Stovebolters; Please see enclosed 2 pictures. I am building a 52 3100 on an Art Morrison frame with LS3 and T56. I am struggling to find a combination of cooling system and serpentine system that will fit between stock radiator frame and whatever serpentine system I wind up selecting. Example: One vendor's "accessory system" (serpentine system) protrudes 6.902 inches from the engine block at max. One vendor's radiator, shroud and fan requires 7 inches. The LS3 radiator has to be 3 inches of that 7 inches. The rest of the 7 inches is shroud and fan. I only have 10.25 inches between the flat front of the engine block and the start of the radiator frame side rail. Compounding this, the condenser and dryer has to go in front of the radiator. Before you say "you are cooked son", I know that there are instances of 47-53 Chevy 3100's with AME frames and LS3 engines. I will seek out some examples when I go to NSRA Nationals in August. In the meantime, if any of you have wisdom to share on this topic, I am all ears. I have researched fans and can save 1.5 inches by going to the slimmest electric fan, but that is not recommended for 525 HP configuration. I can gain an inch by mounting the radiator INSIDE of the radiator frame on say 1 inch spacers, rather than the usual place of mounting the radiator on the back of the radiator frame. Bottom line... I can easily see my way to 11.5 inches but as I said, there is only 10.25 inches to play with. Another option is to change motor mounts to move LS3 back a bit more. So... the problem is solvable but I am hoping that there is someone out there who has the experience to tell me what to do rather than having me make 23 mistakes before I settle on a solution. Thank you all for caring to help me think this through.
Mark; Thank you for your encouraging reply. I was hoping to experience exactly that... that wherever the accessory parts protrude the most, the radiator, shroud and fan protrude the least, etc. I reviewed the 22 sets of pictures that you posted on the transformation of your 51 Burb. The pictures helped motivate me a lot. I will refer back to many of them as I progress. Seeing the space in front of the radiator where you positioned the condenser and dryer gave me confidence that the space is there, up front, to comfortably add those things. Please let me know what technique and tools you use to strip sheet metal bare prior to repair and painting. I owe you a status update when I get past this stage of the build (when I resolve the radiator, shroud, fan, accessory system space issue).
Click on the "Lots and LOTS of pictures" link in my signature and you'll see over 400 photos of documentation.
For most stripping it was a DeWalt 110v DA with 40-60 grit, a die grinder with 2" or 3" discs, and for really aggressive work, a belt sander. Anything that could fit in my sand blast cabinet went in there.
A first decision has been made: I decided to do the VintageAir Frontrunner accessory system and then when all of that has been installed, only then will I take stock of the radiator, shroud, fan, condenser and dryer challenge. Looking at Mark's work, and talking to vendors about options for placing the fan (high/low, left/right of center, two little ones rather then 1 big one...), I am confident that we can find the space for the right radiator etc. I will be spending some hours in the near future browsing thru Mark's "Lots and Lots"! and again, this forum has helped this rookie make progress and save time.
Does it have to be factory stock appearing? S10 conversions have the centers cut out of the core support and then the sides of the support are bolted to heavy angle "L" brackets welded to the frame rail. As long as the front clip doesn't shake around all is good. Pic is of a l-o-n-g Cummins in a 54 and the front clip is very solid. [img]https://i.postimg.cc/K4pCLzM0/IMG-4399.jpg[/img]
I almost forgot, there is a new product on the market. Slim Fit Radiators
From the manufacturer: Slim-Fit Radiator Systems are only FOUR INCHES THICK. That includes the radiator, shroud and electric fan combined! This amazing engineering feat was accomplished by inventing and integrating a patented 3rd tank directly into the radiator core. The fan motor is then mounted into the special 3rd tank to eliminate all the extra hang-off from traditionally mounted fan.
Don't know if this even helps but just for what it is worth....(maybe help others?
I put a small block in my 52 panel and used the brackets/serpentine set up from a V6 S-10 pickup. Using an electric fan that covered the entire radiator worked great for me. I had 1/2 inch clearance between it and the belt tension pulley. Drove it for 7 years no problem.
And mount the fan on the front of the radiator. That’s what I did and works great, plus your engine bay looks cleaner.
That would be a last resort option. You dont really want a fan mounted in front of the ac condenser and rad. It will actually divert the airflow when its off and 99% of rad fans will pull wayyyy more air than they can push. You can totally get away with it on some builds but Ive seen it come back and bite ya multiple times. Hes in the build process now so might as well build it to work as good as possible right now. Its also on a AM chassis so I’m betting hes not trying to do the cheapest easiest option on anything on the truck. 🤣
