fan Q

i have a 7 blade 350 clutch fan that i'd like to use to replace the crappy electrical fan currently in my car. it's solid and still the factory black. pretty much no flaws except for a few dings around the edges...blades look straight. the clutch, however, has a lot of rust, and i don't trust the wimpy stock one anyway. what kind would you guys recommend putting on it? (i'll be ordering a bunch of stuff from summit today, so if i can get it from there, if not from a local place, it'd be a plus)

also, would you guys think it'd be easier to just splurge and put a new flexalite fan on instead of the old one? will it cool any better?

last thing, is a shroud needed? other that keeping your hand from being chopped off, does it serve a purpose in directing the air?

(sorry for the dumb questions, but hey, gotta ask SOMEBODY)

 

From everything I've heard over the years regarding fans and such, the conclusion always seem to be the same. Put a 7 blade stock fan with a ThermoClutch on it and you'll be fine. Flexblade fans while they may work better for a short time, have a tendancy to get frozen in one place and no longer flex. Not to mention they're sharper then a stock bladed fan.

As for Summit, I honestly don't know. When I get enough $ to get one it'll probably be from Napa or ACDelco wherehouse.

A fan shroud is a MUST! Sure it keeps your hands from gettin nicked to hell, but it also directs airflow straight to the engine where it's needed. Get one!

Just my opinions from my observations over the years...

Scott

 

so use a thermal fan clutch, NOT one that kicks in accordance with RPM?

any recommendation on what one, specifically?

 

i remember someone say that these big boys were quite good at the job:

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=20695',650,505,'FLX5655

overkill? could i get a fairly HD clutch for cheaper? (hope so:laugh

 

Okay, so I'm wrong about the reason for the shroud. Still need one tho.. hehe

That Summit Fan looks sweet, but yea, probably overkill.. A good ACDelco clutch should be good enough, it's what they put on there in the first place, right? I think, if I remember right, that they wanted around 40$ at acdelco for one, I can check on Monday if you want, but might wanna see if you can get a price out of summit for comparison.. Who knows, maybe a few bucks diff.. Wouldn't 'that' be nice.. hehe

 

all summit carries are the flexalite clutches...they seem to have 2 thermo models...one's 36 and one's 62. can't tell you much other than that. i donno, maybe i'll call up one of out autoparts stores near here and inquire as to what they have.

 

dang, i just realized one other thing...i don't believe i have all the mounts for the fan shroud. any idea where i could get these?

 

Fan shroud mounts?? Mine sits on two pegs infront of the rad and two bolts hold the top up.. Don't see where there would be mounts unless the pegs are gone, or the plate covering everything is missing.

 

i thought mine has been remove.

so there are only top pegs holding it in?

 

When I did my first engine swap I thought I had "lost" the mounts too. Turns out that I just accidentally bent a couple tangs on the plate the radiator sits on, so I bent them back.

The holes in the bottom of the shroud go over the tangs, and there should be a couple holes on top of the shroud to bolt it on.

 

a shroud is a must ! be careful when buying a used shroud for your 350 . they have tendency to
warp upwards from the bottom . on my gs , which has the original shroud , it warped and the fan
eventually scratched it . had to use a couple of
tie wraps to pull it down .
gerry
72 gs 350