The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop radiator installation question

I have a 1953 Chevy 3100 pickup and I installed a 1954 261 engine with T-5 transmission. I finally got around to installing the radiator and I noticed that the fan is extremely close to the radiator.

Does anyone know how close the fan is supposed to be? Or is it simply, if the fan rotates without hitting anything you're good to go?

I installed an a/c compressor, power steering pump and alternator. I modified an aftermarket aluminum 6 blade fan to fit my water pump and used spacers to move the fan toward the radiator to avoid hitting the a/c compressor. Then I had to move the radiator down in the support cradle so that the fan blade didn't hit the lower portion of the radiator. Now the fan contact area is the main fin area.

Mine is about a half inch on a modified 261 with a thicker core aluminum radiator. No issues.

I might have a half inch at the top, but the bottom is super close. And I haven't mounted the front inner/outer fenders yet. I hope the fenders don't require moving the radiator cradle toward the engine ... major modification will have to take place if that happens.

A 1954 261 uses the same basic water pump as a 1953 216(except for a larger hose connection), so the placement of the fan should have stayed the same.

I modified an aftermarket 6 blade aluminum fan to fit the water pump pulley. If you lay the original fan down on a table side-by-side with the 6 blade fan, the 6 blade fan is just slightly wider than the original, but not by much. Basically the pitch of the 6 blade fan is the difference.

I don't think it will be an issue, but just asking if anyone has ever experienced this issue.

Thanks

Everything is likely to change once you put the front clip back on. The final inner fender location dictates the angle of the radiator support (thus the radiator position as it relates to the distance from the engine as well as the angle).
Carl