I am new to the form. My 69 Cougar has the original Horse Hair fan shroud, stamped C9OE-8146-F. It has crack across the top which is to be very common. I know the after market ones are available. Are there people that repair these? I would rather keep the original.
I just repaired the one in my '70 last week using a fiberglass repair kit using glass matt on the inside. I put tape on the outside surface of the crack and the resin wicked through the crack. Not bad to do and you can’t really see it from the outside. $25 kit, some sandpaper for surface prep and don’t forget to wear gloves.
Thanks for the feedback. How much matt did you use on the inside? Did you do any mechanical stitching? I read on a Scout forum someone drill a series of 1/8 holes along each side of the crack for the gel to knit to. Reading that made me think of using some type of thread and stitch the part together before adding the gel coat. Anyone do something like that?
Just found the following comment on ConcoursMustang.com from Bob Gaines. “There is a way to repair fan shrouds. There a significant learning curve also. I would send mine to Billups Classic Cars (918) 422-8859 - Home . I have seen the before (number of pieces broken)and the after where it was hard if not impossible to tell. Ask for Jason Billups and tell him I told you to call.”
Anyone have a shroud repair by Jason?
I used 2 layers of matt on the inside. Since it was cracked all the way across, there was no need to drill the ends. Drilling will help stop a crack from propagating but this was not the case in my instance. I cleaned and scuffed the surface for the fix. I intentionally let the epoxy wick into the crack from the inside before adding the glass matt which is why I taped the crack on the outside. I was not attempting a concourse look, but you have to look hard to see the crack on the outside. Again, my fix is not for everyone.
You should check your repair area crack with the shroud mounted to the radiator properly before attempting fiberglass repair. The mesh and epoxy will work great to fix the crack but it will not flex after setting. This means that you may crack it again trying to fit it back on correctly if the repair is too tight or loose. Find out why it cracked in the first place before making the repair.
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Thanks for the feedback guys. This shroud was on the car and you could set the crack together when it was bolted in place. Still thinking about a way to mechanically pull it together before adding the matt and gel coat. Jason from Billups Classic Cars got back to me saying they no longer work on these fan shrouds.