Early A fan Shroud
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'64 Cuda
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Don't know if it was an option or what. They're made of sheet metal. I've seen pictures of a couple of members cars that had them. Maybe they only came with AC? I have a factory '64 V8 car. It came with a 6 cylinder sized radiator & no shroud. My mom had a '65 6 cylinder Barracuda. No shroud on it either. I'm going to have to modify the core support opening on my car to make the V8 radiator fit.
I have one on my car, and although you never see them today, they were available on all cars. They are a 2 piece stamped steel item and are held in place by some unique side metal brackets that lock into the side of the radiator. I have also seen them, and almost bought one, from a 6 cylinder car on which the radiator is slightly offset in the core support. Incidentally 64cuda, you shouldn't have to alter the core support to put a 22 inch V-8 radiator in your car. I believe that all of the openings are for 22 inch rads and the 19 inch 6 cylinder rad has a larger flange on one side to make up the difference. Anyway, my shroud cost me $225.00 about 7 years ago, and I'm sure they're not any cheaper today. The guy I got mine from always has a couple at every show I see him at. "Big Joe" from W Va. if you know him from the Nats. If you need one, I'll look up his number for you. Geof
'64 Cuda
Well-Known Member
I'm gonna hunt a bit before I decide to spend $225, :-D but thanks for the info. There's a guy on eBay that sells universal aluminum shrouds in different sizes for around $45 plus shipping. I could probably make one of them work.
As far as not needing to modify the opening on my car, it's an early '64 V8 Barracuda. The radiator opening is offset to the left for a slant 6 & the opening is only 19 3/4" wide. I have a later '64 parts car & the opening on it is 20 1/2" wide. I also have a core support from a '65 or '66 (can't remember which) and the opening on it is 22 3/4" wide. I plan to weld in at least part of the later core support to get the wider opening & a factory look. Mopar can't make it easy! :angry7: :toothy10:
Theres one listed on eBay,
THIS WAS IN THE TRUNK OF A 65 CUDA, IT IS METAL, BOLT HOLES MEASURE 27.5 WIDE BY 9.25 TALL. ROUND HOLE IS 20 INCHES. I DO NOT SEE ANY PART NUMBERS, DONT KNOW IF IT WAS FOR THIS CAR OR NOT BUT IT IS FOR A 22 INCH V8. COULD BE MODIFIED FOR ANY AS IT IS ALL METAL. TOTAL HEIGHT 18.5. TOTAL WIDTH 28.75.2 INCHES THICK. SOLD AS IS NO RETURNS.
Seems to indicate there was one made for the car but as I said before, my first 65 Barracuda was purchased in '67 it was a stock V8 Commando, "Formula S", Automatic, manual steering car and did not have a shroud nor did the one I have today, that I purchased in '75.
THIS WAS IN THE TRUNK OF A 65 CUDA, IT IS METAL, BOLT HOLES MEASURE 27.5 WIDE BY 9.25 TALL. ROUND HOLE IS 20 INCHES. I DO NOT SEE ANY PART NUMBERS, DONT KNOW IF IT WAS FOR THIS CAR OR NOT BUT IT IS FOR A 22 INCH V8. COULD BE MODIFIED FOR ANY AS IT IS ALL METAL. TOTAL HEIGHT 18.5. TOTAL WIDTH 28.75.2 INCHES THICK. SOLD AS IS NO RETURNS.
Seems to indicate there was one made for the car but as I said before, my first 65 Barracuda was purchased in '67 it was a stock V8 Commando, "Formula S", Automatic, manual steering car and did not have a shroud nor did the one I have today, that I purchased in '75.
Shrouds for both 19 and 22 inch are out there, albeit sometimes pretty pricey. I had one from a 19 inch factory AC 66 Dart (sold on the bag for nearly $200). I'll have to look through my 65 factory literature and dealer order forms to see if they could have been ordered as part of a cooling package. If not, they'd probably be a pretty hard part to find since factory AC 65/66s weren't very common. I do have several for my 65s and if I had a sheet metal brake, they don't appear they'd be that hard to fabricate.
'64 Cuda
Well-Known Member
SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! :-D
'64 Cuda
Well-Known Member
The more I look at the shroud on eBay, the less sure I am that it's the right one. Here's a couple of pics of the eBay shroud & some pics of a member's shroud. Not the same are they? If the round hole on the eBay shroud is 20" like he says, the shroud looks like it would be for a 26" radiator. Sounds from the description like it might be too wide.
'64 Cuda
Well-Known Member
Not right now, the motor isn't even built yet. And it's only 12 degrees here today. :toothy10: I had problems keeping my warmed over 273 cool when I was running it. Stock fan couldn't handle it with the narrow radiator the car had in it. Tried a fiberglass flex fan & finally had to switch to a stainless steel flex fan with really wide blades. Figure it's gonna' take more to cool a 360 than the 273 ever needed. I just bought a 22" radiator to put in the car. Now I'm just looking for parts because I plan to start mocking things up this spring. It's easier to look now than when you need it. The shroud on eBay made me think maybe I'd better jump on it while I had the chance but after looking at the pics I'm not sure it's even the right part.
