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Hello everyone,
I put a '58 235 in my brother's '50 3100. I used the shortened water pump and now the fan hits on the front of the crank pulley. I spaced the fan out about 1/8", using washers between the fan and the water pump pulley, but at moderate to higher rpm the fan still hits the crank pulley. I would like to space it out another 1/8-3/16" but really don't want to use that many washers. Does anyone know of a 1/4"-3/8" spacer that is made for use with the shortened water pump and pulley.
Thanks

Cut a shim out of sheet stock and stack them.

Did you use the stock fan, or did you get an after market fan?

BrianT,

I have the same problem and haven't found a solution yet. Hopefully someone will pipe up and shed some light on this.

I think you will have to space it out more than that to get it closer to the radiator for good cooling. Note that the fan sits much lower than the original 216 location.

Did you have any problem with the pulley hitting the front motor mount?

The problem with 58-up engines and short water pumps in earlier vehicles is the radiator position. There isn't enough fan blade coverage of the radiator. I use a 2200 CFM electric fan in front of my radiator with a thermostatic switch, and it kept my 261 below 195 all summer, even at idle.

Expert on fan spacers here (though) I didn't choose to become one.

When you got the new shortened pump, didn't it come with a 1/4" steel spacer? All the ones I've seen do. If not you might contact who supplied the pump to you.

Another source is to contact fan mfg's such as flex-a-lite. I saw a spacer in a local pepboys store with their name (flex a lite). They were showing other spacers as well.

I bought this flex a lite aluminum spacer (1/2" thick) but it brought my fan within 1/16" of the rail of the lower radiator tank and since fan can flex forward a little when spinning, I thought this was a little too close. Thus I went back to my 1/4" spacer that came with the pump and pulley.

I had the same problem with the 58 car 235 that I put in my 53, I just found some nuts that fit the screws that hold it on and put them between the fan and the pump, problem solved.
Also I bought my pump from Carters and it didn't come with a spacer.
MONGO

When I bought my short shaft water pump from Patrick's, I got a 1/4" spacer with the water pump. You might call patrick and ask him if he will sell you a 1/4" spacer or where you can get a 1/4" spacer.

6cyl,
Thats where I got my pump. Good suggestion.

Take a chunk of 1/4 inch thick sheet steel and your w/p pulley. Mark the spots for the holes and the diameter you want your spacer. Cut it and drill it or have the machine shop cut and drill it for you if you cannot find the spacer from the vendor.

not quite sure what you are spacing but the nose of the pump is necessary to center the fan blade not just the 3 or 4 holes around the pump. New aluminum pulley that do not have the snout protruding are not to be used with a mechanical fan. hope that helps Ed ke6bnl

As someone said above, engine sits too low in relation to where the fan need to be. My answer to this question turned out to be an electric pusher fan in front and high up on the radiator.

Thanks everyone for your responses.
The first thing I told my brother after putting this engine in his truck, is that if he has any heat problems we'll go with an electric fan.
For now though, I've run this combination a couple of times for 30 minutes or so and the heat never went above 170 after the 180 degree thermostat opened, so I'm not concerned yet with a heat problem.
I did use the original fan. All after market fans and spacers I have seen so far have too small of a center hole for this combination.
I realize I could use more washers and space the fan out and probably never have a problem, but I'd rather have a full spacer behind the fan.
The suggestions about using round or square stock and a lathe are good , but I don't have a lathe and the machine shop will charge 40-$50.00 and hour to make one and I hate having $80.00 in a spacer.
I've sent Patrick's an e-mail to see if they will sell just the spacer, I'll let you know.
Yes, the crank pulley did hit the heat shield of the front motor mount. I just notched the shield enough so that it cleared.

Hot water circulates from the head thru the top rad hose down thru the radiator out the bottom into the block, therefor the fan needs to be up high, not down low. If you insist upon not moving the fan recommend using a 165 degree therm to get the 50/50 misture cooling sooner. You'll see what I mean when it gets hot again where you live.

"If you insist upon not moving the fan..."

Unless I don't understand the statement - you can't "move" the fan because it must connect to the water pump. If there is a heat problem you can only shroud or use electric as suggested.

My pump also came from Jim Carter without any spacer.

Chevy makes a smaller diameter front pulley/balancer that will clear the motor mount and drive a narrow belt - that's what I used.

PRW

My recent pump came from Patricks along with the infamous spacer. There's an outlet in So. Cal that has an interesting shroud that I might consider getting just to help direct the wind. I agree that for stop and go traffic, an electric fan might be the way to go. Possible project for next summer.....

There is a pulley you can use the retains the stock 7" diameter and skinny belt but has the smaller dish of the short shaft pulley. It has the exact same bolt and center hole pattern. It is a fomoco part. I got it from a junkyard, for a dollar. I posted the part number on it some time ago and you can do a search if you are interested. It keeps the pump from cavitating and the fan from overspeeding. The pump I used is a stock pump that I pressed the hub down on and cut off the extra shaft. It has worked great.

I called American CLassic, where I bought the pump, and they had no idea what I was talking about, (said I shouldn't need one). Patrick's said they send theirs out with their pumps, but I might check back in a week or so and see if they had any extra. Looks like I will be shimming it!

BrianT,
As I posted earlier, I got a 1/2" aluminum spacer but will not be using it. If you think you need this much, I'd be happy to give it to you.