Fan shroud questions.

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moparmat2000

moparmat2000

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Hi Y'all,

I have finally gotten my 18" flexalite fan, and Shaguar XJ6 fan clutch. This gives me 1/2" spacing back from my aluminum radiator. I will still be needing a shroud. I plan on making my own out of spot welded sheet steel. Heres the questions

How far should the fan be out of the shroud. I am assuming half in / half out of the shroud.

How much spacing from the blade tips to the shroud. I am assuming 1/2" to 3/4"
(i am using polyurethane spool mounts)

Am i correct on these figures and assumptions?

Thanks in advance
Matt
 
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50% in to 60% in, 1/2" spacing, and DO Not make the shroud flat-it needs to be off of the radiator and flow to the fan. look at a stock mopar plastic shroud
 
Yes, i intended it to angle outward kind of like a ducting. I plan on making my templates out of cardstock first, then xferring to thin sheet steel.
 
I finally put the fan clutch on to mock up everything for a shroud. I only get 1/2" from the jaguar fan clutch fins to the back of the radiator. It wasnt 3/4" like i anticipated. Will be running poly engine mounts so engine shouldent move very much.
 
Will you post up some pictures of the project?
 
Go to www.route66hotrodhigh.com/FanShroud.html

This guy made fan shroud templates out of masonite board, and kinda like how the guys making custom stereo speaker enclosures do, he used stretchy fabric over it, and impregnated the fabric with 2 coats of fiberglass resin to stiffen it up as a base, then fiberglassed it with 2 layers of fiberglass.

I found this searching the net for ideas. I was going to go with thin steel sheet metal but this seems like the way to go for a stock look, and lighter weight, plus i have access to professional grade fiberglass and resin.

Back to the drawing board for me as i now need to get some masonite board and template it all out to do it this way.

I have a hard time posting links, if my link doesnt work, maybe somebody else can find and post the link here.
 
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Heres pix in chronological order of the shroud being made off the route66 website.

Template.jpg


ClothStretched2.jpg


Fiberglass1.jpg


Backside.jpg


Backside2.jpg


BacksideTrimmed.jpg


FiberglassInside.jpg


Installed5.jpg
 
That's awesome! I love the oriental style fabric, too! :D

I wonder why he split it, though.
 
360DartGT66 said:
That's awesome! I love the oriental style fabric, too! :D

I wonder why he split it, though.
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Ease of removal. Though i think splitting it side to side would not be as advantageous as splitting it top and bottom. My 94 chevy pickup, the factory one was split 2 pieces top and bottom. I went electric fan in it, pitched the stock stuff years ago.

I may split mine top and bottom too.
 
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moparmat2000 said:
Ease of removal. Though i think splitting it side to side would not be as advantageous as splitting it top and bottom. My 94 chevy pickup, the factory one was split 2 pieces top and bottom. I went electric fan in it, pitched the stock stuff years ago.

I may split mine top and bottom too.
Click to expand...
Of course. Silly me.
 
moparmat2000 said:
Go to www.route66hotrodhigh.com/FanShroud.html

This guy made fan shroud templates out of masonite board, and kinda like how the guys making custom stereo speaker enclosures do, he used stretchy fabric over it, and impregnated the fabric with 2 coats of fiberglass resin to stiffen it up as a base, then fiberglassed it with 2 layers of fiberglass.

I found this searching the net for ideas. I was going to go with thin steel sheet metal but this seems like the way to go for a stock look, and lighter weight, plus i have access to professional grade fiberglass and resin.

Back to the drawing board for me as i now need to get some masonite board and template it all out to do it this way.

I have a hard time posting links, if my link doesnt work, maybe somebody else can find and post the link here.
Click to expand...
Took me awhile to find it on there but here's the link. Thanks.

Making a Custom Fan Shroud - Route 66 Hot Rod High
 
Its a great writeup on the fan shroud, except 1 thing the fiberglass is going to stick badly to the masonite board making it very hard to get the masonite board out. I have access to a release film plastic specifically used for fiberglass vacuum mould repairs. I will probably use this release film on my masonite board , not because i want to save it or anything, but because it will make it easier to remove the shroud once the resin dries.
 
