[DeTomaso] cooling fans
MikeLDrew at aol.com
MikeLDrew at aol.com
Tue Aug 9 22:47:39 EDT 2011
In a message dated 8/9/11 19 33 46, broncony at yahoo.com writes:
> what works, what doesn't for cooling fans.
> I have a stock 1972, pre L, fluidyne radiator in stock position. I need to
> upgrade the cooling fans.
>
Hit the EASY button. Several of the vendors sell Meriah fans which fit in
the stock location. (Some of them will even sell used ones, cheaply, as
they are busy selling high-powered sucker fans, the latest fad).
The Meriah pushers move plenty of air and are a great improvement over the
stock fans. They work better (spin faster) if the fan circuit is modified
to provide a clearer current path, including grounding the fans at the body
with diodes (rather than using the stock ground wires which loop all the way
back under the dash).
Here are some links to some new fans. They're expensive new!
http://precisionproformance.com/cs1031.php
http://hallpantera.com/cgi-bin/p/awtp-product.cgi?d=hallpantera-inc&
item=20271
You find them on E-bay from time to time; my girlfriend got a used set from
Wilkinson for a song, $80 or something like that I think.
Another alternative is the Flex-A-Lite dual sucker fan package.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/FLX-410/
By happy coincidence this setup fits perfectly behind a stock Pantera
radiator. However, the stock radiator inlet and outlet pipes have a 90-degree
angle so the hoses sit right against the back side of the radiator; they have
to be modified with straight necks so that 90-degree rubber hoses can be
used. I think the Fluidyne radiator has straight necks however?
You'd have to ensure that the fan shroud was mounted properly, meaning NOT
with the included zip ties which just pass through the fins of the radiator,
and act like little saws to cut holes in the tubes and ruin it. You'd
want to fabricate brackets to mount the fan shroud to the back of the radiator.
You'd also want to re-wire the circuit as per the above.
An article on rewiring the fans (and headlights) can be found at
www.panteraplace.com. Although I'm credited with writing it, I did NOT come up with
the idea; instead I packaged other people's (great) ideas into a single
article.
Both my girlfriend and I have the Meriah pusher fans in our Panteras, and
both of them resolutely refuse to overheat--and that's with no BS hood vents
or any other tricks. Just a good, solid radiator, Meriah fans, properly
tuned engines, decent water pumps, and (most important) thorough bleeding to
eliminate all trapped air from the system.
Good luck!
Mike
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