elect. fan mounting

[rodstored-72]

all,
i am trying to mount my flex-a-lite model 298 fan to my '72 chevy 2wd p/u. i am wondering if anyone has a pic of how they mounted it to the radi. support?? or if someone can give a good discription of exactly how they mounted their elect. fan to the radi. support brackets???

thanks in advance for any help!!!!!

[71RestoRod]

I made eight mounting clips out of 3/4" flat galvanized bar stock. It took a couple of attempts to get the distance just right from the bend in the clip to the mounting hole so that the rubber seal on the fan enclosure was compressed just right with it all bolted up. Overall I thought it made for a clean install.

One other thing... I was pretty disappointed at the way Flex-a-lite had you mount the relay on the back of the fan shroud. It left a real unsightly nest of wires right in plain sight. Instead of mounting the relay as they suggested, I mounted mine on the driver side of the rad support. I routed the fan wires out the bottom of the shroud. Then I cut the top air flap hole larger (same as the bottom flap) and covered it with a similar piece of sheet rubber to match the bottom flap.

Here's some pics to show you what I'm talking about:

[rodstored-72]

71 resto rod,
thanks a bunch!! those pics & the info. that you gave was exactly what i was looking for!! i think the brackets that they provide are just a little too "universal". i think that i am going to try something similar to what you have, but i want to try to use the stock fan shroud mounting holes at the rad. by the end of last night i came to the conclusion, that like you, i am going to have to pretty much use some flat metal stock to mount the fan. i think though that i am going to copy your idea of the wiring setup that you came up with!

thanks again for the great info.!!!

if i can figure out how to post pics i will so all can see

take care!

rodstored-72

[see ten]

I mounted mine using the factory fan shroud holes. I cut some angle iron to bolt in the shroud holes and welded the angle to some flat stock. I then drilled holes through the flat stock to bolt the shroud to the bracket. I also didn't care for how flex-a-lite intended for the module to be mounted. I mounted mine on the core support also.

[LUV2XCLR8]

Originally Posted by see ten

I mounted mine using the factory fan shroud holes.

Just as soon as you have to pull that out for one reason or another,
you need to take measurements and or have another set made up

[rodstored-72]

guys,
thanks abunch that really has helped!! but i forgot to ask another silly question! i need to know what size bolt (screw) i need to screw into the stock existing radi. support bracket?? i lost (probably threw out) the old bolts. can someone please give me an answer so i can get my pickemup back on the road!!!


thanks again!!!!
rodstored-72

[rodstored-72]

guys
thanks for the replies. it has helped a bunch!!! i forgot to ask a silly question before though!! i need to know what size the bolt (screw) is that goes into the radi. support bracket???? i some how lost my bolts (probably threw out on accident).. if someone could tell me the size & thread count it would be very much appreciated!!!!

thanks again for the help!!!

rodstored-72

[rodstored-72]

ok guys,
i have now figured out how i am going to mount my fan. now though i guess i didn't order the fan that i thought i did. i got the 295 model which did not come with the "relay" & vsc module. stupid on my part, but anyways i was hoping that you guys could give me some direction in what kind of relay i need & where to pick it up at???? i am not a electrical kind of guy so any help would be greatly appreciated! i checked the flex-a-lite site & for me to pick up the vsc module it would be around a $130 !!! so any suggestions will be gladly taken...

thanks in advance for all the help!!!!

rodstored-72

[see ten]

I thought my fans were the 295 and they came with a module/controller. Maybe you need to give the Flex-a-lite tech line a ring and see if something got left out of your box.

[Rollie396]

Just FYI,I got these ones and the module was missing.A quick call to the outfit I bought them from and it was all fixed.Just so you know it does happen.

[jcfoote60]

OK,so here comes the stupid question......so I am doing Vintage Air and planned on just upgrading to a brand new 4-Core radiator. what do you need electic fans for??? Like I said...slow on the uptake here???

