I searched through the forums before hand and did not find a thread that matched. If I missed one please feel free to drop a link. I am working putting a 1972 455 in to my 1969 skylark that I bought as a roller. I was originally thinking about trying to source a radiator from a local pick apart but quickly decided new is probably better. That being said I do think I'm going to source my cooling fans from the junkyard. Has anyone done this for a similar application? What vehicles did you find had fans that were easily retro fitted?
Do you have a Big Block shroud yet, I would start with that. Fans, pullies and water pumps would be next.
I do not have a shroud. I have all my front accessories. I am not buying the shroud because I want to go electric fans because I have hear there are issues keeping these engines cool.
Look into,,, in other words google this >Ford Taurus cooling fan conversations. Many car and truck & 4x4 owners have went with it..
Other popular ones: 93-98 Lincoln MK VIII fans 1995-'00 Ford V-6 Contour 95-98 Windstar 4.6 DOHC Lincoln Continentals Watch out for high current draw on some of these - do your research! But - best cooling is with the stock belt driven fan - who said these were hard to cool?
The mark VIII works very well it also have two speeds. You may have to search hard to find one. However Dorman makes one for about $140, I can’t remember the part number. Go to advance auto parts put in the Lincoln mark 8 and the Dorman fan will come up. We used two relays one for each speed.
i found it was cheaper to buy a aluminum radiator and fans as a whole than hunting for junk yard fans and used radiator. china knock offs but i got a few hundred in them.
I want to go electric fans. When I was in Carlyle this spring there were a couple of company's that made the combo. My target is horsepower. On episode 20 of Engine Masters they did a test on fans. If you get rid of the fan, clutch driven or solid the increase was 20 hp +. The alternator draw was just over 1hp. So we are talking basically free HP increase without any engine modifications. I am driving my car this summer everywhere. When winter hits, all the easy mods are going to happen. This one is number 1 on my list.
Lou - Assuming 1 horsepower is equal to 746 watts, you can calculate lost horsepower as follows: HP=745 watts / 746 watts HP=1.0 (approx.) The amount of power it takes to drive a 50 amp alternator to its full power is approximately 1.0 HP. Power = Current × Voltage, so 100 Amps (More realistic for running fans) would only be 1.6HP - IF efficiency was 100%. It's not, so figure at 60% the HP required would be 2.7. Still very low!
In short, the fans would drain the battery and slow down. the car would over heat and then once it was shut off and let to cool not restart. Worked my way up to a 100 amp alt without much improvement. After getting stranded several times I went back to the clutch fan and shroud. This unit was ordered for a 90's Impala
If your choice is electric fans then, so be it but there are many 500-600 HP BBBs out there running with factory shrouds and 5 or 7 blade factory clutch fans. If the block isn't bored past about .038 and quality water pumps and aluminum radiators used, you should be able to maintain 180-190 degree temps even in the hotter climates with A/C. Many of us are.
Ok, I think your missing the point I was getting to. If you free up the load from the fan it will give you an additional 20+ HP. It was all proven on a dyno. Engine Masters, episode 20. They went thru it all. 4 different fans and what kind of load the alternator put on the engine. No guessing here. (Check it out, its a eye opener. Made me a believer!) I come from a HVAC background. Now if the fan setup you have is from a 90's Impala did you check the CFM rating of that fan setup? A mechanical fan in a shroud can easily pull 4000 to 5000 CFM. If you don't match the same rating, it will surely overheat. Did you use a laser thermometer to get what the temperature differential was on the supply and return of the radiator? What was the temp with a mechanical fan and then check again with the electric? Also most of the factory electric fans are two stage. Low and high. When your cruising on the thruway the fans will be on low or not at all and will bump up to high in city traffic. Something has to give if your introducing a lower CFM fan into the picture. One way to compensate would be to install a radiator with more cooling capacity to make up for the air flow. I cool my built BBB with a 4 core brass radiator that fits in the front radiator support without modification. I presently have a flex fan with NO shroud and it holds 180-190 all day long. It only starts to climb when traffic is bumper to bumper. One more thing, if you don't run a heavy enough muti-strand wire when dealing with DC current you will significantly increase the resistance and therefore increase the current draw on your charging system. It worked on 90's impala, why doesn't it work on your car? Probably a lower CFM that would be needed to cool your car. Lou
ive had a set on a truck for 10 years was mine is my dads now. only issue i ever had was a junk flex a lite controller. its contacts melted. i took it off and threw it in the garbage. ill never buy anything from them again. i bought a derale controller and its ran for 9 years and 6 months fine and cost about a third what the fancy flex a lite did. this is a cobbled together set up. ive got them on the 72 but not really drove it yet. i mean all cars and most trucks have them now so idk where the fear to use them come from. they are a fuel saver too.
