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who's running a aluminum rad & electric fan

  • Thread starter Thread starter TOM B
  • Start date Start date May 14, 2006
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84convertablegt

New Member
Nov 6, 2004
589
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Columbus, OH
May 16, 2006
#21
  • May 16, 2006
  • #21
A pusher fan is much less efficient than a puller. You would need a much bigger pusher than a puller to accomplish the same thing. Also, like mdjay said, it blocks airflow on the highway when the fan doesnt do anything anyway. A pusher is only good for someone who just doesnt have room for a puller, and some people run both. I had a pusher for a while, and really it just looked fugly peaking through the grill. I ended up going with a spal 16" on my griffin aluminum radiator. The griffin was a deeper radiator, not wider, so it limited my space between the waterpump pulley and radiator big time. The super slim spal hasnt failed me yet, it does a surprisingly good job for how thin it is. I dont even think its rated over 2000cfm.
 
J

Jimmys66

Founding Member
Nov 28, 2001
419
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Paw Paw MI
May 16, 2006
#22
  • May 16, 2006
  • #22
I'm running a universal griffen alum. with 2-1.25 cores and I use 2-16" Mr Gasket electric fans. 1 wired for a pusher and 1 for a puller. I have no heating issues (170 degrees). I am however still looking for a thremo control that will run both fans. Right now I have them wired to run all the time with a toggle. I'm sure I can find one, just been doing other projects.

http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?N=301062+115+4294792852

The design doesn't seem to block air at all on the highway. So far I've been real happy.
 
T

TOM B

20+ Year Stangneter
Nov 15, 2002
872
1
16
Harrisburg Pa
May 16, 2006
#23
  • May 16, 2006
  • #23
I made a mistake, my radiator is a griffen 19long x18 high, this is the core measurements and dont include the side tanks, maybe this is still to small.
Mdjay, you have the top and bottom tanks so you say 24 inches is that all core size then.
Jimmy66, what style are you running, any pics
If I have to go to a bigger rad then I want to do it right-----This time----
 

mdjay

Premium Sponsor
Dec 9, 2003
896
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16
Las Vegas, NV
May 16, 2006
#24
  • May 16, 2006
  • #24
I was just making sure you didn't still have the 17" one.

I just poked around your cardomain site and you have one very nice vert there...

The radiator on your car does not look like it's the problem. You may try some different fans systems, but the radiator looks fine.

To add some logic. You're on the same boat as me. You're compressing air which normally adds around 40-50 degrees of air temp at 7lbs. So expect to run a little hot. Use 40 below or some other type of additive in the summer to put up a good fight.

The good news is we're going to be working with Paxton on some ideas to cool the air on these carb. SC systems this summer.

Try not to goose it too much when she's runnin' hot
 

jerry S

New Member
Sep 3, 2003
1,365
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52.22N 5.12E
May 17, 2006
#25
  • May 17, 2006
  • #25
mdjay said:
I have the 24 wide griffin alum with 1" cores and a flex-a-lite twin slimline fan. My car runs 205-210 no matter what the temp is outside. However it does not move from there. I can idle for 45 minutes and the temp doesn't move. Granted I live in hotter than hell Vegas!
Click to expand...

Jay:

Your radiator is 24 inches wide while the dimensions of the low profile F-A-L indicate a width of 26.25 inches. I don't see any overlap in your picture. Do you have 2 inches of overlap on the inlet side of your radiator or are you using the twin lines (310/320)? Which radiator do you have, btw?
 
J

jbuening

Member
Apr 28, 2005
399
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17
May 17, 2006
#26
  • May 17, 2006
  • #26
TOM B said:
Thankyou for that answer Mdjay, Thats what im looking for, anyone else
Maybe pics of the engine bay will help me to.
Click to expand...

Ok I'll bite. I'm running a 28" Northern aluminum crossflow radiator with the internal trans cooler. I'm also running the 16" Zirgo Crap-o-Cool 3300
(whatever) cfm. The fan is hooked up through a Spal PWM controller for 1/2 and full speed settings on the fan. I can honestly say that my car consistently stays at 180° up until it gets over 95° outside, then it'll creep up to around 200° but nothing more. I have a 180° thermostat. Tom i didn't notice you are running a SC. You may talk to Iskwezm, cause he too has a SC and was having overheating problems with his BeCool or Fluidyne. I got him to switch over to a larger Northern and his overheating problems are no longer. I don't recall if it was overheating all the time or just in traffic though. Here's a pic although not a recent one I've cleaned some things up under the hood since then. Not sure what size your radiator is, but i'll let you in on what fan setup i'm looking at. I had started looking at some late 90's Chrysler LHS/Concord fans. They are a dual fan system and are somewhat low profile. The mounting holes are on the ends, which don't work too well with a crossflow Northern like mine. I have since found something that may just work. Mid to late 90's Nissan Maxima/Ultima fans seem to fit the ticket. They are a dual fan setup with shroud, seem to be the appropriate length (roughly 27"), but am not sure on the height. The mounting holes are on the top and bottom, perfect for my radiator. Not sure what cfm they put out though, still doing my research.