[LUV2XCLR8]

Originally Posted by jcfoote60

OK,so here comes the stupid question......so I am doing Vintage Air and planned on just upgrading to a brand new 4-Core radiator. what do you need electic fans for??? Like I said...slow on the uptake here???

Well I am doing this upgrade because of truck shows, parades, and cruises
(which alot of the time are bumper to bumper) and I have a 4 core radiator,
it's more of a piece of mind thing IMHO, how much is your engine worth?, &
do you want it to get overheated and spill it's guts out all over the street.

[see ten]

Originally Posted by jcfoote60

OK,so here comes the stupid question......so I am doing Vintage Air and planned on just upgrading to a brand new 4-Core radiator. what do you need electic fans for??? Like I said...slow on the uptake here???

I removed the fan from the engine on both of my trucks when I installed the fans. Expect to gain 2-3 mpg plus a little more grunt since you are removing a lot of drag from the engine.

[rodstored-72]

all,
thanks!! i am going to give flex-a-lite a call & probably email too. i never thought about checking to see if it was missing the relays... i guess sometimes you don't see the trees because of the forest! anyways thanks for the help. i found a temp sensor relay at autozone so i may give that a try. i may need some help when wiring the thing up as well. the wiring stuff is what is really slowing me down on the rebuild.

thanks again!!!!

rodstored-72

p.s. - jcfoot, in my opinion i don't think there is such a thing as a stupid question... except one that is not asked. i am using the e-fans to help with better cooling (imho) and as well with looks & just a little performance!!!thanks for the question!!

[stringpickin]

Hey and Good day!! I am wondering if you have used it in hard and hot highway driving conditions as of yet. I had the same FlexLite Fan on my 383,, and it worked perfect, I loved it, UNTIL I had to do any 6 to 10% grade climbing at highway speeds. With both fans Blowing full speed, my engine would heat up to 240 degrees in a minute or two. Scared me to death, turned around the hills, coasted down, turned around went up the highway as far as I could until it hit 240 and did the same thing till I got to the top of the hill.. I had myself and two expert mechanics troubleshoot the system. Worked perfectly, all the sending units, the relays, tried different temp settings for the fans to cycle. And No luck.. During this time I had been calling the factory and finally got a hold of a Tech. that said oh well yeah, we have been finding that for big blocks these havn't been working to well. I asked well why? The Air Volume movement is supposed to be more than with a Clutch fan on the big blocks or small blocks, so what gives? He really didn't know, but said over and over again big block owners have been sending them back. My 383 isn't a big block of course but pushing close to 39 cubes.
Kind of beat my head up over that for a few days and the only thing I could come up with is at highway speeds, generally the fans are off. That leaves the ram air to do the cooling on the radiator. I think that the Flex Lite Fan Assembly does not allow enough ram air flow to come through. So then it kicks the fans on because the temp rises, then my theory again, but I think the fans flapping in the wind, behind whatever ram air is trying to come through actually ends up stalling the air flow. I called the tech. back and discussed that with him, and he said they really hadn't considered that, but sounded like a possibility.
So anyway,, I had ripped it off of the ol rig and went back to my flex fan. Noisy yeah,, robs a couple of horseys yeah, but man it keeps it kool and I never ever have to wonder if it is spinning around..
I would be very interested to hear your experience with it this summer, or anyone elses experience. Come to find out since then, I have talked to 2 other people that had them on and then took them off. One was on a 400 hundred horse Camaro, the other a 72 chevy with a 396..

I hope it works for you. But if it does, I would sure like to know why. I was so looking forward to getting rid of the noise of the flex fan, and not to mention the low speed cooling capability.. oh well..

thanks for your time.. String

[rodstored-72]

stringpickin,
i will let yo uknow as soon as i get it running. i am curious about the same stuff. though i will not be towing.. i would like to take it to cali. once or twice a year. i have heard some opinions of the same sort. basically that the system the gm came up with years ago works, so leave ot alone. i think that both ways work, it just matters as to the persons truck duties. here in the az heat i think that these will work better because the air here is still 120d. no matter what. thanks for the info. take care & talk to everyon again soon!

rodstored-72