Electric fan for 383 in camaro

[ScottT]

Stock radiator, switched to electric water pump so need electric fan. Was thinking the spal 16"? I think they're around 129 online as opposed to 300 for dual fans. Any suggestions. 539 HP, street driven, road race and autocross, maybe drag once a year. WHat brackets do I need and what wiring harness? Before it was stock fan off belt. THANKS!

[H2Ogbodies]

Well, irrespective of horespower claims, the biggest factor is how much combustion heat is this engine gonna create? A proper cooling system maximizes pulling hot air out of the radiator as much as possible when the fan is engaged. imo it's doubtful that 16" Spal will keep up, espescially if you are running AC. The radiator dimensions if a stock SB radiator is the perfect size for a Mark VIII which is 22x19. That is my vote. It is 100% shrouded, moves close to 5000 (RF64) CFM and is indestructible. I used to use various controllers but have moved to a relay activation since I have not found a consistently reliable controller for them. I even have a few new ones and two uses fans if you want one. They aren't cheap but are well worth it. I only use Spal if space demands it and then I do whatever I can to use dual fans in that case. I put an S-10 together using Spal dual 11" fans only because nothing else would fit and I still had to notch the support some. I'll see if I can post a pic of the s-10 and a Mark VIII install I did....

[Lowend]

I ran a good old Flex-A-Lite Black Magic for years and it was flawless

[camcojb]

as above, if you have the room the Mark VIII fans are the way to go. They have outperformed every single and dual fan I've tried over the years, and are about $100-$120 used but disassembled and looking like new, or well under $100 used and you clean them up yourself on Ebay. Just remember to get a 60-75 amp relay as they have a fairly high amp draw when initially firing up. The standard 40 amp relays don't do real well.

Jody

[wiedemab]

I haven't installed it yet, but i have a bunch of different factory Ford fans - I'm going to pick the best fit for my '52 Chevy Truck radiatior, but during some offline testing, I found that one of the fans had a "soft start" wired into the factory harness. Since I've found several others. It slowly ramps the fan up to full speed and significantly reduces the amperage draw on startup.

I figure they should work for a long time since they are a factory part. If I remember I'll take a picture of the one - it's really small and could easily be wired into the circuit. It might be worth it to look for some in a junk yard etc.

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

i LOVE my taurus fan in my 383.

[H2Ogbodies]

here's a shot of a RF24 Thunderbird fan on a 66 Chevelle...I couldn't get a Mark VIII to clear so this was my next option. It moves pretty good air too...if this didn't fit, a Spal dual set would have been my next choice but not for durability but rather for spacial concerns. I have this fan triggered via a temp sensor grounding a HD 70-amp relay.

[another69]

Flex a lite black magic xtreme fits perfect, fully shrouded with gasket, cools great. I'd use it again- obviously avoid any unshrouded fans.

[H2Ogbodies]

i've tried every fan there is for comparison sake and the Ford fans in general have it all over any aftermarket fan-where they shine is the low speed at which they can keep a motor cool when used with a controller-any fan that has a pancake motor has to work harder which means more of an amp draw-it comes down to electrical efficientcy/durability and that is where factory fans always win. Of course as mentioned, the Mark VIII fans are the top dogs bar none...not to say other fans won't work but no other fan can compare to it.

[gui67]

I used a Taurus Fan, the shroud is the perfect size for the Summit Aluminum radiator (Northern radiator)
*I used a 70Amp relay for 2nd speed and a 40 Amp relay for low speed.
The low speed is activated with a temperature sensor, the high is activated manualy with a switch on the dash.
It really moves a lot of air...
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/02/_ICT5701JPG-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/02/_ICT5703JPG-1.jpg

[Jim Nilsen]

There is a thread that has Crown Victoria Fan in the title under the cooling section and you can see pics of my setup. I use a DCC controller and am more than pleased with the soft start variable speed control of it. Rarely does it go to full speed when the engine is running, it will when I shut the car off for about 1 minute or less to cool everything down.
I also have a Mezziere electric water pump controlled by a DCC controller and together it will keep a car cool whether it is running or not. The amp draw seems to be very conservative and I don't have any other special relays or switches to hassle with unless I want to add them.
I may at the most add a switch to the water pump controller to keep it from shutting down the water pump in weather below 50 degrees outside wich allowed my engine temp to go to 240 degrees before it came back on. I could just change the pins on the controller too and make it so that didn't happen, but I haven't finished my closeout panels in the engine bay and right now it allows more real cold air to get to the temp sensor on the thermostat housing. When the only air getting in has to go thru the radiator I suspect that problem will go away. It didn't do it at all when the temp outside was above 70 degrees.

The best thing about a setup like I have is that when you shut your car off it will pump the engine coolant thru and cool the engine off instead of just cooling the radiator coolant.

The cost of my whole setup was around $350. I paid $65 for my fan.

You can now get an even better controller from DCC controllers that combine the water and fan in one unit I do believe and the packaging of it is simple and the cost is still very reasonable.

Everyone had told me the mark 8 fans were good and it was good advice. There are a lot of other products out there and they work well and look beautiful for form. but if you like function over form and are on a budget. Follow the people that have done it for less.

That's what I did and haven't regretted it for a second.