Cooling our early B's

[Frustration]

I am running a radiator with no clutch fan, nor shroud in my '64 'vert. It runs fine, even in the heat while moving. If I stop at a light or to park in a lot, the temp steadily climbs to over 220 degrees. It's a 22" radiator that's been professionally flushed and cleaned. There is no room for a clutch fan. I am working to modify a shroud to work in this application. Currently I am using an aluminum flex-fan. I do not want to run electric fans if at all possible as I am a bit of a purist. I have the same issues with our N/SS car, but being a race car, it's not as much of an issue. My questions are:

1. What are you using for shrouds?
2. What fan are you using?
3. With your modifications, what temp does your car normalize at in summer driving? Thanks in advance.

 

[66383]

I have a 26" aluminum radiator flex fan and no shroud. Never gets over 180 even in hot summer town driving. 383 cu. in. bored .040.

 

[Darter6]

This is a 1970 E body big block factory type 26'' rad with a factory shroud. It keeps this puppy at 180* and can idle for hours in 100* heat out here.You didn't say what size engine you have. I am suprised that a clutch fan won't fit. This car has a Mopar Performance clutch and fan. Hayden makes a Short Style Fan Clutch #2765 that might help you out.My guess would be the small 22'' rad might be the problem. Just a thought.

 

[moparedtn]

Oh man, what a subject. One that's been thrashed to hell and back on this forum for sure.
If you'll avail yourself of the Search box on the upper right hand corner, you'll find literally tons of
threads on this very subject - including my own, where I go through all the trevails of making
stuff fit other than the factory pathetic 22" radiator:
https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/cooling-issues-and-a-weird-question.132114/
Highlights:
1. Can't run a viscous fan drive on a big block when utilizing the Griffin "exact fit" radiator - the rascal is over 3" thick!
2. You CAN run a factory shroud with the Griffin - it fits perfectly.
3. You CAN run a direct drive factory 7-fin fan on that setup, using a small spacer to locate the fan half in/out of the shroud.
4. There ARE differences in thermostats - I tried most of them.
5. You CAN open up the 22" radiator support for a 26" radiator without replacing it.

I don't see how any big block Mopar ever survived with the 22" radiator, truth be told. My 440 is not a HP beast and a 22" was
NEVER going to get the job done.
Get to searching and do your homework. The answers you seek have already been written!

 

[Frustration]

Thank you all. Heading there now. 440 cubic inch... .030 over. 10.5:1. Hydraulic cam (.501 lift Comp Cam).

 

[andyf]

I have a 22 inch aluminum radiator with a late model plastic type shroud and the largest clutch fan that I could fit in there. I also use a coolant recovery bottle from a Toyota. This setup stays right around 180 degrees regardless of how I'm driving it. Idle, slow traffic, freeway driving, etc.

 

[oldbee]

Go with mopared’s suggestion or blame it on the crappy gas, kinda kidding on the gas. On the other hand, what else has changed over the years? ( more power out of engine, means more BTU’s to cool down)

 

[Heimedw]

Guys does running a aluminum water pump housing help with cooling at all?

 

[oldbee]

Don’t believe so.

 

[Heimedw]

Probably just saves a little weight and wouldn't heat soak at bad as cast. On your question. My car at the moment is a very stock 64 with a 383. It also runs perfectly cool unless you are stuck in traffic. I have Seen 200 f before getting back onto the highway to cool down. I switch to a 160 f thermostat just to give me a little more time if I ever do get stuck in traffic again.

 

[Glenwood]

I custom made a shroud after going through heating issues. It helps up to a point with the 7 blade mechanical fan, depending on the outside temperature. I don't believe a clutch fan would improve airflow much unless the pitch is much more than the 7-blade, even if it would fit (not enough space on mine). Space from the rad to fan is critical to drawing enough air. More space with a shroud or less without. I added an elec pusher fan for those hot days when I'm stuck in traffic. This forced me to upgrade my alternator which wasn't up to the task at idle.
I believe a 22" rad, even my aluminum rad with two 1" cores is a tad too small for my RB.

 

[Frustration]

Thank you for the replies. Keep in mind, this is a '64 Fury. There is very little room in front of the fan, and no room for a clutch fan. My 69 RR has the stock clutch fan and radiator with 500+ HP it stays cool all the time. I'm fabricating a shroud now to try to help. I saw this photo on the site as a reference to how much room is available on older B-bodies. This is not mine, but is a good representative of how much room is available with an RB of this vintage.

