leichtigkeit

1979 c3
Engine 383 Stroker
Has anyone replaced the stock cooling fan with electrical ones. single/dual. It seems I only have 1.75 inches between the radiator and the A frame arm of the suspension. Also have you kept the shroud in the conversion, if a single fan.
If you could give me the brand, model or any suggestion i would appreciate it
Thank you

isosceles

yes,
I've ditched the mechanical fan and shroud on mine. I now run a Permacool 19115 HP 16" fan. Got the idea from Olivier (GSC3).

you can find the dimensions here. http://www.perma-cool.com/Catalog/Cat_page16.html

You won't even need it to get anywhere near the control arms. It moves almost 3000 CFM.

bobs77vet

can't see any reason to keep the shroud if you do away with the conventional fan....

redc3

im using thinline 220 series it covers entire rad, and had to cut 1 small peice of the built in shroud/webbing to clear driver side a-arm. it pulls 3000cfm but seems to be better now with high output alternator. i couldnt be happier

The Dude

Me, too. You don't need to spend big dollars on some Eye-Talian setup.

Jughead

DeWitt's aluminum radiator & dual spal's.

mrvette

I use a '89 V8 camaro radiator for 150 bux, and a '87 vette fan, in the original shroud, modded up to fit/mount everything, use pipe wrapping from HD to fill in the voids....works well, as long as the radiator does not go into the weeping mode of water loss/evaporation, and the fan motor has full power...any electric brush type motor can get a bad spot on the armateur, and loose power, the a/c blower just quits when that happens, as no power flows in that dead zone, but the radiator fans are turned over by airflow at speed, and so will remain running, just not pulling any serious airflow, and so coming off the freeway onto a city street will allow overheating in a few blocks/or sitting at a light....lack of airflow, but fan is running, just not fast....can be overlooked really easy...

GENE

Matt Gruber

Mark
have u tested it in a FL traffic jam on a hot day?
Did u mount it to fin tubes?(ouch)
What temp switch did u buy?
thanks!

The Money Pit

This 16" Permicool keeps the 406 at 190 degrees,at a dead stop on 95 degree days. I found this out last summer when PENNDOT repaved the highway I commute on.
I added the aluminum radiator at the same time,so I can't say if it's all fan that did the trick.I replaced the fan because of one 6500 rpm blip on the way home,that some how managed to work the engine driven fan loose.I decided then that an electric fan was cheaper than a new hood.

timbo79

I used twin fans with eloectric controls for each. Mount almost perfectly. No problem 0on the clearance.. You can see in the pic... I haven't updated my website in a long time, but there are a few therein cooling section. They work great!!!

Flexalite low profiles...2500 CFM With a Be Cool Radiator.

MassVette

I run a Be Cool aluminum rad with dual SPALS on the 502 in my '79-
Make sure you use 2 relays on dual fans, though.

Matt Gruber

thanks for the reports!

isosceles

Matt,
The hottest it has been since I've mounted it was upper 80's and it was fine. The only time the motor gets hot in traffic is with the air on, but even then it was only 200, and I'd been idling a LONG time. Running the A/C seems to raise the idling temps by 20 degrees. I have an adjustable switch that comes on at about 180 ( I have a 160 T-stat). I'm still running a 4 row copper radiator and the tranny fluid is still plumbed in. I intend to get a tranny cooler and mount it away from the radiator. I might even someday get an aluminum radiator to redue weight. We'll see how it does in a few months when it gets in the 90's.

I used the through-fin mounting kit supplied with the fan, but followed Permacool's instructions: the plastic strap is resting on the bottom of a "V" on the fins rather than on the top of a tube if the "V" was upside down.
Even though it's fairly new, I beat the radiator up pretty good when I did the motor swap and then the fan swap. Those control arms are SO close during installation

Matt Gruber

i'd like to bolt at least the bottom of the fan to the rad support, so there is no weight pulling down on the fins. do u think that can be done without pulling the rad?
thanks!

The Dude

Probably not. But the Permacool fan probably doesn't weigh more than maybe a pound or two. It's nothing. And it they don't cost $350 or $400, either.

trevkris2

Speaking of $$$....what's a reasonable price to pay for an electric fan setup??

singedfur

I've seen some fans listed as "puller" and some as "pusher". When do you use which? Is one better than another?

timbo79

You need a puller, mounts on rear, pulls through. Pusher mounts on front, pushes through

The Dude

The Permacool kit shouldn't cost more than about $90 at the very most. Seriously I believe that, if your cooling system is up to snuff, you DO NOT NEED to get more than the 16" Permacool setup.

And, BTW, the Permacool can be either a pusher or a puller, depending on how you wire it. Puller (behind the radiator) is more efficient.

Fevre

Running the same fans, work well for me, temp climbs slightly when sitting and idling but with a 180 stat is tops out at 200 max, think it might be more do to the open element air cleaner sucking in superheated air..