Regarding keeping our cool (radiator-wise), do any of you good folks use radiator fans with a configuration different from factory original?
Also, if you drive yours a lot including multi-hour driving does she stay cool with a good properly operating stock fan and radiator?
I do of course prefer to keep things original, but sitting on the side of the road spouting steam is a little to original for me. I see some parts houses sell a six blade plastic which i'd be willing to use if it keeps my temp nice and cool.
I'm not up and running quite yet but it's time to address the fan so i hope to get this right the first time. Let me know what your experience has been keeping your cool.
I drive my A PU regularly and have a 4 blader. It works great. We have about 10 A's in our club and rarely does anyone overheat. One fellow has the 6 blade plastic style with shroud, and his doesn't run any cooler than the rest. In it's defense, it is running 8:1 compression with an electronic dizzy. After much expirience with overheating, some of the older fellows explained to me that the most important thing is flow inside the system. I dropped a freshly rebuilt engine in my A and within a few weeks it was overheating. The fellas told me to boil out my new radiator wich had flowed 34 gpm before the new engine was mounted. I knew that couldn't be the problem. Wrong! After a summer of fighting with the water pump, the carb and the timing, I removed the radiator and took it to a radiator shop to find it was only flowing 6 gpm! The block that was supposedly half-dipped (hot-tanks eat babbit), had not been. It was full of rust and crud and filled my radiator. The shop boiled out the radiator and I made some block off plates and mixed up some muriatic acid and filled the block (in a well ventillated area). Left it for a couple of hours checking it regularly then emptied it, neutralized the block and flushed it for a good long time. My driveway was stained with rust for months. Since then the hottest it has gotten was 180* on a 90*+ day when I was crowding it pretty hard (60 MPH- keep in mind it was our single A not our AA). On our last road trip, which was a little over 150 miles round-trip, we ran between 40 and 50 mph and mine stayed at 150* - 160* all day. Another lesson was delivered by my nephew when he was about 3 yrs old. I pulled into my bro-in-laws drive one day to witness the young lad putting washers, nuts, bolts, rocks- anything that would fit actually, into every open hole in an engine that was sitting in the corner of the garage. It's not just rust that can block flow! Luke
"I get all my exercise jumping to conclusions."
Luke in Illinois
There was a lengthy article about the 4 and 2 blade fans in "The Restore" many years ago. The testing showed that the two blade fan (original) was just as good as the four blade (not original).
With a two blade fan, the water pump can be removed by tilting the radiator forward to the head light bar. With a four blade fan, the radiator must be removed (much more work).
The six blade plastic fan just looks too out of place for me. So, it is out of the picture on my AA's.
I will stick to a two blade fan (even if it might be a reproduction). I had a radiator made up with more tubes and fins per inch for a driver pickup I had and it ran cool. I now have this radiator in an AA I am getting on the road.
Back in circa 1959 my 2 blade became a one blade adding some dents to my otherwise perfect original hood. That was my last 2 blade. After that I've always stayed with 4 blade although I have a 4 blade that someone cut off two of the blades which works OK. Hoods are approx $400 at Rootlieb; fans are less expensive. The sound of a broken off blade trashing your engine area is unforgetable. Regards, Ed
Hayslip wrote:Back in circa 1959 my 2 blade became a one blade adding some dents to my otherwise perfect original hood. That was my last 2 blade. After that I've always stayed with 4 blade although I have a 4 blade that someone cut off two of the blades which works OK. Hoods are approx $400 at Rootlieb; fans are less expensive. The sound of a broken off blade trashing your engine area is unforgetable. Regards, Ed
I've seen a hood that the spare blade passed completely through. Not pretty. The fan was an original 2 blade that looked beautiful on the outside, but upon inspection, was full of rust on the inside.
"I get all my exercise jumping to conclusions."
Luke in Illinois
I was a fan of the cast aluminum 2 blade fan. The one I purchased was balanced. cooled good. Even over the mountain passes stuck in First gear!(Now I know why synchro's were invented, you cant get into second gear on a hill with a load!)
The hottest it ever got was 190* in the central valley when it wasnt much cooler outside.
The biggest issue Ive seen was running antifreeze and having it foam out of the overflow. Made me a fan of water soluble oil, and plain water in the summer.
I hgave heard that cutting down the impellers on a lathe for the water curculator helps with the foaming issue, but have yet to try it.
