I have a 1949 Ford sedan with a Chevy 350 in it. The 350 is a basic engine. No mods apart from an RV cam. Probably delivers 225-250 ponies at a guess. Nothing fancy. It's a 4-bolt 350 from a 1970 Corvette. Stock everything else. Currently has a 2 barrel Rochester carb sitting on the stock manifold. Will be changing that to a four barrel Holley 4160 on an aluminum manifold as soon as I can fix this damn rad problem. The radiator was the original one that came with the car. One inlet and one outlet had been welded shut to convert it to work with the chevy engine. (Original engine was a flathead which required two ins and outs) I recently bought an aluminum radiator because the other one was leaking all over the place and brass brazing it wasn't a permanent solution. This new aluminum rad has an electric puller fan and shroud. Long story short, it wont fit because the pulley on the water pump sticks out too far. (or if you like, the electric fan sticks out too far, either way, it ain't workin) So, how do I rectify this? I'm not a mechanic by trade I just mess with old cars and my knowledge of water pumps is minimal. My suggestions - take a grinder and a zipcut wheel and just chop a piece out of the car body just in front of the radiator posts thus allowing the rad to be bolted on the front of the posts rather than the back as it was originally. I'd still need some spacers so I'm thinking copper tubing. One potential problem with this approach is that the hood won't close. I haven't looked at it detail. Ideally, though I think I should I take this opportunity to buy a new water pump? Can you actually get "shorter" water pumps made so that you don't attached a fan blade? I mean is that why mine sticks out? So that the fan blade would sit nearer the radiator fins? Any help appreciated at this point.
I don't know which pump you have, but they have 2 different sizes (short and long). Might be worth looking at?
If you post some pictures, we might be able to offer suggestions. You might have a long water pump, or a short one...how would we know?
I'm trying to read between the lines here. Are you saying that you bought a radiator with an "electric fan" and now the stock fan on the engine won't clear the electric fan? Does the engine have the short or long pump on it now? Short pumps don't have much clearance between the back of the pump and timing cover while long pumps have about 3/4 of an inch clearance there. Photos of what you are working with and around might help.
do you have a short water pump on it already or a long one? I did an o/t v8 swapp and ended up using a dual electric fan, the 2 fan motors fit nicely with the water pump pully nestled between. is there room to slide the engine back say half an inch or so? just ideas. good luck
Take the electric fan off, does the rad fit now? Can you bolt a machanical fan to pump now? If you are trying to fit the new radiator/electric fan in with a mechanical fan on pump, is there a spacer between the water pump hub and the fan? This is a case where a picture is worth a thousand words!
Short pump will not have any space between the back of the pump and the timing chain cover so look at and tell us what you have. I believe that short pumps require their own pulleys for alignment issues. Cheaper and less work perhaps to remove the puller fan and install a mechanical fan if the shroud lines up which would be rare. Could always remove the shroud too and put a mechanical back on with or without a fanspacer to get the fan close to the radiator, say about an inch away.
@ Mr48Chev - I've taken the fan blade off the pulley and put the 4 bolts back on. I think I have a long pump from what you've said
That is a long water pump. You need to go to a "short pump". Go to the parts store and ask for a water pump for something like 65 Impala with a 327. It has the short pump and it will bolt up to your engine. You will have to mount the alt. different than what it is now though.
Whatever pump you have, the best way to "fix" your problem would be to get rid of the electric fan, install a 5 or 7 blade factory-style fan which is properly spaced in the opening of a properly-fitted OEM-style fan shroud. Here's an example of what I'm talking about. Chevy engine in '55 Buick using all factory stye components and no electric fan. Stays on 190 - the thermostat temperature - and never rises above...never. You can monkey-twiddle this problem all you want with half-arse measures, but if done right it will cool properly and look as clean as factory. Just sayin'...
