That looks identical to my radiator fan set up. The thermostat and controller are identical, but I cannot tell if the fans are made by Spal. My setup has Spal fans and has been in use for at least 17 years. The fans are loud and start and run simultaneously, resulting in a high amp start up and the fans draw a lot of running amps. I am told the new Spal brushless fans have a soft start feature. 

I don't like the temperature probe as it passes through the radiator fins between the tubes. I am going to weld two bungs into the radiator and run two thermostats at different temperatures to mitigate the high start up load and fan noise.

For reference, I used a four row champion radiator for 14 years that developed a pinhole leak (free to a good home). I then installed a Champion three row radiator that does the job; however, my seat of the pants tells me that the fans are running for a longer period of time with the three row radiator.

I took power from the starter (trunk mounted battery), so when hot, my fans would run with the key off. If I restart the car with a hot radiator the fans will run, sometimes making starting difficult. The relays switch off of ground from the thermostat, so I wired a switch to interrupt the thermostat ground to the relay.

For other cars, I have had success treasure hunting at independent Volvo, Ford, Chevy, etc. repair shops. The modern cars have modules that frequently fail, and on many, the modules are not sold independently, leaving a perfectly good shroud, fans and wiring, often with fuses. Sometimes I get them free or pay about $50 for a unit.  Almost all of the units use Spal fans and I have found these oem units to be quieter than my set up. The factory connectors matched the connectors available from Spal-no splicing wires. 
Good luck.
 

GPatrick wrote:

What's your accessory drive setup?  I run a 91 5.0 clutch fan (reverse rotation) and a 69 or 70 fan shroud (can't remember which motor but can re-check).  The fan works perfectly on my Dewitts 24" radiator with a 180 t-stat.  With my Holley EFI I monitor engine temps and it rarely goes over 183.  For simplicity and good cooling it is hard to beat an engine-driven fan.

I'm with Gary (and MS) on this issue.  I've been running the 17", seven blade fan (that was on the car when we bought it), thermal clutch, proper home-brew shroud, 195 stat, and 20" aluminum radiator since 2010 and over 40k miles with zero issues.  I drove it to Las Vegas one June when the local temps were in excess of 110.  Go stuck in a construction squeeze on I15 coming into Vegas and sat for nearly 1/2 hour with the AC on.  By bringing the idle up to 1500 or so for a minute every so often, the temp never got above 210-215.  Also, put a wire coil in the lower hose to guard against the hose collapsing. (I made one by wrapping a length of 1/16" gas rod around a big socket.  I've been told that it will rust and come apart and cause a lot of trouble.  It may but I put it in there in 2010 and have occasion to check it a number of times and as of two years ago it still looked new).
Simple, reliable, quiet, cheap, and works well.  JMO
 

MS wrote:

Preference would be a mechanical 17” six blade flex fan for about $70 and a good Ford shroud for $90.

I agree!
I still have the original Ford 4 blade mechanical fan on mine. No issues, even on really hot days. I could never go with an electric fan set up. Personally I feel that adding electric fans just adds complexity to what is a very basic vehicle and I've also read a lot of negative feedback about switching to electric fans.
When I eventually put the a/c back in, I might upgrade the fan to a 6 blade, but it's interesting to note that my car originally had a/c with a 4 blade fan.

Last edited by Toploader (4/15/2024 3:28 PM)

Just to add to the above , I have previously tried electric pusher and puller fans with poor results.

I think Alan has a fan that you can have. 😁

RTM wrote:

I’m all for a standard blade if I can get one fit. My next step will be to see how to connect a standard fan blade to the CVF water pump/pulley setup.


upload your photos online

I have the CVF system on my 1966 and a dual electric fan. I had to remove the decorative cover on the belt tensioner because it was in the way of the electric fan setup.

We get into this debate a lot, and I'm not looking to rehash it, but I see no reason not to run a quality electric fan.  I've had one on my '67 for well over a decade with zero issues.  The problems people claim with electric fans are the result of shoddy wiring and cheap fans.  Every new car you buy has an electric fan.  If they were so failure prone the OEMs would still be using mechanical fans.  I run a SPAL fan with a controller I built. 

TKOPerformance wrote:

We get into this debate a lot, and I'm not looking to rehash it, but I see no reason not to run a quality electric fan.  I've had one on my '67 for well over a decade with zero issues.  The problems people claim with electric fans are the result of shoddy wiring and cheap fans.  Every new car you buy has an electric fan.  If they were so failure prone the OEMs would still be using mechanical fans.  I run a SPAL fan with a controller I built. 

I agree, I have a Spal electric fan and although the controller failed (that resulted in the fan running all the time), I installed a DCC controller and have not had any issues with cooling. 
 

RTM wrote:

TKOPerformance wrote:

We get into this debate a lot, and I'm not looking to rehash it, but I see no reason not to run a quality electric fan.  I've had one on my '67 for well over a decade with zero issues.  The problems people claim with electric fans are the result of shoddy wiring and cheap fans.  Every new car you buy has an electric fan.  If they were so failure prone the OEMs would still be using mechanical fans.  I run a SPAL fan with a controller I built. 

 
My only view on it all is I like the simplicity of a mechanical fan and one less electrical thing to have to wire up and or worry about. I’m not the best at electrical wiring but can fumble my way through with the help of the internet and the forums.

Can those with the CVF measure the distance you have between the front of the water pump pulley to the radiator?

I'm all for simplicity too, but I also like the 20HP my electric fan is not robbing from me (yes, its an estimate, but there was an episode of Engine Masters where they tested fans and the results were eye opening).  I'm by no means an electrical guy either, but I can lay things out, solder wires, etc.  I did it once, did it right, and now honestly I think about it as much as I do the fan in any other vehicle I drive. 

20HP is something to think about.   At this point what’s another $500 into the build.  Lol

I wanted to measure the spacing I have but didn’t have time this morning.    I rode my bicycle a little longer than normal this morning so I ran short on time. 

Does electric fan setup move more air than a blade fan?

TKOperformance, very valid points. 

For me the project has drawn out for so long that some times I want to take an easy way out to get done faster.  So post is also to help keep me focused.  The mechanical fan was an easy option because it wouldn’t require much work.