Widowmaker

[Dave Mellor NJ]

We all know about the famous flying fan blade. This guy hangs it from his ceiling

[stickshift]

Better the hood than the radiator I guess. Either one is not cheap.

[Benson]

New guys who do not believe old fans are dangerous should see this photo.

My Coupe has a 5 inch (3 sided) hole about 6 inches further up on the CURVED part of the hood where a blade went through it. Never did find the blade.

I DO NOT want to think about what that would do to a person's head if they had their face in there while revving the engine!

60 years later I still move over "out of the line of fire" whenever someone is revving an engine!

[mercman from oz]

Show & Tell Trophy

[mercman from oz]

Apparently, these Fan Blades come adrift more often that you might think.
This one happened on the Model A Run in New Zealand this year.

[Marshall V. Daut]

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I've had this happen also with an original V-8 four-blade fan on my Model A 35 years ago when rust weakened the rivets holding the two blades together let loose - with not quite as dramatic results as "mercman from oz" shows above - but bad enough to require hood and radiator core repair. $$$$$$$$ Lesson learned the hard way. I have since refused to ever use another four-blade fan and have removed probably 30-35 of these disasters-in-waiting from Model A's I have repaired over the years. I have a box of the things in the basement that I can't GIVE away! Guys think that changing to a four-blade fan will magically correct their poor cooling situation in their Model A's, when 90% of the time a new radiator core is needed. Even in hot, old Phoenix, Arizona, and while driving across deserts on the way to Iowa a two-blade fan kept my Model A's cool. The secret is no secret: clean engine cooling passageways, proper ignition timing and a good radiator. The number of fan blades is only incidental and is no answer in itself.
Marshall

[Zax40]

Is there a way to tell an original fan from a newer replacement?

[oldspert]

Originally Posted by Marshall V. Daut

The number of fan blades is only incidental and is no answer in itself.
Marshall

^^ This

The number of blades has nothing to do with the problem. It is because rust eats away the inside of the two blade fan and it separates at higher RPM.

[Big hammer]

Originally Posted by Zax40

Is there a way to tell an original fan from a newer replacement?

Original fans are steel, new two blade fans are aluminum, if a magnet sticks it’s a steel original

[Benson]

45 years ago I also had a 4 blade V-8 fan rivets fail as Marshall says.

[JoeCB]

I've had the original two blade on the 31' for 60 years. Bought the new aluminum one a couple of years ago... you may have finally motivated me to do the swap.
Thanks
Joe B

[Benson]

IF THE FAN BLADE DOES THAT MUCH DAMAGE going through the hood just think for a minute what damage it will do to your face if the hood is up and out of the way!

[Big hammer]

Originally Posted by JoeCB

I've had the original two blade on the 31' for 60 years. Bought the new aluminum one a couple of years ago... you may have finally motivated me to do the swap.
Thanks
Joe B

The 31 fans are better beefer, when I changed out my 31 original for the new aluminum fan some of my vibrations when away !

[Benson]

IN 1930 OR 31 Ford came out with an improved 2 blade fan which is better BUT it stills fails the same way.

Besides if you have a 31 car who is to say that someone did not put an earlier fan on the water pump?

"Ain't So ?"

[Synchro909]

When I bought my first Model A, I knew nothing about this. When I found out, acting with an "abundance of caution", I checked it. It had been badly cracked, then brazed up and refitted at some time. It had cracked again so badly I didn't want to start the engine again till I fixed it. The cracks ran out along the blades and around the pulley and base of the blades. My first job on the "new" car was to get it running properly which involved
running and revving the engine while I was leaning over it. I consider myself EXTREMELY lucky to be alive. It gives me goose bumps to think of it!

[Big hammer]

Remember back in the late 70’s ford still had problems with fan blades going thru hoods and then killing somebody! I checked my mercury and it was missing a blade, no holes in the hood or radiator……… the window must have been opened when it departed! LOL

[JayJay]

A group of us were coming back from a tour on Memorial Day when one of the Model As lost a fan blade. No damage to anything, never saw where it went. One of the guys just broke off the other side to balance it out and we proceeded at speed the rest of the way home. I think he's waiting until the aluminum two-blades become available to replace it.

[Dodge]

Yep,
There is a reason my hood is a slightly different color than the rest of the body........
New aluminum fans are way cheaper than a broken fan blade.

[L-head]

It is not just the fan, I had an original generator pulley break apart while the motor was running. The hood was up and the pulley struck my garage wall. Check your moving, rotating parts carefully. They are like us, getting old and tired.

[81ls1camaro]

my hood has a dent in that spot and the radiator has been repaired in the past. I assume because of the same issue