Champion Rad and OEM electric fans

[mshred]

What fans are you guys using on your Champion Radiator setups? I am currently running a 26" fifth avenue rad and clutch fan, but would like the ability to cool the car down when it is not running as it gets hot with a filled block. I know Challenger Gary and some other vendors sell fans for these rads, but I find the quality of aftermarket fans to be crappy to be honest, and I know the OEM's can move some serious air.

If anybody has any pictures or info about what they used or are going to use that would be great! I am thinking of a 26" core for mine since I think it makes sense to use the biggest you can fit.

 

[goldduster318]

I have a 26" 3-row Champion radiator that I'm running with my 340 that makes 470hp. For a fan setup, I too wanted a factory cooling fan setup, mostly for reliability and lower cost.

After looking at a bunch of measurements online, I decided that I would go with a 95-99 Ford Contour/Mercury Mystique/Mercury Cougar fan setup. This is a dual speed, dual fan setup with very high flowing fans. Its also about the perfect width for the 26" radiator. The major downfall is that the electrical requirements are a bit higher than most, and you'll need a high end controller for it, twin 70 amp relays, and a 60 amp maxi fuse, but so far, its been able to always maintain my engine at less than 195 degrees using only the low speed setting.

Here's a picture of it unmodified (you'll notice the little box thing, that is the low speed resistor)


Here it is mounted to the radiator before final trimming, you can use some 1 1/4" wide aluminum bar for this, some sheet metal nut clips for the radiator, and drilling some holes to make everything line up


Here are some photos during the test fit in the car:




I used the dakota digital fan controller which works excellent. This also has an after shutoff timer which sounds like its something you'd want. I couldn't be happier with this setup. I do run a 78a Delco 12si Alternator which has very good idle performance, so if you're running a stock mopar alternator, it may have some trouble keeping up with these fans.

 

[tekslk]

I had a 360 that was hard blocked you cant keep them cool in traffic or read lights Mine was 60 over andfilled to the top, going down the highway at 180 but in town it would shoot up to infinity.

 

[mshred]

I have a 26" 3-row Champion radiator that I'm running with my 340 that makes 470hp. For a fan setup, I too wanted a factory cooling fan setup, mostly for reliability and lower cost.

After looking at a bunch of measurements online, I decided that I would go with a 95-99 Ford Contour/Mercury Mystique/Mercury Cougar fan setup. This is a dual speed, dual fan setup with very high flowing fans. Its also about the perfect width for the 26" radiator. The major downfall is that the electrical requirements are a bit higher than most, and you'll need a high end controller for it, twin 70 amp relays, and a 60 amp maxi fuse, but so far, its been able to always maintain my engine at less than 195 degrees using only the low speed setting.

Here's a picture of it unmodified (you'll notice the little box thing, that is the low speed resistor)


Here it is mounted to the radiator before final trimming, you can use some 1 1/4" wide aluminum bar for this, some sheet metal nut clips for the radiator, and drilling some holes to make everything line up


Here are some photos during the test fit in the car:




I used the dakota digital fan controller which works excellent. This also has an after shutoff timer which sounds like its something you'd want. I couldn't be happier with this setup. I do run a 78a Delco 12si Alternator which has very good idle performance, so if you're running a stock mopar alternator, it may have some trouble keeping up with these fans.

Hey Dude, thanks for the reply and pictures! I don't get notifications from here for some reason, but thought I would check in. Those fans looks like the perfect fit for the 26" Champion rad....almost like they were meant to be there. I have a denso 120 amp alternator, so hopefully powering the fans wouldn't be a problem. These are definitely an option to look into further. Thanks alot!

 

[mshred]

I had a 360 that was hard blocked you cant keep them cool in traffic or read lights Mine was 60 over andfilled to the top, going down the highway at 180 but in town it would shoot up to infinity.

My block is only half filled. I monitor my oil very closely and use an oil temperature gauge as well...Dead heat and traffic it sucks big time, but once the car gets moving and air gets to the oil pan temps drop a good bit...but once its hot, its hot, and it would be nice to have electric fans to help cool things down a little more efficiently, or even run them earlier than my current mechanical fan so that water and oil temps are more manageable.

 

[challengergary]

That looks awesome! Way better than the setup that Champion sells.

 

[goldduster318]

Hey Dude, thanks for the reply and pictures! I don't get notifications from here for some reason, but thought I would check in. Those fans looks like the perfect fit for the 26" Champion rad....almost like they were meant to be there. I have a denso 120 amp alternator, so hopefully powering the fans wouldn't be a problem. These are definitely an option to look into further. Thanks alot!

You shouldn't have a problem. It does fit well. Its about 2" narrower than the total core width and about 1" shorter. Nothing that matters much. The sides are covered with the aluminum bar, and I left the ~1" gap at the bottom which will be the coldest section of it anyway.

You should be able to get the fan for between $60-80, even on EBay.
The Controller + Relays + Maxi Fuse are about $150
and probably about another $40 for wiring and low amp fuse holders for the controller.

This fan came on a lot of cars as I have listed which are flush in junkyards, and it was made by Bosch - My uncle worked there when these were developed. This fan had to cool a 2.5L V6 with a tiny grill opening, A/C, and a single row radiator, even with the exhaust manifold about 1 1/2" behind the motor....and it had to work in Death Valley, CA. Its like a 3200cfm fan setup. There's very few comparable units out there, and especially for the money.

The low/high speed settings are very nice as it will use less electricity at low speed and keep it quiet.