So you don't have a fan at all now?  

It's really quite simple.  The fans are sold to pair up w/ the radiator.  If you are running stock then just buy the stock fan that pairs w/ your radiator.  Some are louder than others, some come w/ a shroud, some are paired w/ the radiator as a set.  The more money you spend the quieter it is relative to the size.  You basically want the biggest fan that will cover the most surface area of your radiator.  A shroud is better but not necessary if you are running all stock.

Just adding a/c to a system shouldn't cause it to over heat.  An electric fan is a simple add on.  You will need a relay.

I've read lot of good things about the Spal fans from the FE guys.

Nice diagram TKO

I wanted to do a 24” radiator myself but the cost was coming to be a bit on the high side , electric fan setup can be done within 350 for a great fan, and 24” radiator setup is going to end up at about 900 I think. That’s what my hold up was.

I was told that electric fan was the dark side lol and I guess I am in the dark side now

SPAL is the only fan I would buy, all others are so so over rated (CFM wise)

Then the dark side won, because show me one car today that has a mechanical fan on it.  I for one welcome the order our Sith overlords will bring to the galaxy...

mark1965 wrote:

thoughts on electric fans?
what brands are you using and what size cfm?
i just installed a\c in my 65 coupe with 302 the temp was running around 185 now pushing 205 thinking an electric fan may cool it back down.
thanks
 

I have the same problem after installed ac kit , now i add one spal 14 ' , A very good product but not enough .
It helps only a few to low temp .Now i turn fan on for ,  all the time,  if i use the ac .
 is better have it...anyway imho .
 the real  solution is to change the radiator for a bigger one.
15 minutes in traffic jam on hot day you will need to turn off the ac to prevent overheating , Tested on highway and city i was costant riding  between 3/4 and red  line on gauge  ( later i tested with digtal sender real temp ) 
More or less i ride  around water boiling point and some more,  now in june !!... is not even mid summer !!
 
Just remember that some big fans are juice sucker , so put an eye to your old alternator if you still have it .
hope helps
 

If running AC you need to trigger the fan right off the compressor clutch activation wire.  That way the fan is on whenever the AC is on.  Otherwise you risk excessive head pressure in the AC system if you are sitting still and there's no air flowing across the condenser. 

An alternator upgrade on these cars is quite easy.  The 3G is basically a bolt in, with very minor wiring involved.  If you're doing anything more than a stock vehicle the stock alternator, which is typically all of 55 amps is going to be struggling.  The minute you add a decent stereo the jig is up.  If you plan on adding other electrical add ons in the future (power windows, etc.) the alternator upgrade is going to be necessary anyway, so might as well just get it done.

You should already have two relays in your car for the headlights anyway.  Modern bulbs overload the stock system and will cause your headlights to go off intermittently due to tripping the thermal overload in the headlight switch, which is both unnerving and unsafe.  Adding two more shouldn't be that big of a deal. 

I find that the electrical aspect of vehicles is the least understood, most overlooked, and often the most important.  Without a good understanding of electrical systems its essentially impossible to effectively work on anything built after the mid '80s.  Once EFI became the standard issues switched very quickly from mechanical parts problems to electrical problems.  Compared to modern vehicles the electrical system in these cars is laughable, and shouldn't give anyone with the time to learn a little bit a moment's pause in terms of working on or modifying.  I've used all these little projects are learning experiences.  Rather than buy a fan controller I built my own.  I think I had about $20 in parts, plus the cost of the thermostatic switch, and some wire I already had.  There are two splices in the whole system (both sides of the inline fuse holder I installed).  I find the universal, and even the "custom fit" stuff just doesn't.  When I make my own I can chose what length wire to use, and where to route it.  A simple terminal crimp tool is all that's needed to terminate the wires for use in a relay socket.  I actually rather like electrical work.  Its a nice change of pace from getting greasy. 

Alessandro, are you sure that fan's wired the right way?  14" is a bit small; I use a 16", but not sure about the '67 radiator in my car vs. yours, so maybe 14" is all that will fit?  You might try switching the motor wires around and see if it improves.  The fan will spin either way depending on the wiring.  One way is for use as a puller (behind the radiator), the other as a pusher (in front of the radiator).  Backwards for the application it just won't move enough air, which sounds like it might be your problem. 

Blade shape is important too, but if you reverse the power and ground the fan will run backwards.  If its moving air through the radiator its working right though.  Too much heat load it seems.  A car's almost always going to run hotter the harder you run it.  Power needs fuel, and fuel creates heat.  If the fan you have is all that fits then the only other option is to go to an aluminum radiator. 

Since you asked.
Electric fans are great in a factory installation where mounting and all controls are designed for the car they are on.

I may just be old fashioned, but have NEVER had heating issues using a good OEM flex fan and a properly sized radiator with a shroud.  Never an electrical problem with fan controls and wiring and trouble free performance.  To me, some of the fun of having the old car is making the stuff that works fine, keep on working fine.  I like making improvements where they really improve something.

On the other side of that, I had no real luck with any of the OEM setups I ran over the years.  I had a reproduction OEM shroud that simply didn't fit right (hit the fan, despite making brackets to reposition it; it just wasn't the right size).  I couldn't get an OEM spacer that worked right, always ended up either too close or too far from the radiator (finally cut down one that was too long).  The engine ran hotter than I wanted in summer, and colder than I wanted in winter.  In the end I just got sick of it and went electric.  No more problems.  I call that an improvement, because now I just drive the car.  I don't stare obsessively at the temp gauge. 

It has nothing to do with the cars, and everything to do with how they get driven today.  There are so many more cars on the road today, and urban sprawl has developed so much that was just open road in years past.  Even in the past 25 years where I am the route I take to church for example had four lights for what was a 10 minute trip 25 years ago, whereas today its a 20 minute trip and there are nine lights.  50 years ago traffic was unheard of except in places like maybe LA.  Today its everywhere, and mostly unavoidable.  I used to run back roads and get places in half the time.  Now there's no point, because so many people take those roads now, and they won't drive them the way you have to drive them to make them worthwhile as bypass roads. 

Road speed and rear gear selection also play a huge role in how hot a car runs.  With a high rear gear and an automatic you'll notice the temp gets up there the harder you run much faster than with a stick.  Speed on the interstate now around here is 75-80, and even secondary roads everyone's going 60 if they can.  If you drove those speeds even 25 years ago you were a teenage psycho looking for tickets, and finding WAY too many...