Currently i have an aluminum radiator with a electric fan for clearance issuse since my aluminum radiator is alot thicker then my stock radiator. So one question, has any one taken a electric fan set up from a new vehicle and fit it into a 302 car on the stock radiator demensions? Question two, what is the best bang for your buck for an eletric fan setup on the stock radiator and still cool your 302 down in traffic? Question three, if those cant be answered has any one modified the front of there car to cool better perhaps? PLS and THX to all!
Which radiator did you get?? Which electric fan too, I have a champion 3-core with a syclone electric fan on it sucks in allot of air 2500 cfm, only thing was the cover where it says what kind it is I had to take it off cause it rubbed it just abit,but now there's plenty of room between the engine without any clearance problems
This is what I did with my aluminum radiator. The fan was one I acquired with a parts car, I built the shroud with aluminum, the flat plate is 1/8", the circular part around the fan is 1-1/2" aluminum flat bar bought from Lowes, all the bolts and nuts are stainless also bought at Lowes. I spaced the flat part of the shroud out from the radiator with 1/8" flat. I originally didn't drill all the holes in the flat, only did that after a year or so to help it flow more air at highway speeds. Adding the holes helped a lot. In town, it rarely gets hotter than 230, and that only if I forget to turn the fan on soon enough. All I have is a manual toggle switch, never got around to wiring up an automatic switch. Summit used to sell a similar fan to this one not sure if they still do.
That's a nice diy shroud Baddad457. What was the appx. efficiency gain over not having it? I am going to make a similiar one for my present setup - using some of ur s ideas. I am running AC and get concerned when my temp gets to 230. I only get over 230 "ac on" idling at long lites @ 90+ temps. I have a 16" fan that suppose to draw 2500cfm @18amps.
I never ran it without the shroud and the electric fan. I don't recall if I ran it with the belt driven fan and the aluminum radiator, but it cools much better with this setup than it did with the stock radiator and belt drive fan (and no shroud). 230 is hot, but nothing to be concerned about, as long as you've got a 50/50 mix coolant. Mine's been much hotter on occasion, mainly when I forgot to turn the fan on. And it ran hotter before I drilled the holes in the shroud running at 70-80 mph on the freeway. Max it's ever been is around 260*. And I've got Canfield aluminum heads that are milled .060. I had problems with gaskets on the first motor I had these heads on, but that was with Felpro P.O.S. gaskets (Print o seal, or Piece of Sheite) The current gaskets are the O.E expanded graphite, liberally coated with Koppercote. They've been doing the job now for nearly 8 years. Whole point is, 230 is nothing to worry about.
Mine is a jeep liberty fan. I dont think it would fit with the aluminum. AMybe with s hort water pump and pulleys. My car never gets out of the 200-210 range even in the dog days of August. 200 is the norm for my car. Factory rad. Why are u guys approaching 230? Thats getting up there. Mojo your the same climate as me. You should be able to keep your temps a bit cooler than that.
Darren, I normally run 200 @ or below 80 deg where my fan activates w/ 50/50 coolant mix. Only time I go to 230 is w/ AC running, idling in 90+ temps at train X or long stop lite. I do have iron heads so not panicking. All other times it stays arnd 200. I read ur thread/post on the Liberty fan; like u say it may not work on the alum rad - I believe it's a little thicker. Are u running AC? I still have the stock rad but did'nt know how old it was and driving the car on the road trips - replaced it for peace of mind. Since I already have the fan and does well under most condx. im considering on fabbing up something like Baddad's shroud.
I dont have AC. Wish I did. 230 isnt an issue if thats your max. and not a norm. Im sure it comes down fast once you get moving. I'd try the shroud. Mine runs around the 200 mark as well normally. Mine really likes that temp.
Cause I have a 400+ HP 331 heating the coolant ? And running at 3500 rpms on the freeway at 70-80 mph ? Not to mention we have 90-100* days here in June thru Sept with 100% humidity.
Yep Mojo is closer to my build and climate. We really only get hammered with nasty temps and humidity in july and august. My engine is mild build so heat isnt much of an issue. Dealt with all that on my first mav build. Didnt want that again for this car.
Remember the radiator and fan are only 2 parts of a cooling system. Most in-traffic heating conditions are caused by mismatched pulley ratios. Water pump impeller clearence is another area the can cause grief when diagnosing cooling system issues.
Agreed! My pulleys appear to be stock. i can't say for certain they were there when I bought the car, but I wud have to bet they are stock. I don't see 230* as an overheating problem under the summer, 90+ degrees, idling, AC on scenario. It's just a concern cuz not use to seeing the gauge go there. 250+ wud generate some a lot of attention.
What he's talking about here is most waterpumps come in three impeller sizes. HP pumps have the smallest impellers and are designed for high rpm applications, like Nascar or dirt tracks, where the pump is run at high rpms most of the time. Std pumps had a medium sized impeller. A HV, police, taxi or those listed as extra cooling have the largest impeller and move the most water for the speed it's turning. It's really hard to increase the pump speed thru pulley changes, most aftermarket pulley sets slow down the pump. Sometimes you can increase the speed by diggin thru a junkyard for a smaller waterpump pulley, but it's soemthing that may be impossible to do if the factory didn't make different size pulleys for the same engine family.
I use a 95 Crown Vic condenser fan and stock radiator with AC in Atlanta. The hottest I've seen in traffic with the air on is 215°F. Relatively stock engine.
OK! I see what ur saying. I really don't know the type of coolant pump is on the car, but wud have to assume it's just a stock unit. The engine is just a mild upgrade frm stock, "headers, mild cam, shift kit, 600cfm carb" and they probably did'nt put hi-output pump on the car. The car is a driver and runs great, I really have'nt even had a valve cover off. I have a few other things in mind to try. I really don't want to experiment w/ pulleys. I don't believe it's worth the effort. Thanks for ur input.
