Frank Elder Posted July 5, 2013 Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 Has anyone considered using a viscous dampner/clutch type fan in our cars? Can it be done due to space requirements, fitting properly, or too much strain on the water pump? If possible, I would think it would free up some HP at highway speeds, and maybe lead to a little less "ROAR" as we tootle down the road......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldodge41 Posted July 5, 2013 Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 Curious to see opinions on this as I have thought about this also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martybose Posted July 5, 2013 Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 I've never seen a clutch fan that had the hub thin enough to fit in our cars, but maybe there are some somewhere. Marty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Elder Posted July 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 When the 25 inch motor is installed in our cars people move/flip the rad support forward.........would this gain enough room for the new fan install on a 218/230? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Coatney Posted July 6, 2013 Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 25" engined installed, radiator moved 2" forward and this is what I have. Were it a 23" engine add 2" to the box in front of the water pump hub and that is how much room you would have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Elder Posted July 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 Not even close.......dagnabit! Oh well, thems the breaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Haymond Posted July 6, 2013 Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 I moved my radiator forward for the 318 engine in my P-15. I did not have enough room for the stock clutch fan, so went electric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plymouthy Adams Posted July 6, 2013 Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 (edited) I put my rad forward..also have a clutch fan and an electric fan that is between the clutch fan and the radiator..mimic of donor setup...just a tad different mounting for the electric fan...adapted to the 48's rad support Edited July 6, 2013 by Plymouthy Adams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andydodge Posted July 6, 2013 Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 When I installed the 318Poly in my 1940 Dodge I mounted the engine quite low and ended up using an electric fan mounted at the front of the radiator.......which is what I intended to use when I updated the engine in the 41 Plymouth coupe I had. By the time you fiddle around trying to find a clutch fan arrangement that will fit the side valve water pump you would be ahead of the game just removing the standard fan, using the 4 bolts just to hold the pulley onto the hub and going with the electric fan on the front or at the rear as a puller and use a manual on/off switch......once the car is up to about 30mph you shouldn't need any fan anyway as there is enough air going past the radiator fins at that speed to cool the water........a fan is only(or SHOULD ONLY) be needed at low, around town speeds......andyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Elder Posted July 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 Thank you Andy......both you and Don are already successfully running electric fans, most are using stock type fans.....the third option of a clutch type fan seems to be dwindling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveplym Posted July 6, 2013 Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 I would think the electric fan would be the way to go. You can set up a toggle switch and turn it on and off as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plymouthy Adams Posted July 6, 2013 Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 on my 51 Suburban..the setup was rather difficult to do the forward radiator, condenser and hood support as stock ...each item got a bit of mod and the engine is 100% electric fan..vicious fan is gone due to room constraints...get a good fan unit with adjustable off/on temp control, AC circuit and also manual override...these are available in a number of CFM ratings..be prepared to drop a few extra dollars here..it is important part of the build and should not be an area to be 'cheap' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barabbas Posted July 6, 2013 Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 ...get a good fan unit with adjustable off/on temp control, AC circuit and also manual override...these are available in a number of CFM ratings..be prepared to drop a few extra dollars here..it is important part of the build and should not be an area to be 'cheap' Do you have any reccomendations on what is a "good fan" brand and how many CFM we need or is it just more is better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Elder Posted July 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 Since the fan focus has evolved.....pusher or puller? If you had room for either one....which do you approve of and which is more efficient.......all opinions are welcomed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Coatney Posted July 6, 2013 Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 I use a pusher fan. Bought if from JC Whitney several years ago and I do not recall the CFM rating. I use a thermostatically controlled relay for fan control as pictured below. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plymouthy Adams Posted July 6, 2013 Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 to this end each has to make their own call as I use mine in conjunction with late model engine upgrades....I do however suggest a trip to the online website of Summit Racing....this is where I buy my radiators and fans for the modifications I make based on my specific needs...your purchase will depend on the radiator you use, square area of the 'skin' and the overall cowling that is integral tot he fan unit itself..and if you wish a single or two stage cooling fans...but as far as radiator cooling fans and electric. I cannot see how you could get to much CFM...so if you were to err, as in freezing up by being too cool now I guess Duluth area may be a contributing factor........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonstop Posted July 6, 2013 Report Share Posted July 6, 2013 I have used Crown Vic fans on OT cars with much success. Another advantage is that thy are 2 speed and come with a shroud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.R. Posted July 7, 2013 Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 I will have to get measurements but I wonder if a 7 blade fan off a slant six with AC would fit? They are pretty thin, we have one on my wife's 66 dart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andydodge Posted July 7, 2013 Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 As far as the size of the fan is concerned, just measure the area that you have, ie the width/ height and get the biggest fan that you can fit/afford............andyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solution chopt50wgn Posted July 8, 2013 Solution Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 One thing to remember when purchasing an electric fan is static pressure drop once the fan is attached to the radiator. Some fan manufacturers will state the drop in their ads. Spal has the lowest drop of most all fans on the market. Have seen tests of fans rated at 3500 CFM and once attached to radiator the CFM rating dropped to 900. That's a 2600 CFM loss. Spal HP fans are rated in the area of 2750 and the drop is 400, so you have a legitimate 2350 CFM rating. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ194950 Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 (edited) Since the fan focus has evolved.....pusher or puller? If you had room for either one....which do you approve of and which is more efficient.......all opinions are welcomed! Have seen several articles on cooling questions in hot rod- street rod type magazines where cooling product mfg's answered various questions on the cooling subjects. When asked weather pushing or pushing was preferred all mfg's felt puller to be better Overall coolers due to effort of the fan when mounted in front blocked wind reduced air flow thru the rad.at speed and had almost no air blocking effect when mounted as puller. But all mfg'ers said pusher could be ok if fan and radiator sizes where ok. In our cars with a six or milder V-8, the overall rad size is already quite large allowing for a large fan also! I think that is why very few questions on overheating overall on this forum, does come up occasionally but seems underlying problems are usually the culpret. Just thought i'd share a pieces of info i've read for general info! Best to ya, Doug Edited July 8, 2013 by DJ194950 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Elder Posted July 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 Thank you Doug that was some good stuff......lets face it....most of these engines overheat due to crud in the passages limiting the cooling capacity of the pressureless system. If we used distilled or purified water would it only be a diamond studded dog collar, or would it be beneficial? After a very through block cleaning of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Coatney Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 Great information Doug. If I had available real estate I would have mounted my fan as a puller. I do lose a lot of air flow with my fan in front of the radiator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martybose Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 I was looking at the shop manual for my Bimmer, and was surprised to see a very short-coupled thermostatic fan hub with a plastic fan that mounted on the block side of the hub. You would have to come up with a clever way to mount the hub, as it apparently screws onto the front of the BMW water pump snout, but it might fit. Marty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Horne Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 Thank you Doug that was some good stuff......lets face it....most of these engines overheat due to crud in the passages limiting the cooling capacity of the pressureless system. If we used distilled or purified water would it only be a diamond studded dog collar, or would it be beneficial? After a very through block cleaning of course. I was doing some reading on 50/50 premix coolant, that the manufacture used filtered water with the mix, and did not recommend using distilled water. I have been flushing the cooling system of my newly acquired Cherokee with rain water the past few weeks. A few more flushes will be needed before adding coolant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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