 

Edbert

Founding Member
Jul 13, 2002
3,548
32
109
Austin TX
May 17, 2006
#27
  • May 17, 2006
  • #27
jbuening said:
--nice picture--
Click to expand...
Where'd ya get that radiator cap? The northern we both have uses a Chebbie style cap, and I have not seen too many Chebbies with running ponies on them
 
J

jbuening

Member
Apr 28, 2005
399
0
17
May 17, 2006
#28
  • May 17, 2006
  • #28
Edbert said:
Where'd ya get that radiator cap? The northern we both have uses a Chebbie style cap, and I have not seen too many Chebbies with running ponies on them
Click to expand...

It is actually a radiator cap cover. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BILL...066962766QQcategoryZ33643QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

He has a bunch of different styles to choose from so check out his other items. It fits on the hex style cap without the pressure release lever. I do have a bit of rubbing problem on the outer edge in two places. Its barely touching the hood, but may be different on the earlier cars If i removed or used a thinner rubber insulator on the bottom of the radiator I wouldn't have this problem. Just haven't gotten around to it yet Are you running a chebby radiator or a ford radiator? Mine was a northern FORD radiator and uses the ford cap.
 

iskwezm

10 Year Member
May 24, 2005
4,159
20
79
Rowland Heights,California
May 17, 2006
#29
  • May 17, 2006
  • #29
jbuening said:
Ok I'll bite. I'm running a 28" Northern aluminum crossflow radiator .
Click to expand...
I have the same one in my 65' with 16" pusher/puller fnas and it will idle at 180* and it might reach 210* when im hot lapping it with the blower.
 
J

jbuening

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Apr 28, 2005
399
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17
May 17, 2006
#30
  • May 17, 2006
  • #30
I was hoping you'd chime in. Did your car overheat just in traffic or was it all the time? Are you running both a pusher and a puller? I hope your pusher is rated higher than the puller cause it may be restricting the air flow from the puller.
 

mdjay

Premium Sponsor
Dec 9, 2003
896
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16
Las Vegas, NV
May 17, 2006
#31
  • May 17, 2006
  • #31
jerry S said:
Jay:

Your radiator is 24 inches wide while the dimensions of the low profile F-A-L indicate a width of 26.25 inches. I don't see any overlap in your picture. Do you have 2 inches of overlap on the inlet side of your radiator or are you using the twin lines (310/320)? Which radiator do you have, btw?
Click to expand...

The griffin sb w/ac for a 68! Not sure of the number. I made long L brackets to handle the over hang. It ends up being only like 1/2" on each side.
 

CochinoFilipino

Founding Member
Jan 14, 2002
171
2
19
CA
May 17, 2006
#32
  • May 17, 2006
  • #32
The round shroud design typical of electric fans don't draw air through the entire radiator surface.

I don' think they work as well as the rectangular shrouds that fit the radiator. Even better are the ones with the flaps that allow air to easily blow through at freeway speeds and close to force air to be drawn through the radiator when cruising.
 

Edbert

Founding Member
Jul 13, 2002
3,548
32
109
Austin TX
May 17, 2006
#33
  • May 17, 2006
  • #33
JB, I did not know that Northern made FoMoCo radiators, wish I had. When I got mine they were all generic (I thought), which explains the GM neck...Generic Motors I always called them.
 

iskwezm

10 Year Member
May 24, 2005
4,159
20
79
Rowland Heights,California
May 17, 2006
#34
  • May 17, 2006
  • #34
jbuening said:
I was hoping you'd chime in. Did your car overheat just in traffic or was it all the time? Are you running both a pusher and a puller? I hope your pusher is rated higher than the puller cause it may be restricting the air flow from the puller.
Click to expand...
if your talking to me, I tried running only a puller fan it ran a little hotter, with the pusher it does help, but it also seems like the pusher is blowing more CFM. People tell me to remove it, but in my situation it helps.
 
