More radiator questions

[J Witt]

Some have responded (thanks very much) to my radiator cap question, but here are some more.


Does anyone know of a smaller than stock diameter pulley for the generator. This is the pulley that has the fan bolted to it. My objective here is to increase the rpm of the generator shaft and fan with the objective of pulling more air through the radiator, especially at low speeds--for parades for instance.


Here's the backstory: When I got the car it had a stock fan and worn fan belt. The fan had a tendency to hit the radiator header tank up in the recess in the header tank. I eventually cut the diameter of the fan down some to give a little more adjustment on the belt tension. Of course, this reduced the amount of air through the rad and made hot running more of a problem.


Right now I have a good fitting belt, but would like to tighten it a little, however the fan hits the tank if the generator is not almost all the way down to the limit of the adjustment slot.


I think a stock diameter fan is out of the question, so would like to spin the existing one faster. I also have looked at raising the radiator a little, but it can't be very much and would requires shimming the rubber mounts at the bottom (not hard to do).


Comments, anyone? You guys are full of good ideas.


John

[TJ]

Raising the radiator will get your hood out of alignment. Sounds like your fan belt is too long to me if it allows the fan to hit the top tank.

[Brian]

Yes. Those pulleys come in assorted sizes, the small dia ones are out there.

[drolston]

If your are near the radiator tank with the generator/fan near the low end, your engine may be too high. Does it have normal motor mount pads, or is it raised with extra washers. That has been done a few times to get exhaust clearance from the steering box.

Do you know if the manifold is stock. Maybe the the intake is from a 40 or 41, which has a crank mounted fan.

[J Witt]

Those are good points. The intake is the same one that came with the car, but I don't have enough experience to tell if it is a stock original. It is aluminum and has a single 97. The engine has been replaced with a later model industrial block unit, 59 AB heads. Everything fits well with the exception of this fan problem.



The motor mounts were fitted with new rubber when the engine was changed, but there are no extra washers or shims (fronts only). This engine does have different motor mount ears than the original 21 stud engine, these are integrated with the water pumps. Possibly there is a different height there, I'll look and see if there is a way to tell.


The fan belt that works is a 54 inch length. A 53 inch one is too tight to fit.


John

[G.M.]

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This is the fan in my 39 P/U. It is an industrial fan I adapted. This truck has ran over 3 hours at a fast idle at an EFV8 flea market when the outside temperatures was over 100. It had Bob Shewman's 180 degree stats and ran
at 179 to 182. I left and ate lunch with it running. when I came back and raced the engine a little the temp came down a little. Make sure the pulls and is not a pusher. G.M.

[J Witt]

Something I do not have is a fan shroud. My fan is a stock 4 blade unit with the tips trimmed to avoid hitting the header tank. My problem is certainly fan oriented, just not moving enough air. As soon as I can speed up a little, the temp comes right down. The fan is pitched in thr right direction as the air is moving correctly.


Is that shroud a stock Ford item or something that has been adapted to the engine? That sure looks like a nice setup, I'm envious.

[rick r]

A good shroud like the one in G M's post will probably solve your low speed and idle cooling problems

[G.M.]

Originally Posted by J Witt

Something I do not have is a fan shroud. My fan is a stock 4 blade unit with the tips trimmed to avoid hitting the header tank. My problem is certainly fan oriented, just not moving enough air. As soon as I can speed up a little, the temp comes right down. The fan is pitched in thr right direction as the air is moving correctly.


Is that shroud a stock Ford item or something that has been adapted to the engine? That sure looks like a nice setup, I'm envious.

That is some larger Ford truck shroud I found on eBay. I don't remember all I did but I remember it is upside down. G.M.