Customs Cooling fan type, mechanical or electric?

Whats every ones idea on a cooling fan? Electrical fan or mechanical fan off the water pump. PO dropped a 350 in the wagon, having cooling issues. The current fan is 14.5 inches. I was thinking about installing a 16 inch electric fan with a shroud. The rad is new tri cross flow 26 inch. I could build a shroud for the current set up but would rather upgrade if better. Not sure about using an electric fan....

 

Pictures of the front of the engine, radiator, etc from a few different angles are a big help.

If the fan that's in it is the biggest mechanical fan that will fit, then you'll probably have to go electric.

 

Yes 14.5 is as big as a mechanical fan it can take.The blades almost hit the bottom frame. Motor sits a little low and to the right.

 

Air flow is the most critical component of the engine cooling process. mechanical fans with thermostat control are the best, hands down. But they often don't fit and let's face it, don't look hot rod. There are very few after market electrics that are up to the job. Plastic ones with narrow blades are always suspect. I run an aluminum bladed pusher fan on my Willys and it moves enough air to do the job nicely on my 354 hemi. I have room for little else. There is a great OEM plastic electric fan that really works well. It is a Ford item made for Thunderbirds and Lincoln Mark VIII. It is even a 2-speed motor so with the proper controller can be further tuned. Comes with a built in shroud. Always on ebaY can usually be gotten for around $100 if you are patient.

 

It has a push fan in front of the radiator, but in 90 degrees sitting in traffic ... I went on a covid retirement parade and it was slow going in 90 plus degrees, I had to bail out of the parade . Temp got to hot.

 

Great, been researching, just have to stay away from the junk ......

 

I would try to keep the mechanical fan and build or adapt a shroud from something else. Also make sure air is not going over the radiator, between the radiator and hood, or around it..

 

Push fans block the radiator, If you are running a mechanical fan and a pusher, remove the pusher and install a shroud on the mechanical fan.

 

What about CFMs??

 

Yep, have all the gaps blocked off. Yes I having been playing with different ideas on a shroud for the current set up.

 

Sounds good , just wondering wouldn't the pusher help in stopped traffic or slow traffic. I wonder if that is why the PO put the pusher on it.?

 

The pusher was probably his band aid. Many questions. What do you consider too hot? Are you sure the gauge works? Do you know if the timing is right?

 

Right, I am sure the pusher was a band aid. He put a performance cam in. Hard to get the timing and idle right. The plugs look good. The temp gauge is correct "new" i checked it with a hand held laser temp gauge. I was on here months ago getting the timing dialed in. But it is in the triple digits now here in NM, so.... When it starts crawling above 200 degrees I get nervous. Running around town, 190 degrees which is ok, I believe.... Winter time it stays around 160-170 degrees.

 

Do the simple things first
Try putting paper on the grill,when it’s running.
Does it stay there or fall off?
If it stays put, your pulling enough air

 

It stays.

 

200 is normal operating temp on modern cars....230 is about as high as I like to go, but 240 won't hurt anything. Some engines start to run bad when they get much over 200, mostly due to fuel percolating issues.

We don't have pictures, so it's hard to see what you're seeing.

 

Let's see what your fan looks like. HRP

 

It has an older 350 small block.

 

I expect a shroud would help a lot. Looks like there's probably not much you can do easily about the cross member, unfortunately.

 

With that much space between the fan and the core, and that much core above the fan, I bet a good shroud would fix all your heating issues. Also what Lbs is your radiator cap? Is it boiling over?

 

14” mechanical fan. Shroud kit from Summit for circle track, opening is 15”. Stock 40 Chevrolet radiator size upgraded, 10-1 311” GMC 6, no heating problems.

 

Seven lb cap. I dont believe it has boiled over. I have seen the thread on the home made shrouds, very cool. I will try a diy shroud first and see what happens.

 

Does the dist have a vacuum advance,is it hooked to manifold vacuum,

 

Hooked to lower port on carb. I tried the manifold port, no noticeable difference.

 

How much total timing and @ what rpm?

 

There should be a big difference,Are you sure the vacuum advance is working. Which carb the lower port on some carbs is still ported,check with a vacuum guage.

 

Fan is pretty far from the Rad

 

The pictures helped us a lot. That is a small fan, but it’s mostly about the shroud. The pusher in addition to the mechanical fan is likely a band aid as stated earlier. You may be fine without the pusher if you get a shroud. Plus, in the electric fan world pullers are much preferred over pushers.
Try a shroud and if it does not help go with a high quality electric puller and a shroud. Blades of a mechanical fan should be 1/2 in and 1/2 out of the shroud.

You might think about why it it getting hot in the first place. Maybe timing, etc. should be considered. Does it get hot just when moving slow, or also when traveling at highway speeds, etc.

 

Closest point on the blades to rad is 2 inches. Vacuum on ports is just under 12 hg. ...His performance cam....?