Hello all. I have a question about fan shrouds. With the warmer weather my '57 with a 350 engine is running hot when in stop and go traffic. As long as I'm moving the needle in the original Chevy gauge is at the 12:00 position or lower. Stop in traffic for very long and the needle moves up quite a bit. I've read a lot of posts on here about cars over heating and one consistent recommendation seems to be installing a fan shroud. Since my car does not have one I'll start with that. The question is, does it matter what type of shroud? I've seen steel, aluminum, even plastic (don't think I would go that route). Is one any better than the other or is it more a matter of personal preference? Thanks in advance for your feedback.
In the interest of weight savings my preference would be aluminum followed by plastic. My 74 K20 still has its original plastic shroud. Position the blades half in & half out yields the best airflow. I like challenges of fabrication and intend to make my own for the 55. Upping to a 5 blade also yields more airflow.Summit Racing has both.
Jim
Shroud material is cosmetic only. Number 1 goal is to get Fan Blades properly oriented with Shroud. Middle of your Fan Blade should be at back edge of Shroud. Meaning 1/2 in Shroud & 1/2 behind Shroud.
And get a Fan better than 4 Blade original.
Dave
These cars came from the factory with a pair of what I'll call splash shields that mount BEHIND the radiator. These prevent air from being pulled up from below the front crossmember by the fan, thus reducing air flow through the radiator. I have seen quite a few cars with these missing and I'm sure this compromises the cooling system's efficiency. If you are missing these, I'd suggest adding them before, or even after adding a shroud. Just an FYI.
Thank you for the suggestions. The fan is a six blade. Looks to be about 15-16 inches in diameter. Each blade about 5 inches. I'll look for the flanges at the bottom. And thanks for the install advice.
When I did mine back in the day I went with the plastic. Even though I had purchased it specific to my application I had to do major trimming to get it to work. I was glad it was made of plastic, made it easy to trim with a Dremel. It did make a big difference in keeping it cool.
I went with aluminum shroud. Either is good. My fan was another issue for me. I nstalled a fancy aluminum flex fan, it was not moving enogh air. Went back to the big five blade fan and my 327 runs right at 180.
Thanks guys. I went with the plastic. Thought it might be easier to work with if I have to start trimming it. Next thing will be some after-market gauges so I can get a more accurate temperature reading. I think the fan is doing a pretty good job. It's a six blade, 15 or 16 inch diameter. Each blade looks to be about 5 or 6 inches but there are six of them. If the shroud doesn't do the trick I may try changing the fan.
I went with aluminum. It's easy to trim and you can bend it around the bottom hose and if you have transmission cooler lines. I had to bend some in this area to make mine fit. The aluminum was easy to work with and massage it to fit better and it holds it's shape. Just my 2 cents.
Todd
I went with the black plastic.. I ended up cutting the bottom off the shroud so I could install the shroud with the fan and all hoses installed. Sorta cut it at an angle.. the sides are intact and it fits around the lower radiator hose. My fan sits half in and half out. I have a 180 degree thermostat and in 90 degree temps I maintain 180-185 degrees. I h as be a Condenser in front of the radiator and my fan is a Racing Fan. When you hold a sheet of paper up to the condenser, it sucks it hard up against the Condenser/Radiator!
iCody: Do you think you lost any effectiveness with the shroud by cutting the bottom of it? Not having to remove anything to install it sounds awfully nice.
I went with a metal fan shroud from Danchuk on my 55....The fit was great....Personally, I'm not a big fan of plastic anything on a 65 year old car, if there is an alternative....Just me I guess.
icody; Thank you. It looks good. Nice looking set-up have there. I ordered the plastic. Should be here by the end of the week. Anxious to see what kind of difference it makes.
At a dead stop and idling it will make a big change. Little change rolling at speed.
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