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Is the location/relationship of the radiator (vertical measurement)significant if: you're running a V8 SB, utilizing and electric fan set-up and the radiator has good outside-in air flow and is,in fact,in front of the motor? Would a couple of inches up or down make a difference?This set-up is in a 52 Burb.
Thanks

I doubt that a couple inches up or down would make much difference.On my 55 I had an electric fan plus the regular fan.It ran pretty cool,about 190 degrees.This winter I took the electric fan off and I am installing a shroud,between the radiator and the engine.This should make the regular fan pull a lot more air thru the radiator.I got the shroud from Chevy Duty in KC.Will know for sure when I fire it up.

My fan was sitting too low ... so I put a 16" electric fan in -- much better!
See This

Alan?
Is that a stock radiator core support?
Did you have to do anything special to accomodate the new rdiator?

Thanks,

I run a 7 blade chrysler mechanical fan with a 16 inch electric pusher fan from a mazda in front of the rad. I did that because the mechanical fan draws from the bottom 2/3 of the rad. I bought a shroud last year but haven't bothered to install it yet. The car is a 40 chev with a small block, seems to work.

I forgot to say what I intended to say. A couple of inches shouldn't matter in my opinion.

In2Deep

It's a Walker Z-Cool radiator made to fit my 54 ... I don't know the details because I had a guy install it who knows antiques and street rods. I think it was custom made.

As far as I know, and as far as I can see, the Walker fits in nicely, with no modifications. I added the trans cooler at the bottom of the rad, removed a gear drive and replaced that with a Summit double-roller timing chain, removed the mechanical fan and replaced that with the 16" electric fan on a relay and temperature sensor -- also ran it through my ignition so the fan shuts off when I shut the engine off.

BIG, BIG improvement all around. I put AC in last Summer, which was my main reason for doing this - I was overheating with the Air on last year; won't this year!

The original radiator was a 2-cell ... the Walker is a copper 5-cell.

Steve -A couple of inches either way is no big deal at all. The only thing that matters in this case is if the radiator top is lower than the highest spot the coolant has to go in your engine. You don't want any air pockets in the engine's coolant jackets, or intake manifold, etc. The top radiator hose needs to have a slight upward sweep and your covered.
Best regards - Steve

I had problems with my V-8 clutch type fan interfering with the lower rad hose so I dropped the rad a few inches. Seems to work OK. For added cooling, I also built a fan shroud and installed engine oil/trans oil coolers.

Been there done that, a shroud is the way to go
http://community.webshots.com/user/zeker6
this how I did it. Moved stock radiator forward by rewelding mounting flanges to move forward and down, made a shroud with a 17" blade, mounted my condenser and trans cooler in front. |Zeke

NICE work, Zeke! Your truck looks great, too!

With my 350 sbc, my fan was sitting way too low for me to apply a shroud ... so we removed the fan when I put the new Walker Z-Cool rad in, and used a 16" electric fan. You can see pics of how low the fan was sitting here:
Pics

I would rather have a shroud with a mechanical fan, but I guess there's no way, eh?

Similar question on cooling. I recently bought a 1951 Chevy 1-ton. It has a 292 motor and no mechanical fan for cooling. Someone added an electric fan in front of this big radiator. My question is if this is good enough to keep the motor cool or should I have a mechanical fan.

Thanks,
Randy
Eureka, Montana

How big is the fan? I guess your best answer will come as you drive an see what temps you're running at.

Randy...I have a "pusher" electric fan mounted in front of my radiator in my '51 3100...it's a 16" fan with a 180 degree thermosat...my truck has a '58 235 w/ 2-1bbls, fenton headers and electronic ignition and it runs fine...the fan really only comes on often in the summer in traffic or if it's idling for a long period.

I measureed the fan blades (circum.)from top to bottom at 16" and there are 6 blades (on the front side of radiator). There is an adjuster knob up top with a blue mark on it. The previous owner told me to keep it on this mark and it should run at 180 degrees. I watch it close as the weather warms up.

Thanks for the feedback its reassurring to hear others with a similar set-up. I am just getting back in to owning an older truck and was not familiar with the concept of an electric fan replacement and not sure if it was supposed to be pushing or pulling the air. Thanks again.

Randy Wilson
1951 Model 3800 1-ton

Hey, Randy

That adjuster knob you have is cool! That's an adjustable thermostat, I think ... and that means you can set your fan to turn on sooner, or later, depending on the temps you're reading. If your temps are reading too high before the fan comes on, you should be able to turn that knob and make the fan come on sooner, and keep your engine cooler. Or if the temps are reading too low, you can make the fan wait longer before it turns on. I plan on putting one of those in soon ... only I'm gonna install my adjustment knob in the cab where it's easier to regulate.

I've heard that electric fans are better than mechanical fans for cooling things down and the electric fan I have now sure is doing a better job than the mechanical fan I had before!

It may not matter much if you have a fan pulling or pushing, but I prefer a fan on the engine-side rather than in front of the radiator -- I think it'll turn on less when cruising if it isn't blocking the front of the radiator.

The only thing I don't like about them is that they draw so much juice!! When a 30 amp fan turns on, the initial kick is more like 60 amps! So it's VERY important that they are wired and GROUNDED properly! I'm gonna be rewiring my whole electric fan setup this weekend (and a few other things, like my headlights) -- the RIGHT way -- and I'll be posting all the info and pics at my sight by the early part of next week.