Some question/concerns Water pump pulley/fan hub

[patrickt]

Hello All !
I posted sometime last year about trying to I.D. weather we had an A with a T body, or vice versa. Anyway, it strongly pointed to an A with a T body. Also, the engine is already with a mechanic who is somewhat familiar with vintage vehicles, so only the Bell housing and Radiator are left in the engine bay.

I just mentioned that to give you a perspective on why certain things may or may not fit properly in the engine compartment. In my case, based on pics i`ve seen of of the original water pump Pulley (as well as some stuff i read on Ford Barn) , the original water pump pulley not working with my A engine compartment, maybe i have a wrong sized water pump too( ?) The 2 bladed fan for 28-31 is integral with all the water pump Pulley-Hubs, right ?

My 4 bladed fan on the other hand can be unbolted from the water pump Pulley. Also, it seems that the distance between the Pulley and the Hub was intentionally modified to be longer on my car to clear the engine. The pic with a ruler show the measurement of the side of the pulley facing the side of the hub (facing the pulley) to be about 1.5" distance (somewhat hard to tell because of the angle the pic was taken). The grotesquely welded portion doesnt seem to be very strong anymore...

I checked out pics of the later water pump pulley-hubs, and like the ones of the A, appear to be too short. Does anyone know of waterpump pulley-hubs that will fit the A water pump shaft properly and yet have the pulley to hub distance measurement i gave, or at least close to it (preferably on the longer side of the measurement).

Given that our A might be wearing a T body, or just plainly not an A body, its of course possible that the radiator is now farther away from the engine, thus necessitating a longer waterpump pulley fan hub measurement (?)

This brings me to request if anybody could please take maybe several measurements from several points from the forward portion of the bell housing, or maybe from some specified point on the firewall until several points on the radiator ? It would be really appreciated. Thank You,
Patrick
p.s. i will see if i still remember how to post pics

[barnstuf]

What you have is an old time replacement hub and bolt on fan blades that were a common replacement part years ago. With exact copy of original fans now available what you have is now not common. I never knew of the bolt on replacement fans causing a fit problem but they were a poor quality replacement.

[Joe K]

I have a couple of the "aftermarket" fans which are in use. Looking at yours the distance between the pulley and flat where the fan blades mount looks a little larger front to back.

I think if you purchase and use today's replacement fan in the two blade airplane variety you may not have a problem. The fit IS a bit close between the water pump shaft nut and the inside core of the radiator - as in an "adjustment" of the radiator rods CAN be enough to make the radiator "kiss" either the nut or the fan blade.

You might not be the first Model A user with a "fan circle" cut into the back-side of the radiator. The damage when it happens is mostly to the fins/appearance (and the ego of the assembler) and remains on my list of things to watch out for when replacing a radiator.

Now if you have problems putting it all together, getting the hood square to the radiator shroud and still not able to do it without the fan hitting, you've definitely got a body mis-match which you'll have to deal with separately.


Joe K

[patrickt]

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Barnstuf -
If by fit problem you mean if the fan hits or clears anything, then i`m sure your right when the body and chassis are matched correctly. But in my case, it appears to be a T body on an A chassis, hence the modified (longer) fan pulley-hub used on my engine. Thanks for your reply.

Joe K -
Thanks for your reply as well. So you said:
I think if you purchase and use today's replacement fan in the two blade airplane variety you may not have a problem. The fit IS a bit close between the water pump shaft nut and the inside core of the radiator - as in an "adjustment" of the radiator rods CAN be enough to make the radiator "kiss" either the nut or the fan blade.

Did you mean that even if my radiator was in fact slightly farther from the engine (due to a mismatched body and as evidenced by my modified longer pulley-hub), and that the original A had a water pump shaft nut and/or a fan blade that sometimes barely kissed the radiator, that i would be ok with the replacement Fan-hub, since my present radiator is supposedly farther away from the engine anyway, as compared to an all original A ? Which is why i was hoping someone could give me some distance measurements from maybe several points on the firewall to the radiator.
Patrick