I have a 7-blade fan in stock. Went to install it, but the bolt pattern is larger than the pattern on my water pump. Any idea how to fix this? Guessing a 7-blade will work better than my flex fan.

 

[Glenwood]

the space on my 64 Dodge is approx 3". They make a clutch that will squeeze in at 2-3/4"+ (part 2947?) but seems too tight to the rad to me. A dual fan high cfm puller set up might work on the 22" but most I've seen are still 4" deep. It's a tight space on these early B's.

 

[Centerline]

I fabricated a sheet metal and fiberglass shroud to fit my Champion (two 1" core) 22" aluminum radiator with an 18" fixed fan on my 440 powered '64 Polara. Haven't had it out in traffic yet as I just finished the cam break-in. It sat in my garage running at 2000 rpm for 20 minutes with the outside air temp of 105* and got up to 210* during the run.

After cool down I ran it again at idle and set the timing (which was way advanced during the cam run) and then the temp hovered right around 180* which is the thermostat I have installed. Based on this I don't anticipate any problems on the road. Its a mildly warmed up 440 with 9:1 CR and factory Street Wedge exhaust manifolds with 2 2/5" dual exhaust.

 

[Detroit Iron]

The fan looks too small. Can you fit a larger diameter fan in there? Also, sounds like you just need to rod out your radiator. Did the shop rod it out when they "flused" it? If you have a mild motor and your timing is set properly, you shouldn't have any problems with a stock setup. Yeah, you can re-engineer everything, but for close to stock applications you shouldn't need to.

 

[Glenwood]

Sounds like you just need to rod out your radiator. If you have a mild motor and your timing is set properly, you shouldn't have any problems with a stock setup. Yeah, you can re-engineer everything, but for close to stock applications you shouldn't need to.

Well all I can say is that mine seems to heat up too quick and is not far off stock with 9.5 comp which had 906 heads and now has alum but compression is relatively the same.
My timing sits at 18/35sh. I think the carb is tuned and jetted properly but I do not have an a/f gauge to confirm.
Cool or hot temp outside is runs at 185 or below on the highway, but creeps up past 200 on mildly warm or hot days while idling a short time.
Lots of heat trapped in the engine bay until the hood is open. I have ceramic headers now which trimmed 100+ degrees from when I had hp manifolds on there.

 

[Frustration]

The fan looks too small. Can you fit a larger diameter fan in there? Also, sounds like you just need to rod out your radiator. Did the shop rod it out when they "flused" it? If you have a mild motor and your timing is set properly, you shouldn't have any problems with a stock setup. Yeah, you can re-engineer everything, but for close to stock applications you shouldn't need to.

As mentioned in my post, that is not a photo of my car, but rather a representative of the breed. The fan in that photo is a stocker. I have one of them in the attic. The one I'm using is a 14.5" flex fan. It's just as close to the radiator as the one in the photo, and probably moves less air.

 

[Shorthorse]

OK, I need schooled. If the OP has a fan that is turning constantly and the car heats up at idle, how would a clutch fan help?
I certainly agree with moparedtn. Mine is a race car and way different from the needs of a street driven car which I believe is much more demanding. I had issues also but after reading those numerous posts I've come to the conclusion that it's about your individual combination. What works for some may not be the answer for others. It's still helpful to hear others experiences, cures and ideas. I'm just short of 700HP and after trying two 22 inch radiators (downflow & crossflow), different restrictors, different electric fans and way to much $$$, it ended up being the shroud design itself. Now I can idle forever, car recovers quickly and cools down very fast with the electric fan and water pump running after shut down.
Frustrated, I know you'll find that right combination. Good stuff here so hang in there.

 

[oldbee]

Agree w/shorthorse, the shroud & depth of fan makes a big difference. Myself, never liked/trusted the flex fans, seen too many come up thru the hood. Definitely an ongoing battle with location of the vehicle and driving conditions.

 

[khryslerkid]

My '62 Dodge...

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/DER-17317

http://www.speedcooling.com/22-Mopar-BIG-BLOCK-HD-Aluminum-Radiator.html

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/SNN-45478