Unique owners..

Buzz · #1 (**permalink**) 04-18-2003, 04:42 PM

With the front sway bar so close to the radiator core, what puller fan setups do you use? I currently have the "traditional" twin pushers that work fine under normal conditions but fall a bit short on long, slow uphills and traffic jams on hot days. I want to install a puller or dual pullers for primary cooling and possibly keep the pushers for looks and backup cooling. Any ideas (and pictures)?

joe garland · #2 (**permalink**) 04-18-2003, 04:57 PM

Buzz, What temp are you considering hot, and what degree thermostat are you running?

Buzz · #3 (**permalink**) 04-18-2003, 05:50 PM

Joe, hot as in hot days down here are in the high 80's low 90's. The car currently has a 160 degree thermostat and the coolant temp stays at about that temperature during normal driving. Fans are currently on a manual switch and I turn them on as soon as the gauge reads above 160. In really slow traffic or long, slow uphill climbs, temp soars to about 225 at which point it begins to puke. As soon as I speed up again, the temperature drops fairly quickly back to +- 160 indicating that more efficient fans would be a big help.

Buzz · #4 (**permalink**) 04-18-2003, 05:54 PM

One other point...I am using a Griffin aluminum radiator and a 13lb cap. Should I go up to a 16lb cap to reduce th chance of premature boilover? Is there a danger in over pressurizing the system?

66cobraboy · #5 (**permalink**) 04-18-2003, 07:20 PM

Buzz,

SPAL makes a 2.05 in thick 16 in dia. puller fan that will fit.I just installed it last week on my car that I'm building. I also got their mounting kit instead of using the nails through fins.Do a search on the web I think the fan is around $75 and mounting kit $17.

Eric

Buzz · #6 (**permalink**) 04-18-2003, 07:42 PM

Eric, I have less than 2 inches of clearance between my radiator and the front sway bar. Possibly something that was remedied on the 2nd generation cars. There is only about 10" of radiator above the bar so it looks like I may have to fabricate an aluminum shroud with a cutout around the sway bar. The other option is to install the Flex-A-Lite dual 12" fan assembly as a pusher to the front of the rad, but I wonder if the blockage of natural airflow would present its own set of problems. I'm starting to wonder how well the car would handle with the sway bar removed completely.

Rich · #7 (**permalink**) 04-18-2003, 09:07 PM

A new puller fan is going to be the next project for my Cobra. I'm thinking...fab a bracket that holds the fan behind the sway bar and make up a shroud from aluminum.

I'd be interested in seeing other solutions to this...pictures anyone?

Buzz, don't lose the sway bar...go bigger! I went to an MG 3/4" street/race bar and it made a huge difference. If I were to do it again, I'd go with the 1" race unit.

Rich

GeorgiaSnake · #8 (**permalink**) 04-19-2003, 04:18 AM

Contact chill ! He found a slick very thin puller for his Unique.

Randy

Buzz · #9 (**permalink**) 04-19-2003, 04:42 PM

Eric, I checked out Spal's site and it's got links to PDF's showing specs & measurements of all their fans. It looks like that 16" unit will fit after all. The 2.05 depth is for the motor and the rest of the assembly is less than 1.5" deep! Amazing.
Rich, here is the link:
http://www.spal-usa.com/html/pgtablel.htm

In my cyber travels I also came across a dual 12" assembly - from Perma Cool I think - with a chromed or polished housing that pulls over 2000 cfm and would look awesome as a puller or a pusher (albeit non-original for the purists) if I can only get it to fit. Spal's unit definitely will.

Thanks for the replies.