Electric fans are ugly......tech.

If your like me, there's nothing that can ruin a period perfect automobile worse than a "stick out like a thumb" modern piece of equipment on a car that far pre-dates it's modern upgrade. Most car people have their own pet peeves when it comes to this. For some, it's disc brakes, or an alternator instead of a generator, for others it's air conditioning, but for me, it's electric fans. Uugh.

Well,... As you can imagine, when I found myself with no other option but to use and electric fan, due to an engine swap to a much larger motor, I was not very happy.
I was hoping to hide the fan in between the radiator and grill shell, but there just isn't enough room. So my only option was to put the fan on the engine side of the radiator, but in a roadster with no hood or fenders, there's really no hiding it.
So I decided rather than hiding it, I'd dress it up to fit with the time period of everything else around it. I had seen pictures in old Hot Rod magazines of a couple cars that experimented with the use of electric fans on cars in the 50's. Most looked like house fans, and that was the inspiration for the treatment of my modern plastic necessity.

The following is a pictorial. Perhaps it may inspire others to hide their ugly moderness, and keep me delusional as to the decade I'm living in. LoL. Enjoy.

Cut away as much plastic possibly, that is not absolutely necessary.

Find yourself an old table fan with the right diamater screen.

Spray anything showing with old timey wrinkle paint.

Cut off the finger guard of an old 40's or 50's fan, and attach it over your electric fan.

And voila, modern cooling that's easier on the eyes.


Feel free to post pics of other creative fan disguising.

 

wellllll I thought for a moment this ia anal ,but damn it really looks the part.. very well done........

 

Holy crap! That is perfect. Now if you could just find a fix for radial tires (my pet peeve)!

 

your one smart cookie dude!!!

 

works great with that nailhead, i love it!

 

another genuis!! i love it!

 

That Fu@#ing RULES!!!

 

Radials are one of my peeves too. But, I saw a pair of the best looking white wall radials ever. They are Goodyears, and Lucas Tires in Long Beach sells them, and they have these great diamonds on the sidewalls. I didn't even know they weren't bias' until someone told me. But I think they only fool people on fendered cars.

 

Absolutely FANtastic idea.

Doc.

 

I'd like to commend your work.

 

very cool idea

 

Very nice lateral thinking and looks killer too !!

Me?

I just shopped around till I found the fan that I could fit b/w the insert and the rad.

Besides, one of those period fans would be too nice to cut up....yes ?

Rat

 

Very nicelly done. I like it.

 

Very cool. I love this kind of stuff. See the signature...

-Dave

 

How about completing the look by adapting the old blades as well? Would they flow enough air?

 

Or paint the blades flat grey to give it some age.

s.

 

love it... but it might be hard for me to take apart a cool fan like that.. i have restored 3 fans like that

 

Excellant idea, looks great.

 

I agree! Sounds like an idea I would have come up with if I had thought of it first!

 

Look at you Mr. Smartguy. Now figure out a way to make the ugly alternator on my 2.3 Ford look like a generator!

 

That...is awesome! gotta add a pusher on my car, and was dreading the idea, but this is flat cool!

 

A little thinking outside the box . . . well done.

Do you have a side view of the front area of the engine that also shows the fan etc. you could post?

 

I was gonna say the metal toned Rustoleum hammerite paint for the blades. I'll bet they'd look metal until you looked REAL close. (should be able to kick the looker in the ass before then! )

 

I just installed an electric fan yesterday and hated the look.
Good idea.

 

They're called "Bias Ply Tires"...

I thought "How in hell are you gonna get an electric fan to look good?" Easy enough, hide it behind something old.

Like Ryan said - brilliant. Good work man.

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by hellbound gasser
Holy crap! That is perfect. Now if you could just find a fix for radial tires (my pet peeve)!

Now that's funny!!

 

watch for vintage fans to go nuts on ebay...