I'm mocking up my flattie and need to work out some interference issues. I want to run my fan off the generator if possible. The fan I have is a '37 I think and with this fan the blades would hit with the radiator connections as well as the magneto. Also, once bolted to the generator pulley, it looks like the blades would be about 3-1/2" to 4" away from my radiator. That being said, I am looking for another fan with a smaller blade diameter and a longer hub length. I think I may need a '32 fan based on some pics I have seen but not sure. Can anyone give me hub lengths and blade diameters for the various generator mounted fans?
I started a thread in reference to generator fans, and also am interested in the lengths of the various years. I did locate a fan from a Ford 9N tractor, and posted diameter & length info in the thread below. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=9234304#post9234304
That magneto sure complicates the equation. I will be watching both threads as I will be going through some of the same stuff this winter. Thankfully a different ignition system, but likely some of the same issues as well. Rod
Is your truck channeled? Looks to me like your f/h is sitting way too high in relation to the radiator as compared to stock. Or, your manifold has the generator mounted high. I have a '36 pickup and a '36 passenger car. The p/u has a '48 fan set up while the pax car has the fan mounted on the alternator like stock. Neither of them have the fan as high as yours is. Also, I believe that Ford made different shaft lengths on the fans as far as commercial versus non. You might search over on the FordBarn site for answers. I like to stay with engine mounted fans versus electric. But, in your case, it appears that you have adequate room for a puller fan even with the magneto.
I think the longer fan hub will fix your problem, but in case it doesnt you might look into getting all 8ba componets. Pumps, crank pully, and the newer style generator. 55 was first year for the 12v i think and you can swap feilds out with an 8ba gen or drill the hole in the case to locate it in the mount. This will give you the clearance for the mag. As for your radius issue probably just have to modify your blades Whos radiator do you have?
I adapted a new flex fan to my 32. i made a hat shaped adapter that would bolt to the hub and also have a pilot and holes for the new fan and spacer. It really moves the air. You can shoose your diameter and hub length this way.
No, my truck is not channeled..but the radiator is 2" shorter than stock and the generator could be lowered about another 1" or so. I'm definitely not going with an electric fan...I want all early Ford stuff if possible.
I think the longer hub will fix it too. Just hoping to get some dimensions before I buy more stuff that won't fit. I don't want to go with the 8BA stuff primarily because sure the crank pulley position would interfere with the mag...and I already have the earlier stuff. My radiator is from Brassworks..2" shorter than stock.
Thought it looked like it was sitting high also. Maybe he does not have the radiator mounting pads between the frame and radiator ears or his radiato has been moved forward and down to clear the mag. Not sure what the case is with the closeup pic. Rod
That looks like a '32. Hard to find and expensive. There may be something similar for the V8 60 or industrial applications but I don't know. If you find an industrial fan be sure it doesn't have a reverse pitch designed to blow instead of suck. I would suggest an ad on fordbarn with a picture specifying the length of the spacer but not the year. Remember you are still going to hit the water necks/hoses. Charlie Stephens
As far as the tractor fan I mentioned, They were available in both configurations as far as pitch. Puller fans were stated as pulling warm air back toward the operator, and a pusher would push air out of the front of the radiator, preventing grains from being pulled into it from the front. As I stated, the overall length is 3 1/2' and they were available as a four blade or six blade. It seems the tractor fans used are a lot cheaper on that auction site than the car or truck fans. The issue I see is finding a fan just the right length, although I think it would be pretty easy to shorten one, but not sure about balance. Also, check Van Pelts site as he shows several fans as new, and says to call for used.
I had a similar problem but I have a stock distributor on my '32. I ended up using a '38 pickup 4 blade fan that I took to a machinist friend of mine and had the shaft shortened because it was too long to fit between the generator and radiator. He also had to cut down the blades to clear the hoses. Here's what it looks like.
Here's a better profile pic of what I've got with my current fan mocked up about where it is going to need to go. This fan is about 15 3/4" in diameter. Going to need one that is about 13 1/4" diameter max but I'll trim and balance if I need to. Based on the comments, sounds like a truck or tractor fan with a longer hub might be what I need to be looking for...unless I stumble upon a '32 fan.
im ran into the same issue, if you look in my build thread i trimmed my fan down 1 inch on each blade and it was perfect. it would be easy to fab up a tube style spacer with two flanges on it.
'32 is long, all other passenger ones are short because they were used on '33-39 Ford models with the slanted back radiators. There are other long ones which I believe are from heavy trucks. Remember that there are also double row pulleys around, again from heavy trucks, that will replace what you have and add maybe 1 1/2" to the stack. Application knowledge isn't worth a whole lot because they aren't stamped with part numbers, so you are generally shopping by length in a pile of random parts at the flea market.
The Jalopy Journal
