Fan shroud questions.

[moparmat2000]

Ok as promised. Heres pix. I put 3 layers of 7781 style fiberglass (think looks like burlap) on the shroud in all the reinforcing points, and just 2 layers in the rest. When it dries i plan on trimming the excess, and cutting out the fan hole. For now its screwed down to the table top until it dries just in case it decides it wants to twist. Once its cut out i will see if it will need more reinforcing or not, and i will start on making my mounting tabs. If you notice the gray color where the circle is thats going to get cut out, thats JB weld. I made a small fillet of JB weld in this area to allow the fiberglass to transition easier in this area and not be left with air bubbles and subsequent voids.

 

[360DartGT66]

Man, you do nice work, Matt!

 

[moparmat2000]

Thanks Anders i sure try. I think its the Aspergers. It makes me a perfectionist. Using the fast dry resin and hardner i had to precut the fiberglass strips , then work fast to get them on and have them fully wetted out before it started to thicken up. You can see the overlaps where i put additional layers on the top , bottom, and sides. These will be the weak points once i cut the fan hole out.

I will post more pix when i get it cut out, and make my mounting brackets for it. My mind has been working on it for the past week. They should turn out really good.

 

[moparmat2000]

New pix. Rough cut out. Still needs sanding and such. Pretty stiff as is, and fairly light. I prob wont need any more fiberglass added to it, and will make small reinforcements for the top and bottom out of part of the circle i cut out. The mounting brackets i envision should stiffen up the sides conciderably. Stay tuned for more.

 

[moparmat2000]

Ok, heres the latest and greatest. I sanded the gelcoat smooth , and test fit the shroud on my radiator. I had to make slight notches for the radiator hoses so it would fit square on the radiator, and i test fit the shroud on the car. I used some aluminum tape to hold it in place for a quickie mockup and pix. Now i have to make the mounting brackets. Heres pix of it so far.

 

[famous bob]

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.

yes, u should fit it against the rad., but make it like a box so to speak, where air will flow thru the whole rad. core, not just in front of the fan opening.

 

[moparmat2000]

yes, u should fit it against the rad., but make it like a box so to speak, where air will flow thru the whole rad. core, not just in front of the fan opening.

Hi bob

I think your late to the party. Check my reply on top of page 2 lol. Great minds think alike

 

[moparmat2000]

As promised i made some small reinforcemehts for the top, and bottom out of part of the center i cut out of the shroud. I used some aluminum tape to stick em in place, then used JB weld to glue them in place, when dry i used 2 layers of fiberglass cloth and resin to stiffen up the upper one. The lower one was so small that just using the JB weld stiffened it up sufficiently. The metal attach brackets i envisioned out of .050" aluminum sheet was an epic fail, so back to the drawing board on these. I may need to make them out of thinner more maliable steel sheet. I got plans, and an old manilla file folder to cut up and use for a template.

View attachment 1714979007

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[moparmat2000]

Ok, i started on my mounting brackets out of steel sheet metal. I plan on gluing them in place with JB weld epoxy, then installing countersunk rivets when the adhesive is dry. I will put some autobody putty over the tops of the rivets as part of the final bodywork, primer, and paint that will need to be done. They are only being test fit so far, but i think its a go.

 

[moparmat2000]

Ok, got both mounting strips fabbed up. I ran em thru the bead blaster at work to rough em up for primer, and to rough up the mating surface for some JB weld epoxy. I taped off the mating surfaces, epoxy primered, and did a final test fit of these pieces. Tonight i plan on fitting the shroud to the radiator, and centering everything up. With it squared up and clamped in place i will use a sharp pick and scribe through the mounting holes on the radiator flange to transfer to the flanges i made. I also plan on bending the long ends of the flanges i made to 90° to stiffen them up. I made them a little longer than the radiators mating flange so i could do this. Heres current pix.

 

[moparmat2000]

The latest. I got cat scratch fever on this one lol. I got it clamped in place and squared up leaving 1/2" all the way around the fan, then i scribed through the existing shroud attaching holes on my radiator to transfer them to my mounting brackets. On the 1/2" spacing from the fan blades to shroud, not to worry, I am using polyurethane mounts, and a spool mount K frame, so i dont expect the engine to move too much.

 

[mopowers]

Great progress! Are you gonna use some rivets along with the epoxy to hold the flanges on the shroud?

 

[moparmat2000]

Great progress! Are you gonna use some rivets along with the epoxy to hold the flanges on the shroud?

Thanks for the kudos. Yessir. I plan on using NAS1097AD 4-4 or 4-5 countersunk solid rivets. Going to slightly over sink the depth of the countersink then putty over the rivet heads with a skim coat of jb weld to hide them.

 

[moparmat2000]

I also have some nice grounding straps i plan on using from both of the motor mounts to the K frame. This gets em out of the way of the firewall. I will post that mod in the engine section some other time.

