champion radiator fitting issues

[2 fast z28]

hi guys just got my big block 440 in my 69 roadrunner and ran into a problem, I order a champion radiator with the fans shroud and a 16 inch electric fan well went t put the fan shroud and fan in and it doesn't clear my water pump by a mile been doin some looking and looks like people are running two smaller electric fan opposed to one big 16 inch fan not sure what is my best next move. get a new shroud with two fans or go a different rout with radiator or go with a mechanical flex fan with a shroud any help would be great thanks

 

[Don selleck]

i'm going back to stock, after measuring off motor mounts looks like my fan clutch will clear my griffin radiator by 3/4" I HOPE.

 

[Don selleck]

they pushed the electric fan for pretty cheap i almost went that route.

 

[VANDAN]

Call Bob Schirmer at Glen-ray Radiators. They cost more up front, but you will never have a cooling issue again, and also keeps that stock appearance, and NO fitment issues, that looks great in these cars...

 

[PurpleBeeper]

Well, in my 70 Roadrunner the Champion radiator fit like crap. I had to totally butcher my fan shroud to get it to bolt up & I had to drill new holes in my core support & lower it about 2 inches to get the hood to close. On the up-side, it does cool well.

With a single fan/shroud, I don't believe you have a chance of getting it to fit as is. You might try cutting the heck out of the shroud if you think there's enough clearance to move it closer to the radiator without the fan hitting it? If you go with the dual fans, or any other fan, make sure to measure your clearance & compare vs. the depth of the fan/shroud combo.

And since it doesn't get too, too hot in Wisconsin, maybe you can scrap the shroud all together & just use the trans cooler zip-tie things they sell at most parts stores to attach the fan to the radiator directly without a shroud? I didn't have too much luck cooling my motor that way, but what the heck? You can also offset it slightly to one side so the center of the cooling fan is not directly in line with the water pump pulley. (you almost have to do that)

 

[Ccas]

, I order a champion radiator with the fans shroud and a 16 inch electric fan well went t put the fan shroud and fan in and it doesn't clear my water pump by a mile been doin some looking and looks like people are running two smaller electric fan opposed to one big 16 inch fan not sure what is my best next move. get a new shroud with two fans

Is this for a 22" or 26" rad? A 16" is all you can use on a 22" rad. If you go to dual 10" fans, your cfm will be terrible. If it is a 26" unit, you can fit dual 12" fans and that will do a better job than a single 16" fan. That also frees up about 3" of clearance in many situations.

 

[Deleted member 27881]

I ran the double fan system with a 4 core Champion Radiator, you can see it run in the video below. When they kicked on it sounded kinda cool.
(The flex fans from what I read require more HP from the engine. If you use a mechanical fan, a clutch fan uses the least amount of HP.)

1968 Charger 440:

 

[Deleted member 27881]

Also in the video at 33 seconds, you can see the Relay Switches for the fans mounted where the battery would be. I'm going to build a water proof box for them.

 

[65RoadRacer]

hi guys just got my big block 440 in my 69 roadrunner and ran into a problem, I order a champion radiator with the fans shroud and a 16 inch electric fan well went t put the fan shroud and fan in and it doesn't clear my water pump by a mile been doin some looking and looks like people are running two smaller electric fan opposed to one big 16 inch fan not sure what is my best next move. get a new shroud with two fans or go a different rout with radiator or go with a mechanical flex fan with a shroud any help would be great thanks

For a big block, most of our customers are going with a 26" radiator and dual 12" fans. It's tight with the big block, but it fits. Flex fans are not worth the money, they don't pull the kind of air you'll need at idle. I have a pair of 11" paddle fans and a 26" in my '65 and ran it at Willow Springs recently - the temperature didn't get over 175-180 while racing around the track, pushing the car hard. This time out I was going much faster - took 4.5 seconds off my previous best - and yet the temps were staying low the whole time. I had another brand in there for a couple years that was running above 210 last October at the track, so I'm happy with my setup. Call into our office and let them know what you're experiencing and we'll get you set up. Send pics...that helps so we can see what spacing issues you have.

 

[RT K_line]

I’m running my champion with the stock fan and shroud. My shroud was already broken but matched up for the most part. Never a cooling issue, with the stock setup and I did try electric fans at first.