "stock" 80 Vette.

SmokedTires

My aluminum radiator does a great job cooling the motor when the car is moving. My dual flex-a-lite fans do well at keeping things controlled at 190 or less in heavy traffic on hot day.

Prewelded VBP spreader bar fit with no issues. I've heard lots of good things about the Spals.

C3 Stroker

I have over 600 hp. and use an electric fan.....temp. stays below 180 even on the hottest days.

This one...http://www.summitracing.com/parts/FLX-180/

'75

The title had me thinking of a how big a 500 hp electric fan would be.

l88rocket

I have dual electric fans on a 632 and runs 190 just about all the time.

MotorHead

I have temperature adjustable custom made dual 13 inch Spal fans on a BeCool rad, I have a switch to run one or two fans. Haven't really needed to turn the second one on but it is nice to know you have it if caught in a traffic jam on hot day. BTW it was friken expensive so if you can get something that works then go for it

I have had different setups including the Flex-a-lite setup which worked fine, but sitting in traffic I would always get the temperature creep, with this setup I don't get it at all, and if I switch the second fan on the temps drop like a rock and the fans switch off, which I really like

I also have a failsafe setup in case anything goes wrong, if the controller fails or the relays blow I have a battery cutoff switch which is a keyed 250Amp switch with one big wire directly from the battery to the fans with no fuses or anything, I turn that on, the fans go on, period.

gkull

I have the dual Spals one comes on with the ign. and I have the second one with a switch. Big becool rad. with a big pump I have the fill cap up on the manifold with a 20 psi howards cap.

I'm a firm believer in SFI dampers and have an ATI 6.25 lite weight on my 434 Adjustable pointer.


I have the rear manifold hoeses plumbed to my Morroso filler neck. I run a 195 or something Stant high flow therostat. It never gets hot unless it is ***** out road racing for 30 minute session. hot is only like 220 on a 100 degree day.

It is actually hard to get heat in the motor

fugawi

GOT A FAN FROM A LINCOLN MK 8 FOR 70 BUCKS. also got the control fromwww.dccontrol.com runs at 180* allday no mater how hot it gets.. it's at 500 hp also..

auavette

Dual electrical on a blown 496.
One starts with the engine and the other one at 185 if necesarry.
No problem so far.
DeWitts aluminum radiator.

boltnut

I'd like to know about how that balancer failed. Was it a PPR unit ?

The Money Pit

I like the Lincoln fan idea,...not sure I could find one. The Flexilite 188 I have my eye on too. My thinking is the fan almost never comes on now anyway, and as Motorhead pointed out, he really never uses the second fan. So I think one larger fan would be the ticket. Either you don't need it,...or it's on and cooling like a hurricane.

Those with single fan setups,..Could you post some installed pictures.I'd like to get this beast back together soon,....Looking at pictures showing the clearance from the spreader bar and sway bar to the fan shroud. I have a radiator core that's 2 3/4 inches thick, and need to be sure I have enough room for the fan shroud I pick.

fugawi,
Where'd you find your fan, and how did you end up mounting it. Really has the look I'm going for.

Got L-88 hood on my brain now......

The balancer failure,....I really can't say what caused what first....The crank kit I used for the 406 came with it, as a balanced assembly. Was fine for years,....Many 7000 rpm blasts....Then one fine day I heard a pop, saw fiberglass burst through the hood. When I pulled over and looked, the water pump housing was missing the lower hose port, the outer ring of the balancer was gone,..no belt, ripped lower radiator hose, ......When I got home,...(yes I drove it home) I saw a dent in the frame where the balancer must have hit, a nice gouge in my right front wheel inner bead lip, and of course that pretty little hole in the hood.

Been cobbling it back together since.......Like to do a nicer job this time, so I'm looking at both form (looks pretty), and function,...

boltnut

Do you remember if it was a slip fit or pressed on ? Have you checked your crank for damage ?

The Money Pit

The balancer is a slip fit (with the center bolt) I pulled the motor, replaced the timing cover with a billet one, new balncer, pulleys and dropped it in. Fired on the first twist of the key and ran smooth as silk to about 4500 or so. I still haven't got a cooling system hooked up, just wanted to see if the engine had any issues, ...I think it's fine.

If when I get it back together I find it does have internal damage,...the plan will be to go through the whole engine,...mic everything,..and redo with a roller cam. Right now it just runs too strong to bother messing with.

boltnut

I'm sure you are good to go. I learned a few things about balancer fit a while back....it has to be in spec for fit and if you are combining aftermarket parts there could be issues. Too lose a fit and you get slop. Too tight and you can get cracks when installed. JMO.....FYI...

TheycallmeDave

I have a 1970 built BB Vette and use Dewitts ALum. Radiator with twin fan assembly out of an early 1990's Vette . It fills just about the entire radiator surface , mounted on the backside for drawthru , each fan is 12" dia. , and i can maintain 190 f. water temp. in very hot weather at extensive idle. I have the both fans come on at 205 f. and off at 190 f. Both fans operating pulls a little over 25 amps. They move a ton of air.

7t2vette

I have a 500+hp 406, and I have been using a Be Cool rad with a single 16" Spal fan for may years now. No issues, the car never runs hot, ever. Worth the extra bucks.

A couple pics:

The Money Pit

7t2vette,
The single 16 inch Spal I have also been looking at. Spal has three different 16 inch fans,....slim, medium and extreme. Which fan do you run? The 16 inch Permicool I ran last pretty much did work, was rated at 2850 cfm's I think, but mounted through the core, which is something I never really liked.

7t2vette

I can't remember exactly which one it is, I will check and let you know.

MN80Vette

I had a 16" Permicool fan mounted through the core also. I only have 350 hp, not 500, but the fan easily handled the heat, even idling around Car Craft Summer Nationals in late-July heat. The problem was that the through-the-core mounts wore a couple of holes through the core.

I replaced the 16" single with dual-11" shrouded fans off eBay when I recently replaced the radiator using Be Cool fan mounts instead of through-the-core. The shrouded dual-11's bring the temp down noticably faster than the unshrouded single-16.

Steve Ference

7t2vette,
Sorry this is off subject, but what brand of alternator bracket/tensioner arm are you using on your motor. I haven t found one that works properly yet.
Thanks Steve.