Alternative Drop-in Radiator/Fan set-ups?

[64nailhead]

I've got a stock radiator story if you're interested. I've posted it here before, but won't again unless you're interested.

Regarding the F-body fans : I grabbed a set from the local junkyard before I knew if they would work or not. But they seemed dimensionally correct, and at the time I had spent some time on thirdgen.org. There were many discussion there indicating that they are a good setup for higher HP cars. So I put them on my son's car and staged them so that I could run one or both depending on the temps. We were using an All-Star performance single pass radiator with the turbo'd 327 and later with a triple pass All-Star radiator when he put the 414 ci motor in with alot more turbo. They would keep it cool in all situations without issue. When they turned on the car cooled off within 15 seconds.

Those junkyards fans worked flawlessly for years - over 20k miles. They were an easy bolt in. I used them in front of the radiator. I would not hesitate yto run another set from the junkyard if I could find them.

BTW, what is the power plant you're running?

 

[olds307 and 403]

I used a wider A body single core rad, it fit with minor trimming. It is about 3" wider and the same height. Honestly, the GN radiator surround flaps made almost as much difference as the new rad. I am using the Autocity aluminum 2 core with 1 1/8" tubes for my 70 Cutlass S. It was $100 cheaper than the Cold Case. I used Dodge Stratus fans, also move a lot of air and fit the stock size rad very well. Buy a quality controller, I finally broke down and bought a Davies Craig controller with two 40 amp relays, is adjustable and very accurate.

 

[403Olds]

Did you pull OE fans from a wrecking yard car or purchase that set-up through the aftermarket/parts house? That's the other variable I'm curious of.... Are the parts store replacement fan set-ups equal to what was under-hood from the OE manufacturer?

I know aftermarket radiator manufacturers improve their product by adding more tube rows & increasing tube size vs OE. I don't think the part house radiators will vary much from OE but that's where understanding the size requirements come in handy when seeking an alternative that can drop-in. My searching yielded more than one possible option that's physically the same size as my g-body spec yet has 2-rows of tubing vs just a single row. Granted, the tubes are not as large as some of the aftermarket offerings but would still be an improvement over the single row "for your application" part.

The radiator was the advance auto parts aluminum single row replacement for an 88 Firebird. The fans were off of a parted out car. I did replace the motor's before I put them in my car, "just because", but probably wouldn't have needed to. I have the Cutlass top plate, and just had to make a couple of brackets to mount the fans. I like the dual fans, as they cover more of the radiator than a single fan.

 

[scoti]

I've got a stock radiator story if you're interested. I've posted it here before, but won't again unless you're interested.

Regarding the F-body fans : I grabbed a set from the local junkyard before I knew if they would work or not. But they seemed dimensionally correct, and at the time I had spent some time on thirdgen.org. There were many discussion there indicating that they are a good setup for higher HP cars. So I put them on my son's car and staged them so that I could run one or both depending on the temps. We were using an All-Star performance single pass radiator with the turbo'd 327 and later with a triple pass All-Star radiator when he put the 414 ci motor in with alot more turbo. They would keep it cool in all situations without issue. When they turned on the car cooled off within 15 seconds.

Those junkyards fans worked flawlessly for years - over 20k miles. They were an easy bolt in. I used them in front of the radiator. I would not hesitate yto run another set from the junkyard if I could find them.

BTW, what is the power plant you're running?

Sure... Share the details.

Stock 305 currently. It will get a 406 sitting on a stand in the corner of the shop or a HT383 type motor depending on whether or not I can piece together the 406 as a mild street-duty/torque combo.

The situation driving this thread is the shroud is fubar'd. The fan was damaged @ some point & crudely straightened. I think it's not balanced & seems to have killed the fan clutch. I have an extra g-body 3-row brass/copper radiator cleaned up & tested this past June when I had my Model-A radiator cleaned up. I had planned to swap it in @ some point to know I have a fresh set-up. I took the front end apart (sheet metal) this spring to work on my taller wheel tubs & that's when it was determined the shroud was junk; the fan tweaked, & the fan-clutch had some play. Stack the costs up for a nice shroud, new 18" fan, new clutch assembly & I was thinking maybe I would be better off putting that $$ toward a cleaner updated set-up. Thus my quest to determine my options of spending my $$ once & wisely.