 

[mopowers]

Thanks for the kudos. Yessir. I plan on using NAS1097AD 4-4 or 4-5 countersunk solid rivets. Going to slightly over sink the depth of the countersink then putty over the rivet heads with a skim coat of jb weld to hide them.

Damn, that's gonna be slick! Keep us posted.

 

[moparmat2000]

Damn, that's gonna be slick! Keep us posted.

Thanks. I just got the 90° right angles bent on the mount brackets to stiffen them. The excess steel trimmed off, and the screw mounting holes drilled in the flanges. I glued and pinned them in place with JB weld, and clecos, then used paper towels and laquer thinner to remove the excess JB weld and leave a nice adhesive fillet before it dried. Once its dried, i will countersink the holes and install my rivets. Its turning out pretty good as something from nothing.

 

[moparmat2000]

I removed the 1/8" cleco pins. I then chased the holes, with a #30 drill, and countersunk them for a larger headed countersunk rivet. I decided on MS20426AD4-4 rivets because this would be a better choice for tension type stress, which is what i would have anyway if the glue joints failed. Somehow i doubt JB weld will let go though. Thats some of the toughest epoxy i have ever used.

I wet installed them with a little JB weld and squeezed the bucked tails down with a rivet squeezer.

This thing is freakin strong between having the steel mount brackets on the sides, and the stiffeners glued in place on top and bottom. Its now almost a shame to cover up all this work i did with black paint.

I plan on putting 2 steel alignnent pins on my radiator frame and going into the shroud simply because with me using clip nuts to hold the shroud, it can end up off center and i only have a 1/2" of clearance with it centered. This will also help hold it in position so i can get the bolts started on installation. This will be the next set of pix.

 

[360DartGT66]

I'm bookmarking this, Matt. Beautiful work!

 

[moparmat2000]

I'm bookmarking this, Matt. Beautiful work!

Thank you

 

[moparmat2000]

Several coats of Nason ful-fil sandable laquer primer to fill up the pinholes, dry sanded with 220 sandpaper. I put the primer on a bit thick knowing i would sand it down, and it would level out any ripple defects in the resin coat. It even filled in the rivets. I sanded those areas and they are hidden now LOL. Tomorrow i will put a final primer coat on it and ready it for paint.

 

[moparmat2000]

Hey Desert Rat 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.

View attachment 1714976313

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I found on another thread that a hyundai tiburon coolant recovery tank fits perfectly between the radiator and the horns on the RH side. The mount bracket for it bolts right to the RH framerail. It holds a slight bit less than 1 quart at the full hot mark. I got 2 of these at a closeout from rockauto for $4.65 each (7 left) and 2 mount brackets from delray hyundai in florida for about $4 per bracket with the cheapest shipping. Bottles come with lid, and internal suction/discharge hose. See pics below. One of these installed in a demon.

Tank Dorman PN# 603-325
Bracket Hyundai PN# 25455-2C000

 

[DesertRat]

Does your coolant hose go to the bottom of the container? I plumbed mine from the radiator to the bottom of the recovery tank and from the top of the tank to atmosphere. BTW that is some of the finest shroud fabrication I have seen! Congratulations

 

[moparmat2000]

Does your coolant hose go to the bottom of the container? I plumbed mine from the radiator to the bottom of the recovery tank and from the top of the tank to atmosphere. BTW that is some of the finest shroud fabrication I have seen! Congratulations

Yessir. The suction /discharge line inside the bottle goes all the way to the bottom. There is an elbow with a barbed end for a hose from the radiator, and a moulded in elbow on the lid to vent, to atmospheric, and overflow excess coolant if it overheats.

Thank you on the kudos for the shroud. I am all about having stuff look factory even if its homemade. Now that you got something in place to keep your temps down, you should fiberglass one up yourself as a wintertime project.

 

[DesertRat]

Yessir. The suction /discharge line inside the bottle goes all the way to the bottom. There is an elbow with a barbed end for a hose from the radiator, and a moulded in elbow on the lid to vent, to atmospheric, and overflow excess coolant if it overheats.

Thank you on the kudos for the shroud. I am all about having stuff look factory even if its homemade. Now that you got something in place to keep your temps down, you should fiberglass one up yourself as a wintertime project.

I have plenty to do and re-do. I am happy with my metal shroud and it works really well. Had I seen your thread first though----
Right now I am lazer-focused on restoring my grille. It will not be stock looking when I finish with it. It is time to install the front end and the grille is first up-----

 

[moparmat2000]

I plan on using rustoleum gloss black to spray it. You can buy it in a can cheaper than a spray bomb, and thin it with acetone to spraying consistency, then shoot it out of a paint gun. It sprays well and dries quickly this way.