Flash Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 Hi Team, I'm in need of some sage advice from those who are knowledgeable on the subject of 12 volt thermo fans. Until yesterday my 66 Mustang was fitted with what looks like a factory 5 blade mechanical fan and an aftermarket plastic shroud. I suspect that the previous owner may have been experiencing engine temperature related issues and had removed the a/c condenser that usually sits in front of the radiator and replaced it with a supplementary 12 volt pusher fan controlled by a thermo switch. Whilst this setup seems to work okay, I'm wanting to reinstate the a/c condenser and unfortunately there is not enough space between the bonnet catch upright and the radiator to run both the condenser and the pusher fan. Yesterday I removed the 5 blade mechanical fan and am now temporarily running the single pusher fan only. With this setup the engine temp seems normal even with the car stationery. My initial thoughts were to run a twin set of 12 volt puller fans attached to the engine side of the radiator, one controlled by the thermo switch and one controlled by the a/c. However, checking my radiator dimensions today I'm now reconsidering my options. The radiator seems to be a 3 core aluminium jobbie but it only measures 465mm wide and 440mm tall, so not a huge amount of surface area. So to my simple way of thinking I've got two options. First option would be to run 2 fairly small diameter puller fans, one controlled by the thermo switch and one controlled by the a/c switch. This would give me a level of redundancy should one fan fail. Downside would be that only one fan would provide engine cooling unless the a/c is running. Second option would be to fit a single kick ass 16 inch thermo fan (something like a Spal or a Maradyne) that I would activate with the existing thermo switch as well as an override switch attached to the a/c system. Upside would be good engine cooling even if the a/c was switched off. Downside would be a single point of failure should the fan go tits up. I'd really like to hear opinions on which setup would be optimal. Thanks heaps in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajg193 Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 Fans are pretty reliable, considering old starlet fans keep running for over 40 years without problems. Just run one big fan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vk327 Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 if you can fit it in a dual fan from an oem car is a good way to go, I use 2002 mondeo duel fans on both my commodore builds(pic in the barradore build) and an oem radiator and fan setup in the HQ. AU falcon and VT commodore are both good easily available options. Pickapart/zebra/wreckers are pretty cheap for a fan setup oem shrouded fans far outperform anything aftermarket, with a bit of relay logic can have one setup for ac duty and look at using a dual stage thermo switch to stage them for cooling duties. can also get some pretty good maradyne and spal fans but $$ compared to an oem setup if you can fit it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Posted January 24, 2022 Author Share Posted January 24, 2022 Sincere thanks @ajg193and @vk327. I appreciate the input. I'm planning a trip to my local wreckers tomorrow anyway so will take along my tape measure to see what I can find in terms of dual OEM setups. My radiator is pretty small, but you just never know your luck. Yep, the Spals are pretty spendy, but if I'm forced to go single I'd rather invest in something fairly decent. I'll report back tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vk327 Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 I usually find maradyne better value for money over spal, another option if your tight on space couple smaller 8-10" fans on the front of condenser offset if needed and a single 16" on the back for engine cooling, wire them up so the ac fans could be plugged into the cooling controls if the 16" did have a failure 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Transom Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 Au falcon fans are a cheap slimline option 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Posted January 24, 2022 Author Share Posted January 24, 2022 Thanks @transom. I'll add AU fans to my shopping list at the wreckers. @vk327 that's a really good suggestion. The condenser is a good bit wider than the radiator so I might be able to get away with a pair of smaller pusher fans on either side of the bonnet latch support and I like the idea of having an emergency backup that I can connect up to get me home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sr2 Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 As a rule of thumb fans fitted to the front of a radiator work well at low speeds but eventually will impede the flow of air through the radiator once the vehicle is underway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Posted January 25, 2022 Author Share Posted January 25, 2022 Spent some quality time meandering around my local wreckers this morning. Chucked my measuring tape on every set of twin factory fans I came across without any luck. I even went through his stash of loose ones in a nice cool corner of his shed. Looks like most of the Ford and Holden setups are at least 600 mm on the longest side. Even the little Japper and Korean cars have shrouds in excess of 600 mm wide. A bit of creative shroud trimming is not going to get me down to 465 mm being the width of the Mustang radiator. The Mustang radiator measures a piddly 465 wide by 440 high so is a pretty compact unit. Fitting a wider radiator entails removing the factory battery box and massaging the front metal work which is something I'm not prepared to do I can get a few single fan shroud setups within the Mustang dimensions, but the fans are around the 10 inch diameter so are really piddly. So looks like a good quality 16 inch single fan with a custom shroud might be my only option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kicker Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 A Volvo 2 speed fan might just fit, they flow a ton of air even on the low setting. Internet says the fan outer ring is 17.5". I got one out of a 90's model, can't remember which but they were in a few. They can draw some amps though, had to make sure my alt v-belt was on spec or it would slip when the fan came on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Posted January 25, 2022 Author Share Posted January 25, 2022 Thanks for that @kicker. It's worth taking a look at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
logan360 Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 I have 2 for sale with relays from 960s in Tokoroa if you're keen on one @Flash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Posted January 25, 2022 Author Share Posted January 25, 2022 12 hours ago, logan360 said: I have 2 for sale with relays from 960s in Tokoroa if you're keen on one @Flash Thanks for the offer @logan360 but I'm across the ditch in OZ so freight would be a killer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vk327 Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 haven't got the dimension on hand but BF falcon has a pretty decent single fan setup on the NA barras could possibly trim that down otherwise the maradyne & spals might be your best bet 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GARDRB Posted January 27, 2022 Share Posted January 27, 2022 Regarding the wiring, recently I've noticed on a couple of cars that I've done that they have the thermo switch and then an override for when the A/C is on, so if the thermo is 89 degrees, it will come on at 89 degrees, or anytime the A/C is on. This Skid Factory video is good too 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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