The eBay shroud has flanges on either side where it might bolt to the core support or maybe radiator flanges. The early A Body shroud (2rd photo) is flat on the sides. The special mounting brackets have a little offset "clip" that is inserted into the rectangular skinny hole on the radiator flange and also bolted to the flange with a bolt/caged nut. The it's bolted to the caged nuts on the side of the shroud. Just ran down to the car and sort of mounted the bracket to the radiator/shroud (no bolt into the radiator flange)
PistolGrip
Well-Known Member
Although it may not be 'right', I've had great success with a generic chrome fan shroud that you can get from Jegs or at any swap meet for about $20. It attaches through your radiator like an electric fan. It gives your fan very good 'draw' & looks nice. Obviously, if you're looking for originality this won't do the trick, but if you're just looking for function & a nice appearance, this is just fine & you can't beat the price. I've used this on a stock radiator & an aftermarket aluminum radiator. I may have a picture if you don't know what I'm referring to.
I have a 360 in my 65 Barracuda too but do not have cooling issues. I have had a radiator from a C body car (I think it has 3 rows of cooling ducts insteed of 2) in the Barracuda for a long time. It's flanges are not angled, so I had to adapt it but I does look stock.
The point is, I dont require a shroud and you should be able to locate a radiator to get the job done.
The point is, I dont require a shroud and you should be able to locate a radiator to get the job done.
If you look at the ebay one, there is no provision for the offset clips, indicating to me that it is not for a Chrysler product. Not just the early A bodies got the metal shroud, B-bodies got them too. I remember about 10 years ago now there was a guy at the Nats who had a swap space with about 6 things in it, all from a 64 Maxie car. He had the radiator and metal shroud and was asking $1200.00 for both, or $300.00 just for the shroud. I had a 64 Belvedere at the time so I looked over that shroud well, same mounting brackets and all but maybe a different size than the A body ones. I just couldn't buck down that much for a shroud!!! I agree that if you are not going the restoration route, one of the ones the other guys suggested would probably be the way to go. Believe me, I went around with Joe for about 3 years before I gave in and paid the man!!! I also watched it go up from $165.00 to the $225.00 I paid. He still rubs that in when I talk to him!!! He has an original AM/FM radio for my 66 cuda right now, only $600.00. Oops, I'm sorry, that was this years price, I can't wait to see what I can get it for next time I see him!!! Good luck, Geof
'64 Cuda
Well-Known Member
Whatta' ya' know, something popped up. Somebody just sent me these pics of a shroud they they want to sell, said it came from a 1965 Barracuda V8. Is it just put together wrong or has it been cut. It doesn't look quite the same as some of the other pics I've seen. Looks like maybe it could be assembled so that the hole would be about the right size but I thought somebody who's had their hands on one would have a better idea.
It looks to be assembled correctly and as you have surmised, it's been cut on each side of the opening. If you notice on the bottom pic, you can see where they're actually bolted together. The bottom part has about 2-3 inches cut out of the opening on each side and the top part may 8 inches or so on each side. Basically you'd need to weld a flat piece of metal to each section, grind the welds smooth and paint black (or send it to Leanna) Big plus is all 4 mounting brackets are present. Depending on what's being asked for it and your welding skills, you might consider it. If you don't someone else needing an early A shroud will!
As an aside to this thread and I was curious about the rarity of these shrouds, I just finished going through all my 65 A Body literature and the only reference I could find for a fan shroud was that it came standard on the trailer towing package. The standard package included special radiator, high pressure cap. 17 inch fan, the aforementioned fan shroud and a yoke-to-hood seal. Other items were required and at extra cost. There was nothing mentioned about a fan shroud in any of the AC areas including the parts catalog. The parts catalog does show in Section 7 (cooling) where the fan shroud is broken down by parts number in section 7-08-0. However, it doesn't even show a picture of it among the radiator/fan areas. Since it was available, maybe it only got ordered when the salesman "pushed" it or when the trailer tow package was ordered. Hard to say.
My 66 has a shroud. They came with the heavy duty cooling package or the California emissions package. My car is a California car, so that's why it has it.
Neither one of those shrouds you posted pictures of look right. I'd wait for the right one to come along if I were you.
Neither one of those shrouds you posted pictures of look right. I'd wait for the right one to come along if I were you.
Since I have only 65 factory literature and manuals, I can't speak for the 66 models. A 66 Dealer album or parts catalog might be able to shed some additional info and/or availability on these shrouds. They don't seem to be all that common.
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