Club Cobra - Cooling fan switch, thermostat? Wiring diagram?

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Cooling fan switch, thermostat? Wiring diagram?

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06-23-2014 01:40 PM - permalink

Dirkdaddy

Thanks for advice I ordered the model 160 flexalite fan which is rated about 3000 cfm and has curved blades, looks to be the same chassis so it should bolt in. Just have to upgrade possibly the electrical wires to handle 20 amps.

06-23-2014 02:37 PM - permalink

BOBOCobra

I spent all of last summer fixing the cooling and I can drive it in any weather. In fact today over on the Central Coast with my wife, 50 deg ambient and cool moist air, I had a tough time getting it warm!!! 1)threw away the factory fan 2) shroud the fish mouth and back of the radiator, 3)I use dual puller fans with staged turn on temps, 4)overdrive the water pump. 5) re-plumbed the pressure tank. I don't get over 195 on the hottest day (112 degrees) in heavy traffic, but I wont drive again in that heat it was miserable but I had to prove the design!

06-23-2014 04:29 PM - permalink

Dirkdaddy

What was the improvement on the pressure tank by the way? Mine has one 1" or so hose to the radiator. I noticed it has a hefty pressure of #20 cap and the cap is not a coolant recovery cap, so the overflow tank just keeps it from spilling on ground. Is this typical setup? One last question, on this car there is a bleed port on top hose connection, but with the pressure tank its a bit different setup than normal, is there procedure for bleeding? was just going to fire up engine w/o cap on and keep adding coolant.

I'm also in gulf coast it hasn't run hot yet.

The original wiring for the fan appears to be insufficient for amps of new fan so I'll have to rewire that.

The fuse holders - none of them are marked in any way as far as I can tell so some work to there as well.

The VDO speedo is erratic so I need to look into that as well. Its electronic so have to do some digging to see how to test it.

06-23-2014 04:58 PM - permalink

Xack

Routing of the plumbing is goofed on Vern's design. Of course, this depends on the radiator as well. You'll need to do things like jack up the front of the car and run it to burp air from your system

A modification I employed on the advice of Kitcarbp.
1. remove the line that tee's into the "inlet side of the filler tank that goes to the water neck.
2. Route the "outlet" side of the filler tank to a Tee in the low pressure outlet of the radiator. Otherwise there is little to no flow to purge air from the system.
3. install a air bleed valve in the top of the water neck.

Also, that's the move I made to upgrade the fan, made a world of difference. The keys to keeping a 460 cool is both good air flow across the radiator and good water flow in it.

06-24-2014 11:45 AM - permalink

Dirkdaddy

Thanks. I have been working on this since we got it. It doesn't have the T setup. I had air in the upper hose. Just now I undid the water neck bleed and with front end up a bit I kept adding coolant mix. I could hear air coming out of the bleed. By covering and uncovering the bleed hole and after squeezing air from upper hose and having it suck more coolant through that part of system I got quite a bit more in nearly 3/4 gallon! Given this is not a coolant recovery system its always going to puke out some coolant when it heats up.

Do they really need 20# cap on them? Just wondering.

Also going to seal up that nose to force air through the radiator. I have idea y'all can use...bandit signs - non-rusting lightweight stiff material easily worked can be painted black and attached with those push plastic christmas tree looking things in holes. I think it will work great, with aluminum tape for small stuff.

06-24-2014 06:18 PM - permalink

Xack

I'd suggest .040 thick aluminum sheet. Mock up with poster-board and fit. drill and tap #6 threads to mount it to the frame.
I'm planning on using Evans waterless coolant at some point.

06-25-2014 05:14 PM - permalink

BOBOCobra

Everything Xack said but I flipped my tank and the air bleed from the radiator is on the high pressure side above the high pressure rad hose. Threw away the washer bottle and put recovery bottle on passenger side. This allows a little circulation through the pressure tank and as fluid expands it pushes to tank and to recovery bottle. I use a 16lb cap but could use a 13. with 16 lb I puke a quart or so of fluid to the recovery and it draws back in during cool down. I put an air bleed thumb screw on the water neck but it rarely has air. The circulation on mine puts hot water to the fill side but the volume is so small it makes little difference. I want good circulation through the pressure tank, it guarantees the system is only at cap pressure.

06-25-2014 05:33 PM - permalink

BOBOCobra

These changes work. This weekend I was on the Central Coast with my wife. 45 degree morning with cool ocean air and I could not get it over 145 degrees on the highway. Last summer before I made all the changes I gutted my t-stat to get more flow and Monday I had to stop and block part of the radiator with cardboard to get it to stay warm! Never thought that would happen. Oil was a little thick and pressure was high and I was afraid the valve covers were packed full of oil! I will install a new Stewart 185 or 190 t-stat this winter or before I take it back to the coast. Believe it or not I need it to run a little hotter! Throw Vern's design away and do what these guys tell you.

06-25-2014 06:08 PM - permalink

Xack

I think with water or water based coolant you'll get boiling where the water jacket is at the top of the cylinder walls even in a "cool" engine (180). At running temperatures it's a constant balance between air introduced (pressure) when these hotter points cause boiling, and the rest of the cooling system. Overheating happens when boiling in the jackets gets out of control and/or the system cannot remove the heat fast enough. With a waterless system, no or little boiling occurs at these hot points. This allows the waterless coolant to contact the jacket more completely and allow for better heat control at ZERO psi. You do not have this balance to contend with, it is at 0 PSI normally (no boiling). The engine may run hotter since the heat capacity is lower, but there is no danger of loosing the battle to the boil in the jacket. You just need to bleed the air.

I think this is a good contingency plan if your having problems with your Vern system and want to fix it fast.

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