I made mine using this technique. I used plywood for the formers and wrapped it with wax paper to avoid the resin sticking to it. Made mine in one piece.
IIRC, our fans do not hit the radiator dead center and I had to do some measurements to be sure the round former was attached in the right spot.
C
 
clhyer said:
I made mine using this technique. I used plywood for the formers and wrapped it with wax paper to avoid the resin sticking to it. Made mine in one piece.
IIRC, our fans do not hit the radiator dead center and I had to do some measurements to be sure the round former was attached in the right spot.
C
Click to expand...

I was looking at mine last night. Yep, its off to the right. As soon as i can get to it, i will be doing this. Its very hard to get anything done lately between work/home/kids/etc.

Plus i will be prepping my mustang for this years annual car cruise and car show coming up next weekend. Car has been up on blocks and under a cover in my garage for over 3 years. Going to take 2 vacation days to work on it, get it tagged, and inspected etc. Maybe start driving it to work once or twice a week.

It sucks when you have to take vacation days just to get **** done.
 
My home made steel fan shroud. Under construction and finished product. Now I can watch the stat open and close on my mechanical temp gauge. Opens @ 195, closes at 180.

Shroud3.JPG


Shroud4.JPG
 
Ok, i finally got time to start on the template for my shroud. I still need to make spacer blocks out of an old 2x4 i have lying around. I'm going to make a fiberglass one like in the above pix. I may remove the small notches i put in the template for the radiator hoses, and just add additional fiberglass in those areas when i fiberglass it. I can just grind small u shaped notches for the hose nipples after i make the part.

20161002_152408.jpg


20161002_152351.jpg
 
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That's the way to do it! Keep posting,
C
 
moparmat2000 said:
Ok, i finally got time to start on the template for my shroud. I still need to make spacer blocks out of an old 2x4 i have lying around. I'm going to make a fiberglass one like in the above pix. I may remove the small notches i put in the template for the radiator hoses, and just add additional fiberglass in those areas when i fiberglass it. I can just grind small u shaped notches for the hose nipples after i make the part.

View attachment 1714976195

View attachment 1714976197
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This is the route in planning to go as well. Hopefully get one built this fall/winter. I think I'm gonna cover the wood in wax paper b4 I stretch the fabric over it tho so it doesn't stick
 
I have access to a thin plastic release film at my work. I will use that, however i am sure wax paper will work just dandy too.

The radiator i am using is an engineered cooling products radiator, and an 18" flexalite fan. If anybody wants, i can trace my templates onto thin posterboard.

I plan on making and riveting on metal tabs to attach the shroud to the radiators side flanges.
 
DesertRat said:
My home made steel fan shroud. Under construction and finished product. Now I can watch the stat open and close on my mechanical temp gauge. Opens @ 195, closes at 180.

View attachment 1714970261

View attachment 1714970262
Click to expand...
Hey DesertRat

I noticed the hidden relays under your battery tray. I planned on doing that to mine as well for the high and low beams. Just havent gotten to it yet. Looks nice

I like your coolant recovery tank too. What kind is it? I have been looking at several different tanks including 1996 toyota corolla, and a nice opaque white one from a jeep wrangler. Both are nice rectangular tanks.

2016-10-02-18-57-04--256914389.jpg


shopping-1.jpg
 
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moparmat2000 said:
Hey DesertRat

I noticed the hidden relays under your battery tray. I planned on doing that to mine as well for the high and low beams. Just havent gotten to it yet. Looks nice

I like your coolant recovery tank too. What kind is it? I have been looking at several different tanks including a nice opaque white one from an early 90s corolla. Its a nice rectangular tank.
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Matt: I bought crackback's kit and modified it for my install. I just integrated it into my engine bay rewire. I learned a lot about the coolant recovery deal on my Comet build. For my barracuda I measured the available space and bought a generic kit from summit. I fit it up, plumbed the radiator o/f hose into the bottom of the new tank and plumbed the waste out the top. Used electrical heat shrinks for clamps and threw the rest of their kit away. Like they said in the magnificent seven, "so far, so good" cheers:)----DR
 
Marcohotrod said:
50% in to 60% in, 1/2" spacing, and DO Not make the shroud flat-it needs to be off of the radiator and flow to the fan. look at a stock mopar plastic shroud
Click to expand...
Maybe I'm a little dense, but I can't picture what you mean by "DO Not make the shroud flat-it needs to be off of the radiator and flow to the fan." Do you mean not to mount the shroud flat against the Radiator? I always thought it was best to mount the shroud flat against the Radiator to keep air from leaking past the shroud and to force all the air through the radiator.
 
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