The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 1958 - 1959 V8 fan shroud in a 1957

I’d like to use a 58 - 59 factory V8 fan shroud in my 57 1/2 ton. I have a 327 in my truck with an aftermarket shroud that’s too shallow so I’m using a spacer to put the fan close enough to the shroud so that it works. My question is…will the 58 -59 shroud bolt up without a lot of modification. If so I’ll post in the swap meet area.
Thank you,
Larry

Larry,

A quick check of Chevy Parts Catalogs Radiator shroud info shows 2 different part numbers for 1955-57 and 1958-59 trucks.

Diagrams from my 1966 Chevy Special Parts and Illustration catalog (attached below) show the 2 different truck year groups and the appearance of the radiator shrouds. They seem to look nearly the same, although the 1957 diagram also shows a shroud extension (the 1958-59 diagram doesn't show an extension) that could help with your fan positioning and proper air flow through the radiator.

Not sure the later stock 1958-59 shroud (without extension) pictured would improve your fan spacing and air flow???

Maybe a reproduction type like being offered by 1955-59 Plastic Shroud that looks to have a deeper formed shroud might be the solution you seek???

Hope this info may be helpful???

Dan

Hi Dan. Thanks for all of the work you do to help on the Bolt. I had never seen the two exploded views the you sent.

I actually used the old air shroud that you mentioned. The problem I’m dealing with is that in 57, the radiator mount was moved rearward for V8s. My truck was a 6 cylinder truck and that shroud is for original V8 trucks so I’ve got a 2 1/2” spacer on there to make the shroud work.

In your first image for 57 it shows the barrel extension that I’m looking for. I’d never seen that listed for 57. I’d always understood that in 58 - 59 they kept the radiator in one place and used that barrel for the V8s.

Larry

Larry,

Thanks for the kind words and glad the pics may have provided some detail and further knowledge.

Now that you mention your truck was originally a 6 cylinder model, I understand how that would change the radiator and shroud placement VS your V8 installation, creating your dilemma.

I know you can't be the only Bolter to have made this kind of change. Perhaps one of them will chime in with more details about what they have done and maybe some pictures to help us see a possible solution?

Maybe you could also post a couple pics to see what your current set up looks like. It may offer some brain cell stirring thoughts to find or suggest an alternate solutions.

How about it fellow TF Bolters, anyone else got a possible solution for Larry!!!

Dan

I will post some pics later today

Here’s a picture of my current set up. Thanks for any ideas on getting rid of the spacer. This shroud is from Vintage Air. It’s nicely made but too shallow.

Engine looks to be mounter further back than normal?

The engine is mounted using the stock mounts. It’s a 1964 327 with the holes for the front bird leg style mount. It has the short water pump which is what it came with. The big problem is that the factory V8 radiator was mounted 5 - 6 inches further back to account for the V8 being shorter. This truck started out as a 6 cylinder. I hope this clarifies what I’m trying to do.

It appears that your engine has the correct V-8 front conversion mounts which also uses the bellhousing/crossmember mount so there
really isn't anywhere else for the engine to go.
We did a 235 to V-8 conversion a few months ago and had a similar issue. However, the owner had replaced the stock radiator
with an aluminum unit which positioned it further toward the engine. By using what appears to be the same shroud you have,
It was closer but still needed a spacer.
You may be able to install some spacers between the core support and the radiator and move it back further.
The inside diameter of the shroud was exactly 18". We used a 17" 6 blade fan and it seems to work OK.
I have not seen a deeper fan shroud in any of the aftermarket publications I have but there may be something out there.

I used a long water pump on the 350 in my 56. It has a 6 blade 18" fan and fan clutch and no shroud.
Mine has a manual transmission. If you have an automatic, I would recommend a shroud.
Fred

Thanks for the replies. Good food for thought.

Hi Dan. I've been pondering the pictures of the fan shrouds that you sent, and I'm wondering if that 57 image is for a larger truck. I've never seen a 57 with that kind of shroud at least in the smaller trucks. I found a shroud for 58 -59 on craigslist but the mounting is different from that in your image.anyway, I'll report on what I find.
Larry

Larry,

It is a very good possibility that the pictures of both the 57 and 58-59 were for "Big Bolts" as much of that catalog is actually directed towards the "Big Bolts/Commercial Trucks". They didn't do a great job of specifying which trucks they applied to so sometimes just have to guess.

Seeing your picture, makes me wonder if you could possible fabricate a similar style shroud extension and attach it to the existing shroud (would need some extra support straps and connection points to prevent separation, but it could help with your air flow management???

Dan

I did buy an aluminum extension from Speedway that is pretty flimsy. I might use it for now, but I really don't like having all of the bandaids on this engine.
It doesn't look right like the fuel filter I have inline in front of the carb. That's coming off in favor of a glass bowl type. Oops I'm going down another rabbit hole.

Hy Guys, 58/59 frames and front sheet metal is longer than the 55B/57, plus as LAJones48 mentioned 55B/57 factory V8 trucks had a spacer to move the radiator closer to the engine. I have a factory V8 58 here and it still has its factory rad shroud, just eyeballing stuff I wonder if the factory 58/59 V8 rad shroud would solve your problem?

Those illustrations are of the BIG trucks, the 8000 and 10000 Series 1956/57 trucks had the core support in the 6-cylinder position for the V8 engines and used the barrel shroud to make it work.

If you could find one It might still be too short because your radiator is thinner...It also looks like your fan is to far out, you need a longer spacer for it to work with that shroud.

Here's some pictures of my 1956 8400 with a SBC factory setup. It has a factory 4" thick radiator with the 7.25" deep shroud, the barrel is 21.5" across and I think it has a 20" fan.

Mike B

Thank you for your reply.

Thank you. The picture and the measurements are a great help. I’m thinking of making something myself. I sure would like to ditch the spacer.

I found a fan shroud from a 59 Chevy truck. I also heard from someone on the Vintage NAPCO 4X4 site that has installed one on a similar truck to mine so we'll see what happens. Thanks for all the help. I'll come back when I'm able to share the results. It might be a while.
Larry