Hi folks, I want to install an electric fan on my 34ford, it has a walker radiator and I'm running a flathead. Is there some better than others? Some with better mounting? Any advice is welcome, I have never used one so I want to be sure to do it right. Thanks Ken
Spal makes good ones. Use a good relay and wire it properly. I run one on my coupe, blown 406. Has never over heated. I made my own mounts for the fan.
Cooling components fit the Walker real well. Only needs four small sheet metal screws. My old coupe had one for years. As stated above you need a good battery, alternator and correct size wiring along with a relay. Don't forget a good ground.
If you use a thermostat sending switch to turn the fan on and off I would also wire in a manual on/off switch. If I am in heavy traffic I like to turn on the fan before the temp sensor turns on the fan to stay ahead of rising temp.
https://deltapag.com/ One of the best brands made. Well designed fan blades, well designed motors, what else is there ? Very low current drag also. Mike
I have Cooling Componants on two of mine, good product. Don't think they are a Walker radiator company though.
I have a cooling components on my 40 ford it keeps my 392 hemi running cool on a walker becool aluminum radiator. The shroud and fan fit radiator very good. I believe the total depth was 4 1/2 inches with shroud.
Is there such a thing as an electric fan that doesn't look like a plastic piece of crap? I would try one of these if I thought it would fit..
Uh, me thinks that's worser. I think a guy could build a nice fan shroud, bury the electric fan inside it, rig up a set of louvers that close when it is at the show so you cant see the fan and open when you are under way. Louvers can be electric opening or just blow open when the fan turns on. Of course if you have that much room why wouldn't you just run a belt driven fan?
I have gone to brushless fans since talking to spal at sema , not familiar with the delta brand above , but see they also offer brushless. Advantage of variable speed with less electrical system shock (amp draw).
Spal is a good fan, if you need the installation kit, buy it with the fan and save some bucks and guess work.
Running Spal here. Changing this year from straight blade to curved blade, supposed to move the same amount of air with less fan noise. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Spal fans are OEM equipment on Ferrari's. They are not a POS. Ferrari doesn't use them for no reason.
Using dual SPAL fans on an OT car. Been running them for 4 years, and no problems so far - they move a LOT of air. Downside is that they're pretty noisy (straight blades), but with a good radiator and a thermostat kit they don't run very often. Make sure you use proper wire gauge, relays and fuses.
Electric fans are noisy, this is why I like to run it as a back-up only. But OEM fans on newer cars seem to be a lot quieter. I'll have to listen to my OT ride to compare it to the Spal I have in my Ford.
What ever you do get a curved blade the straight blades one are loud. don’t ask me how I know but I should have spent a few more bucks and get the curved one, opps. I use it as a back up only when sitting in traffic.
I have a Walker radiator and no mechanical fan. The Spal electric fan I have never gets used if the car is moving. If at a stop light for more than a few minutes I turn it on. Toggle switch and relay, no thermostat
You say you're running a flathead. hope it's on 12V. 6V fans are sorta scarce. I agree with the Spal if you gotta use one.
I don't like them either but if you have to, you have to. Mine on my 34 Ford. Brassworks radiator/shroud/spal fan all courtesy of Lee. And a shot of it installed You cant see it, you cant hear it, it doesn't have cooling issues, on a 180 thermos switch and an override switch, works absolutely perfect. Never had one person walk up and say, "ah electric fan huh? Too bad."
Spal is a great brand. Mount it to a shroud in a puller fashion. Doesn't need to be very deep, 1/2-inch or so from the core is fine. Don't use the cheap plastic zip-tie mounting deals. You can bury an electric fan in a deep shroud (stock style) and make it disappear fairly effectively. I like to wire them through a relay and a thermoswitch and call it a day. That way, the fan only runs when it needs to and you won't forget to switch it on when it gets hot and off when you park.
Just got my latest issue of Hot Rod (June 2020). Recommend anyone having electric fan cooling problems get a copy of the magazine. It points out that often the fans are not operating at correct speed because of low voltage.......like might occur at idle. Things like voltage drop due to wire size, alternator output at idle, pulley size etc. Then it goes into some good radiator selection explanation. I'd recommend a buying a copy.............
The Jalopy Journal
