I started to beat myself up about it until I realized that the previous owner had already snapped the other one off and just sleeved it back together with a rubber hose and clamps.
First question, I see that there are both stainless steel and OE steel reproduction transmission cooling lines. Is it worth paying almost double for the stainless steel?
Once everything was out, I started test fitting my new radiator brackets.
Next question, does this placement look correct or should I try to get them as far forward as possible? If I notch the new brackets a little I can slide them further toward the nose on the car for more fan clearance, but I don’t know if I should leave some gap between the bracket and the front wall or push it all the way up.
Looking at the length of the new lower brackets I’m wondering if I may have to switch to a shorter spacer. Last question (for now), what’s the ideal amount of clearance between the fan and the radiator once I get the radiator installed?
I would not pay extra for stainless, they are more prone to leaking as they do not seat as well. Test fit the rad with the upper bracket and that will clue you in to where the lowers should be placed. You want your fan an inch or more away from the rad as momentum in a panic stop will cause your motor mounts to flex by about 1/2" and you risk running the fan into the rad fins if you place it too close.
I’ve got a serious issue with the clearance between the fan and my lower radiator hose outlet. I can only fit a fingertip between them, and it’s definitely going to hit when I have brackets under the radiator raising it up another 1/4" to 1/2".
I’m not really wanting to go with that solution for this brand new radiator.
Any suggestions on how to improve clearance? I was worried I might need a shorter fan spacer, but that wouldn’t solve this issue since it would still be hitting the lower radiator hose.
I would consider returning that radiator and get the correct OEM fit unit. You will fight it every step of the way with the brackets, fan and shroud. Keep in mind aluminum does not cool as well as a brass / copper rad. I know they are tempting because of the price but in the end many of my customers end up removing them and going back to stock.
I think whether or not I use this one or exchange it for the copper, I’m screwed on the fan interference with the lower hose. Tomorrow evening I’m going to investigate the motor mounts to see if I need to replace them or look at shimming them up a bit, but I need to gain about a half inch of clearance.
Electric fan is looking really tempting at this point, but then I’m in it for the cost of that and a new alternator. Blah.
Is that fan “right” ? It looks huge to me, especially without a clutch. It could be that it’s just too big for that space and – as Don said, you’re going to fight it every step of the way.
I swapped to electric on my 70s truck and never touched the alternator. It runs infrequently enough that it never drains the battery. On the flip side – depending on the fan – you may not really gain a lot of space back. I have used the Taurus fan for both the truck (mild 390 and now a mild 351 both with a/c) and a little Jeep Cherokee and on the Cherokee I had to install the fan upside down from normal to clear the water pump pulley. The biggest problem I’ve had with the Taurus fan has been relays burning up because they draw so much current, though even my sensor went out on the XJ and that was on the low current side.
You don’t have the correct fan for a 67/68 289/302. That fan is too big and looks like a 71/72 351C flex fan. I would follow Don’s suggestion and put in an original radiator, spring in bottom hose, fan, and fan shroud. You don’t have AC to worry about extra heat. My suggestion to remove even more heat is to put in an transmission cooler.
That fan is most likely from a 1970 or newer model. What is the number stamped on it? A 67 289 would have come with a fixed four blade or a clutch fan if equipped with AC.
Friday I took the big ugly 7-blade fan over to Classic Mustang Houston for advice. They pulled out a clutch fan and all the other fan styles they could find around the shop to compare. Measuring from the center to the end of the blade on my fan, it was 9", which I guess that makes it an 18" fan. However, there was really not much noticeable difference in all of the 17" fans they had.
After some discussion they gave me part number 3565 for a cheap 15" Flex Fan at O’Reilly Auto Parts, which they sometimes use in poor clearance situations. It was $40 and the O’Reillys by my house had one in stock, so I decided to try it as a temporary fix to at least keep the car driveable while the weather is nice enough to enjoy a car with no working AC in Houston.
I think for this setup I will have to fabricate my own custom shroud, but a bigger radiator with a smaller fan is probably not the final solution for this car, so I think I see a Spal dual 11" fan with shroud and a Painless Wiring dual relay kit in my future.
On a side note, the driver side transmission cooling line came perfectly shaped, slid into place and took almost no effort to line up and install. However, the passenger side was a total PITA and seemed like it was almost two feet too long. I ended up cutting part of it off and then bending and re-flaring it to make it fit. They were sold as a pair and were clearly marked for C4, so I don’t know how one could be so great, and the other so bad.
Just a note of caution on the flex fan - they fatigue. I put a very similar stainless steel flex fan in a Mark 7 and within a couple of years of driving one of the blades fatigued and went through the hood. Fortunately the car already was at over 230k miles, so it wasn’t that big of a deal. I’d hate to see something similar happen to your car, though. They’ll last for a while, but they are a ticking time bomb. My Cougar had a fiberglass flex fan in it for a while and currently has a plastic one. It has a '67 A/C radiator in it, so it’s never been a problem with my mild 289. I may end up getting a different radiator setup for it yet, but what I have was working for my car when I parked it last.
