Its been a while since Ive made much progress on anything new. Ive messed around cleaning up a few things here and there but between other obligations and the summer heat not much has got done besides acquiring parts. But at least one of those things are changing and that means our summer is coming to a close, this weekend we had a bit of a cool down to 100* day which makes for decent garage day here in the desert.
Currently I am focusing on things under the hood to get her up to a trust worthy reliable driver. I know little history besides knowing it ran ok when parked in the early 90s. It sat in a garage with the engine largely untouched until my tenure. It does run pretty well, doesn’t smoke or make any weird noises but there have been a few things Ive wanted to address like the coolant system. It was left as it was when parked which caused rust and deposits to form in the coolant system. I noticed this when installing a new temp sensor in the intake. Pulling the upper hose confirmed more build up was present however it did not cause an over heat…yet. I also found what appeared to be an original style thermostat which I though was interesting since the intake has been replaced along with a water pump and radiator somewhere along its life. First order of business was getting the current system flushed. I found this flush to work really really well getting any of the build up deposits and rust out. I drained all the coolant, removed the t-stat and filled with water with flush. Drive it a few miles to get warm and ran at a high idle for about 1hr and let sit overnight then repeated. Drained and flushed countless times to get everything out but its looking really clean now and ready for the new radiator
Since Im going with AC in the future and do not wanted to be limited to my driving based on weather a larger 24" radiator was a given. I decided after much debate to go with a copper/brass 24" 3 row from ACP as they seen to have a proven track record. I had almost gone the aluminum route since they have some really nice factory style radiators now. The aluminum was even cheaper then the copper brass but do have some mixed results. The aluminum even had a nice shrouded electric fan but I did not like the single fan setup. Side note is radiator prices have jumped substantially so kinda wished I did this a year ago but is what it is.
Since I dislike fixed fans for more then one reason and it seems converting to clutched fan can be temperamental based on aftermarket clutches I chose to go with electric fans. Going electric is not as easy as one might think and there are few things to consider. One of the biggest mistakes is not enough air flow through the radiator under cruise conditions from too small of a shroud. Ideally you dont want the fan to run constantly but rather cycle as needed based on temperature. With this in mind I decided to go with a dual fan setup as it will allow for more air flow through the core and the second fan can be setup to run only with the AC. This is pretty typical of a modern vehicle setup. I first saw this fan that mfc133 used here https://cccforum.discoursehosting.net/t/healing-heroes-win-the-mustangs/129/1 and really liked how it looked, fit and specs seem more then enough for my application. These have been out of stock on summit for a while but recently Ive noticed NPD start carrying them with the addition of relays and temp control. Originally not wanting to spend the extra money for the included temp/relay control as I want to wiring it myself and control with the eventual EFI system I ended opting for it as it was the only version I can find. The added benefit is I can run it this way until I can do EFI then give the EFI the control with the AC compressor ETC. Interesting enough these are supplied to NPD by Old Classic Air which appears they take the Maradyne Fans and add the temp and wiring control along with mounting hardware and sell as a kit. They list as a USA made product but be aware it is not, simply assembled here. With that said its every bit as nice as a spal fan.
One of the features of the fan that I like, The ability for it to pass air flow during cruise. Not only is it dual fan it has flaps top and bottom to allow additional air flow.
Fit is just about as perfect as can be from a universal fan, The shroud is slightly too wide which if its a big deal could be trimmed. I plan to leave it as is. The shroud is built very well and is not flimsy at all
Mounting is as easy as drilling holes, quality hardware is included
Protip, Use one of these guys to bevel your holes
Overall thickness isn’t bad either. Should fit most combinations of accessory’s under the hood. Relay and temp control is not ideal being right on top but its cleanly mounted and wired. I will eventually change this
Now that the cooling system is clean I can install this radiator and fans along with new hoses. Also new t-stat and housing to ditch the lame chrome version that’s on it.