There are dozens of posts on this topic, but none seem to fit my unique situation, so here goes...
I have a '49 half-ton with a '58 235 engine. When I purchased the truck, I noticed there was razor-thin clearance between the fan blades and the radiator (about 1/8-inch). I did some research and realized I needed a short-shaft water pump. So, I dropped a wad of cash on a new pump (Classic Parts) thinking this was an easy solution to an easy problem. The pump was advertised as the perfect solution for fan/radiator clearance issues. I installed the new pump and life was good.
But nothing is as easy as it seems. I'm ready to install the fan and now I have several new issues. First, the new water pump has a different bolt pattern, and the original fan doesn't fit it. The old bolt pattern was 1-3/4 inches center-to-center with a 5/8-inch hub. The new pump has a 2-1/4-inch bolt pattern with a 1-inch hub :mad: . My second issue is, even if the bolt pattern were correct, the fan does not clear the harmonic balancer. I need some sort of spacer to push the fan closer to the radiator to clear the harmonic balancer. So, I spent $160 on a new water pump, and several hours of my time, and ended up making a small problem much larger. At least the old pump and fan worked! For what it's worth, the fan is 19-inches in diameter with four blades. I don't know if this fan was originally from a 216, 235, or some other engine.
Yes, I should have checked all these fit issues before installing the new pump. I live and learn. Given the fact that I already painted and installed the new water pump, I probably can't return it. The easiest solution would be a different fan, but I don't know where to find one that fits. I'm trying to keep my rig looking stock, so I don't want to install an electric fan or something that obviously does not look original. Any ideas?