J

Jimmys66

Founding Member
Nov 28, 2001
419
0
0
Paw Paw MI
May 17, 2006
#35
  • May 17, 2006
  • #35
TOM B said:
I made a mistake, my radiator is a griffen 19long x18 high, this is the core measurements and dont include the side tanks, maybe this is still to small.
Mdjay, you have the top and bottom tanks so you say 24 inches is that all core size then.
Jimmy66, what style are you running, any pics
If I have to go to a bigger rad then I want to do it right-----This time----
Click to expand...


Sorry, no pics. Got a camera finally, just don't have a place to host pics yet. My radiator is a universal Griffen. The core measures 17" wide(22"total) and 19" tall. The core takes up the exact space of the stock opening with the tanks overhanging.

I didn't realize you were running a S/C engine. I'm just running a N/A 302. I feel I'm at the borderline for radiator size. Any more hp and I'd cut the core support out and run a bigger radiator.
 

Hack

15 Year Member
Mar 23, 2004
1,945
13
69
Minneapolis
May 18, 2006
#36
  • May 18, 2006
  • #36
OK don't take this as an insult, but did you wire the fan properly? If you reverse the wires, the fan will run the wrong way (push instead of pulling). This would cause problems similar to what you're describing. Put a piece of paper on the front of the radiator - your fan should suck the paper against the radiator.
 
J

jbuening

Member
Apr 28, 2005
399
0
17
May 18, 2006
#37
  • May 18, 2006
  • #37
Edbert said:
JB, I did not know that Northern made FoMoCo radiators, wish I had. When I got mine they were all generic (I thought), which explains the GM neck...Generic Motors I always called them.
Click to expand...

Here's the link for what they make. They have the Chebby/GM's and the Ford and Ford/Mopar radiators.

hehe, guess that would help. http://www.northernfactory.com/HP/category.asp?CAT=RACE PRO RADIATORS&SUBCAT=19 INCH RACE PRO
 

jerry S

New Member
Sep 3, 2003
1,365
1
0
52.22N 5.12E
May 18, 2006
#38
  • May 18, 2006
  • #38
jbuening said:
Here's the link for what they make. They have the Chebby/GM's and the Ford and Ford/Mopar radiators.
Click to expand...

No link in your post. Here is the link for a radiator for a 351W. It is an alum radiator with 2 rows of 1 ingh thick tubes. It is claimed it can handle a 450 hp engine.

http://www.northernfactory.com/HP/detail.asp?PART=5137
 
G

grego37

New Member
May 12, 2004
576
0
0
Fresno CA
May 18, 2006
#39
  • May 18, 2006
  • #39
Im in the process of installing a flex-a-lite Black magic extreme, also claims to flow 3300. I got it because the built in shroud fits my radiator perfectly. My radiator is a Be Cool, but instead of ordering for a 67-68 Mustang, I measured and figured what was the largest size crossflow I could fit, and found one that was originally made for a truck. pic enclosed

Dont forget the other important factors on cooling:
The higher pressure radiator cap you can run, the better (as high as your cooling system will allow) it actuall raises the boiling point.

Dont fall for those underdrive pulley kits. If your car is mainly street driven,You want to overdrive your waterpump. your waterpump pulley should be slightly smaller (I went 1" smaller) than your crank pulley, so at low speeds and idle it has a decent flow.

I tried to attach pics, but I couldnt figure it out.
I clicked on manage attachments, clicked on browse, dbl. clicked on my pic, clicked upload. and nothing attached , did I do something wrong?
 

Tim65GT

Active Member
Feb 24, 2004
1,149
2
39
West Texas
May 18, 2006
#40
  • May 18, 2006
  • #40
I tried to attach pics, but I couldnt figure it out.
I clicked on manage attachments, clicked on browse, dbl. clicked on my pic, clicked upload. and nothing attached , did I do something wrong?
Click to expand...

Most people here (myself included) usually post the pictures on a free site like photobucket or cardomain or even their own web site.

Once it's up and viewable there, I paste the URL into the post.

I'm interested in the different setups people are using and am compiling info so I can plan my swap. I'm still in the process of relocating the battery to the trunk, so I have as much room as possible for a crossflow aluminum radiator.

I would like to run an elec fan, but I've had people tell me "Don't get rid of the mechanical fan, It'll overheat here in El Paso". I think the selection of the right combination of Radiator, fan(s) and shroud is critical for a good cooling system. Especially in the high temps I drive in here (with the AC on).
 
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