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I've posted this [to you] in another thread. Your fan is MUCH too small for the shroud opening. The fan diameter should be about 1" smaller than the opening and about 2/3 of its width should be inside that opening. Otherwise you will have very inefficient operation of the fan. In the case of the fan arrangement in that earlier photo, there will be NO benefit to having the fan. It will do nothing but make the air turbulent behind the radiator.
even too small if you get the fan spaced forward so at least some of it is inside that shroud, it will pull way more air through the radiator and cool better than it does now.
OP needs a correct fan and clutch and a shroud extension. but willcox, CA, et al do not have satellite offices in switzerland. i THINK the car may be driveable if he stays local with a good cap and fabricates, bubba's or gets a better spacer. of course the 4 longer 5/16ths-18 bolts may be a challenge. 8mm by 1.25 is close but no cigar...
I don't think I've installed anything on my car correctly to tell you the truth :-D
I honestly tried to install them safely and effectively as possible but since they are not oem on my car "correctly" is a relative term.. I did go over the top if anything with the controller and dual fans and redundant external relays all in the name of preventing any one component failure from allowing the car to overheat. I also easily tested this by disabling one fan and found even one of the 2 fans is more effective on my car than the oem shroud and fan was at maintaining cooler temps. I'm still not convinced its the fan change alone though... I also switched my radiator hoses to the ribbed stainless type and Ive been told that does add a decent amount of cooling surface area. car runs at 174 degrees all day now... with stock setup it would creep to 190+ in traffic pretty quick.
Last edited by augiedoggy; May 23, 2021 at 12:51 AM.
I got the cooling system checked, and the guy installed a proper fan with a clutch.
Took the car for a spin in city traffic on a hot summer day (ambitious, I know), and it worked like a charm - water temp went to 210 and stayed there, no overheating.
Then when I got to the car event, I switched the engine off immediately and learned the hard way that you should let the car cool off before doing that.
So the car is fixed, but I'm still an idiot - any advice on how to handle heat properly?
I've already heard:
- Turn the heater on high - this will help move some heat away from the engine
- Open the hood while leaving the engine running
- Keep distance to the car in front, so you don't get their hot exit air in your radiator
- While stopped, hit the gas to get the fan spinning (I would think this would make the clutch disengage the fan?)
Thanks for all the friendly and helpful advice I received here, very much appreciated. Gave me clues and confidence to go about solving the problem.
Something isn't right there.
Could be the wrong base on the clutch assembly.
And I'm not familiar with big blocks, but as a general principal the fan should be about 2/3 inside the shroud which should leave about 1" out the back of the shroud. Is it possible the clutch is too short?
Then when I got to the car event, I switched the engine off immediately and learned the hard way that you should let the car cool off before doing that.
any advice on how to handle heat properly?
Thanks for all the friendly and helpful advice I received here, very much appreciated. Gave me clues and confidence to go about solving the problem.
Heat soak is another major issue with these cars.
There are numerous threads regarding this issue and many things that you can do to help prevent heat soak from occurring.
Put a heat shield or spacer between the carb and intake manifold and make sure the return line between the carb and fuel tank is hooked up and operating.
Add vents to the hood to allow the hot air trapped in the engine compartment to escape.
Add a heatshield between the starter and exhaust or upgrade the starter and solenoid.
These are only a few, so do some research and you'll find many others.
I think you are not out-of-the-woods-yet. Like others have said, somethings still not right.
Looks like Bubba installed a EBay aftermarket clutch fan with Ace Hrdwr penny washers / nuts.
I would be concerned about that dismounting and going through your hood!
Also, can you turn the fan easily with engine off?
To me, 210* would put me on the side of the road questioning what's going on. Mine runs 180* all day, occasional 200* with an all stock system.
That list of four chores to do (post 91) is for a emergency situation to get a overheated vehicle home. You should NOT have to do this every time you take it for a drive.
Last edited by HeadsU.P.; Jun 24, 2021 at 02:42 PM.
I think you are not out-of-the-woods-yet. Like others have said, somethings still not right.
Looks like Bubba installed a EBay aftermarket clutch fan with Ace Hrdwr penny washers / nuts.
I would be concerned about that dismounting and going through your hood!
Also, can you turn the fan easily with engine off?
To me, 210* would put me on the side of the road questioning what's going on. Mine runs 180* all day, occasional 200* with an all stock system.
That list of four chores to do (post 91) is for a emergency situation to get a overheated vehicle home. You should NOT have to do this every time you take it for a drive.
Actually, this works much better. The cooling system can now keep the temp steady at 210, and that only happened on a WARM summer day, in heavy city traffic.
If the car is at 210, and I switch the engine off, the coolant no longer circulates, and I guess the coolant which was in the engine will boil then?
The puke tank exchanges fluids with the radiator fine - does that mean my radiator cap is working? I guess if it's broken and stuck open, it would happily puke, but the system would never be under pressure (and hence boil around 210)? Did I understand that right?
Why did you ask whether I can turn the fan easily with engine off? I assume this is how it should be (but don't know)? I'll try over lunch and get back here.
Fun fact: I tried putting on the heater, but it doesn't work (only the defroster, and that's not much help...). So I guess I'm on to fix that.
That clutch fan does not lock up solid. There’s always some slip to it. But at the same time it’s never supposed to completely freewheel. At idle and low RPMs it should be essentially locked up solid. So that it’s spinning at roughly engine RPMs. When you’re going down the road at 3500 RPMs you don’t need a fan at all. Because you were forcing the air through the radiator with the movement of the car. At least you better be if you got the engine revving that high. So the fan slips at higher RPMs and does not waste 30 or 40 hp forcing air through that’s already going that way anyway. And sounding like an airplane.
Something isn't right there.
