installing fan in 40 coupe with 51 mercury FH

[garys34]

I have a 1940 ford coupe with 51 mercury engine, I don't want to use an electric fan, is there a way to install a manual fan, the engine has the two narrow belts. What do I need if this is possible

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by garys34

I have a 1940 ford coupe with 51 mercury engine, I don't want to use an electric fan, is there a way to install a manual fan, the engine has the two narrow belts. What do I need if this is possible

Hey Gary .....You've come to the right place to hear an answer that you probably didn't want to hear. The 8BA/8CM family of flatheads for 1949 thru 1953 have an awful fan set-up for going in an EARLIER Ford, like a '40. It gets even worse when you go a little earlier like the '35 thru '38 Fords with radiators that lean back at the top. Been there, and done that! And on a '40, the upper radiator hoses are rather low, and the fan needs to be mounted low enough that the blades miss the top hoses. And ya know what? I think that electric fans 'SUCK', no matter how well they suck or blow. Thay just ain't cool. MY opinion...your mileage may vary.

Seen below is the usual '49-'53 fan. It really sticks way out there, not usually a problem on post-'48 cars.





So, I've wondered for 50 years now what are guys doing that have 8BA & 8CM types in their early cars. Well, most of 'em are wimpin'-out and using some form of an electric fan. A friend of mine, F'Barn member "Heard" asked me a few years back if I knew of a way to get around using an electric in his super '36 3-window with 8BA in it. I took it as a personal challenge to help him come-up with a mechanical fan that would work. About the same time, I happened to notice a picture of Jim Pullen's (19Fordy on The 'Barn)'50-ish Mercury engine in his beautiful '40 Coupe. It had a strange piece on the front that seemed to mount his fan.....picture BELOW!





At the time Jim (19Fordy) had access to all sorts of machine tools, and actually manufactured all the pieces seen in the above picture, including fan hub, pulley and all. His main reason for doing such was to get the fan low enough to clear the upper hoses. I asked Jim about his set-up, and he clued me in about that offset, painted block of steel that mounts the fan hub lower on the engine. Well, now I just needed to come-up with a smallish, yet durable fan hub to fit into the package. Quite by accident, I came upon a Chevy Corvair FAN Hub. Yup, that air-cooled Corvair engine had a great big old (HEAVY) fan sitting on top of the engine. So, we found one of these Corvair hubs, and Heard and I (MOSTLY Heard) started developing this fan package for his '36. Heard lives near Daytona, Florida, and I'm northeast of Houston. Between ideas from both of us, and all the grunt work by Heard, we managed to complete this fan unit that bolts-on to the alternator mount on the front of his engine. Believe me, EVERY 1/16th of an inch between engine and fan is precious, valuable territory. The fan cools his engine quite well, even in the Florida heat, and even while just sitting there idling. Read the entire thread here on FordBarn by clicking the link BELOW.

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showt...rdy+8ba+engine

Below is the unit as we designed and built to mount on Heard's engine. IF you care to build one for yourself, I'll be happy to share a bunch of pictures and supporting info to help build this unit. If you're serious enough, this can be built with a hacksaw or Sawzall & a drill press, about three minutes with an electric welder, and some very slight machining on the new double shieve alternator pulley. REMEMBER, this all pertains to 19Fordy's Merc engine in a '40 Coupe also! DD

















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[Charlie ny]

Keep things clean, rework the '40 fan mount pulley to run on the 8BA. I've done quite a few but always with the truck pumps and single wide belt.
I run this setup on my '41 1/2 ton with a '49 Merc stroker.
Charlie ny
[email protected]

[flatjack9]

I have that in my 39 DeLuxe. Used the wide belt truck pumps and the crank fan. I made a spacer to move the stock generator out to align with the pulleys. Also, install a fan shroud. Jack

[kirkf]

I'm surprised that there isn't a commercially available solution to this?

It seems like it would be a common idea to pop one of the later flatheads into the earlier cars and trucks.

Kirk

[19Fordy]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

kirkf: The problem is that manufacturing costs are prohibitive.

[Jack E/NJ]

>>>I'm surprised that there isn't a commercially available solution to this? It seems like it would be a common idea to pop one of the later flatheads into the earlier cars and trucks.>>>


There was a commercially-available solution with an even more common idea back in the day. 8^)

[glennpm]

Good one Jack :-)

[flatjack9]

Originally Posted by kirkf

I'm surprised that there isn't a commercially available solution to this?

It seems like it would be a common idea to pop one of the later flatheads into the earlier cars and trucks.

Kirk

There's really no problem to do it.

[johndee138]

Drawings and a parts list would be worth something to me. As in I would pay good money for that
I could make one from a good set of drawings
The pix are nice but unknowns aren't readily visible, and I don't want to end up with an unusable lump (that's expensive in time and $)
Perhaps y'all could whip up a packet and post it for sale or just put it out there like an open source tutorial.

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by johndee138

Drawings and a parts list would be worth something to me. As in I would pay good money for that
I could make one from a good set of drawings
The pix are nice but unknowns aren't readily visible, and I don't want to end up with an unusable lump (that's expensive in time and $)
Perhaps y'all could whip up a packet and post it for sale or just put it out there like an open source tutorial.

johndee138 ....I'm curious whether or not THIS post of yours has to do with the fan contraption that Heard and myself pulled out of our collective butts and posted here, so that others with little hope for ANY successful way around an electric fan could see SOME of the possibilities. DD
.

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by Jack E/NJ

>>>I'm surprised that there isn't a commercially available solution to this? It seems like it would be a common idea to pop one of the later flatheads into the earlier cars and trucks.>>>


There was a commercially-available solution with an even more common idea back in the day. 8^)

Man, Zora WAS cool....PERIOD! The look on that face....the ATTITUDE!

And who can't just love ya some 265 Chevy, huh? And as much as this guy had to do with making that little Chevy perform, and making it a commodity that has really become a household word, it ain't Zora's. Mr. Ed Cole was the brains that brought our beloved SBC to life. Doesn't really matter though. They were BOTH legends in their own right. DD
.

[garys34]

thank you , a lot of information, I am in the process of getting the Mercury water pumps rebuild and they have the narrow belts and part of the motor mounts, looks like a electric fan is in my future. Gary

[garys34]

thanks for your detailed response. that is a lot of information, I think I see a electric fan in my future, Gary

[19Fordy]

Gary, Use an electric fan only as a last resort, IMO. Here's an expanded thread worth reading.
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showt...radiator+hoses
and
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showt...4539&showall=1

[flatjack9]

The Mercury pumps are a bad idea. The mounting holes are different and will require some kind of adapter to mount in your chassis. Use the wide belt 8RT pumps.

[19Fordy]

Flatjack is correct. The 8RT pumps fit best.

[Ol' Ron]

I just used an electric fan.
G

[glennpm]

Originally Posted by 19Fordy

Gary, Use an electric fan only as a last resort, IMO. Here's an expanded thread worth reading.
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showt...radiator+hoses
and
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showt...4539&showall=1

Good stuff Jim!


Glenn

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by Ol' Ron

I just used an electric fan.
G

Well heck .....ANYBODY can use an electric fan. Just like ANYBODY can take his little sister to the prom. It takes a dude with a little imagination to get that beautiful BABE on your arm for prom night. Just as a little extra imagination and extra effort to come-up with a real fan! DD
.