Ya that looks like a long pump. You will need to change pulleys also. I am not sure what year cars had the short pump but any good parts guy can find them
Not sure how much more clearance you need, but the short pump should give you about 3/4" more. But it will also create a lot of issues with changing brackets, pulleys, and in my opinion not worth the cost and work. I'd just omit the new electric fan and go with a stock mechanical fan and the new radiator.
55-68 full and mid size cars, 55-72 trucks, and all Vettes used the short pump. If it were mine, I'd go along with the other suggestions to ditch the electric fan and put a real fan blade on it.
As others have already mentioned --- it will be a pain in the ass to swap to the short water pump. You will need a different crankshaft pulley, different water pump pulley, different alternator brackets, different power steering brackets, etc..., etc...
electric fans in my opinion are at best a band aid. Hanging one out in front of a radiator only lessens the efficency even more so. Dump the electric and get a good mechanical and a shroud and life will be much simpler and it will all work better.
Just wanted to say thanks for all the replies. It has given me food for thought and been very helpful. Cheers
Well, his options are to, in his own words, hack the radiator mount and move the radiator forward. Effective MAYBE, but certainly a hack job. Option two is to get rid of the pull-type electric fan and install a pusher fan. There are pros and cons with pusher fans' effectiveness. Plus, he may still have to cut and trim any sheetmetal supports in front of the radiator, like a hood latch support, etc. Or, he could get a short water pump, the correct pulleys, and the correct brackets. Ever heard the old saying "If you don't have the time to do it right the first time, how the hell are you going to have the time to keep redoing it when it doesn't work?" Depending on what your budget is, the correct brackets and pulleys are a quick call to any muscle car restoration parts supplier. The right water pump is less than $30 at any parts store. -Brad
The electric fan that you now have............is it a low profile? If not, you can look at the SPAL fan website as they have drawings of their fans with exact measurements. With a slim electric fan placed at the top of the radiator you may achieve the clearance needed on the pulley. http://www.spalusa.com/store/main.aspx?p=CategoryBody&c=FALO&pg=0
put the fan on the front of radiator and reverse the blade making it a pusher. some electric fan you can do this to some can't but worth a try. don't change the water pump or your headaches will start, you have good late setup that works just change electric fan location and post some pic's when you do.
Gee this is a no brainer for sure. You had a working system with a non-repairable radiator Yes? Then throw the POS electric fan out and just use the radiator.
I'm not not sure if it's a low profile one or not so I've included a pic: I'm going to remove the electric fan and use the old, mechanical one for now. I just want to get on the road again. Side issue - the hood won't shut. I can see lots of drilling / cutting / swearing in the not too distant future. Thanks to all!
How much is the fan hitting by? More than the thickness of the fan's mounting flange plus the thickness of the sheetmetal the shroud is made from? Mount the fan INSIDE the shroud, if you just need a 1/16 of an inch or so. Why won't your hood close? Becuase of this new set-up? -Brad
Short Weiand water pump, high flow, aluminum, 100 USD: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/WND-9208/ Good luck!
That's a good idea. Hadn't though of that. It's literally just touching rotor on the water pump: The reason the hood won't close is because of this new set up. I've brought the rad forward using 3/4" cast iron pipe connectors from the local hardware store: It *almost* closes. I need about 1/4". I don't want the bottom of the rad sitting on the frame. I've got about the width of one finger underneath before the rad hits the frame. So I'm going to try drilling new holes in the rads "wings" (don't know what they're called) to make the rad sit lower. Also - before this whole issue, when the hood was closed, it sat lower than the fenders by about 1/4". Any ideas how to raise the hood would be appreciated. And thanks again for your patience guys, it's appreciated.
From picture #1 above it looks like all you need to do to gain the clearance needed is cut/grind the water pump shaft almost flush with the pulley and use button-head screws to hold the pulley on. As far as the hood is concerned why don't you move the radiator down so it's almost touching the crossmember? My finger is about 1/2" and you only need 1/4". The clearance issues you're having are such that you should be able to solve them with just a little "tweaking" everywhere.
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