Electric Fans

[Impalaguru]

Does anyone have an electric fan inside their 409 shroud? I've got the stock radiator and shroud and I'm running a flex fan. I was wanting to install an electric to help out this year when I'm cruising arround, especially at Goodguys in DesMoines (June1-July2nd ). There's not a lot of room in there. Does anyone know of a skinny fan that would work?

By the way, I've been looking at factory fans after seeing the picture of Bob Walkers fan clutch set up and I think that it might be a big block chevelle or camaro fan. It would have to be off of something before the switch to the large bolt pattern water pumps. I've seen some fans on 1st gen Monte Carlos and they look like they would fit. Can you put that fan on an early clutch?

Ross

 

[JimKwiatkowski]

Ross,I would mount the electric fan in front of the radiator as a pusher fan.I use a cheap ridge 17 inch fan blade for $21.95 from Summit,here's a link.

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=FLX-1617P&N=115&autoview=sku

 

[4speedman]

I have a electric fan mounted inside the shroud and have room for a regular flex fan with a 1 inch spacer.Just measure the diameter of the shroud and buy a fan to fit it. Weld some mounting brackets on the inside of the shroud. Mine works great.

 

[425/409ER]

I have found something that really works good and when you are done looks nice.
Find a fan that is off a mid 90's bonny or lesebre and these thing pull some air
also you can make them run at 2 speeds becouse of the resistor. Put one on a guys
chevy full size car and wired it with relays and he had no more cooling issues and it looked nice. GM must do a good job becouse I don't hear of too much overheating
on these new cars now adays. Always saw alot in the 80's but the fans and motors have improve dramatically. The fans are cheap at the junk yards he paid $25 for his.

 

[Daddys409Belair]

.....GM must do a good job becouse I don't hear of too much overheating on these new cars now adays. Always saw alot in the 80's but the fans and motors have improve dramatically....

Yeah - it's called aluminum radiators! Remember, an aluminum radiator will increase your cooling efficiency between 20-40%! My dad laughs about people cursing out aluminum radiators because you generally have to replace the tank on the 'hot' side (if you own a 90's model Chevy pickup, you know what I mean!) but they are HANDS DOWN superior to brass/copper.

I bought a two row aluminum Griffin for the '61. I also picked up a 18" 4000 cfm electric fan. That ought to keep the old '09 cool! What sold me on aluminum was the old Suburban my wife used to drive. The old 4 row brass had seen better days and would slowly creep up when it was 100+ degrees with the A/C on. I even rodded the core and washed it out repeatedly. I then found a factory replacement aluminum.....problem solved! It NEVER got over 195 degrees after that.

 

[MK IISS]

It is none of my business on what kind of fans you guys use but I would never use a flex fan on any vehicle I own. I have seen two fail going back to the 60s to recent times. I realize that is a very small number comparatively speaking. The first failure just messed up the engine compartment...the second..a guy was killed.

 

[Tic's60]

Though not a 409, my 66 450hp RAT in the 60 lives happily with a 4 core and 18" 4000 cfm push fan and a 180 fan on temp switch.

 

[bobs409]

It is none of my business on what kind of fans you guys use but I would never use a flex fan on any vehicle I own. I have seen two fail going back to the 60s to recent times. I realize that is a very small number comparatively speaking. The first failure just messed up the engine compartment...the second..a guy was killed.

You mean like this pic:

It's the last time one of these will ever go on my cars. Shot right through the hood while going about 50mph. It went through the inner structure too, not just the flat sheetmetal! :eek:

 

[Impalaguru]

Thanks for the tips, guys. Bob, that picture of your truck hood has been burned into my brain from the first time I saw it several years ago!
I ordered a flex-a-lite fan from summit and got it friday. I ordered a 16" 2000 cfm for a pusher. The box was for the 16" fan but inside was a 12": !! They're supposed to send me an ACTUAL 16" fan. I hope it gets here before Goodguys this weekend.
Ross