| This forum is for all years of the Ford Galaxie and all other Full-size Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury cars. This is a place to share information, skills, pictures, and stories for the purpose of building friendships and furthering the enjoyment and restoration of these cars |
1 of 1
Offline
For those of you that have been here a while you know that I am all about customizing my car and using parts from any make, model, and year to maximize performance and function. To that end I have found another upgrade. My car is currently setup with an aluminum radiator, 302 and mechanical fan. I was able to use foxbody Mustang engine mounts to drop the 302 into my 62 without modification. The only issue is there is not a lot of space between the front of the engine and the radiator (about 3.5") In order to mount the fan I am currently running I used a short spacer and then a 17" flex fan. System works fantastic, moves a ton of air but it is also very loud and the constant spin of the fan eats HP. Being its a small block in a big car I need all the HP I can get.
A simple solution to this issue is a thermal clutched fan. The problem is most of them take up more space than I have. The key word there is most as I think I found one that will work. As You know most parts places want year make and model to find parts so it can be a challenge to find the correct part based on specs and not the car it was designed for but I have figured out some good ways around that. I went to Summit Racing and looked up fan clutches. A bunch came up, problem is their web site does not offer any measurements so I then took each part # from Summit and input it into Napaonline.com. The Napa web site is one of the best I have found to have measurement and other fitment specs. After checking a a dozen or more I found the shortest one they make that is still a 4 bolt for both the water pump and fan. Napa's site listed a fan mounting height of 1.4" but did not give me the entire height including the clutch piece so I went to Napa and measured one. Looks like 3" which should just barley fit. Original car this clutch was used on was an 1980 Cougar among other applications. I then found an aftermarket 17" fan that will bolt up to this clutch and ordered it. I will take some before and after pix and report back how it all worked once the parts come in and I get them installed.
Offline
That looks cool, and hopefully cools as well as current set up. I'm looking forward to hearing how it works, as it may be something I could use, too.
Offline
I'm going to go with a clutch setup on my '65. Much like you, my little 289 needs all the help it can get. Using one in my Cougar (289), and it cools great, and that car is SNAPPY. Still, even with the direct drive fan, my '65 will eat my wife's '79 tbird for lunch. Even with a 62 cubic inch deficit.
Offline
Finally got the fan in the mail and picked up the clutch from Napa. Here is a pic of it all put together, next to the fan that I am replacing. I already did a test fit and the clutch will be about 3/8" from the radiator. a little closer than I would like but acceptable.
Thread StarterOffline
got it installed. Its a little bit quieter and should save on power. Have not had a chance to do much else with the car but I assume it will keep it nice and cool. seams to draw a lot of air even at "cold" speed.
Thread Starter
1 of 1