AC cooling issues?

[slowyellow]

I'm getting ready to put in a vintage air system. I was just curious if I'm going to run into any cooling issues. Truck has a 350 with a 350 behind it, trans cooler is just the one internal to the radiator. The truck just has a 4 blade fan on it. It doesn't have any issues staying cool right now, I just don't know the added load from the ac compressor will change that.

Are there any common/cheap cooling upgrades like a different fan or something like that?

[zellway]

I like to seal around the radiator with thick foam to force the air to pass the though the radiator. I have the Old Air twin electric fans and I run the vintage air system with no problems. The condenser is nice and close to the radiator so it gets good air flow. I did install a radiator from a 85 suburban. Its a cheep upgrade, Aluminum duel pass for around $120 to $150. The best part is if your truck was set up with the mounts for the thin radiator its a drop in upgrade.

[slowyellow]

The truck already has a pretty thin radiator in it. PO did that. So it looks like electric fan is the way to go? What is a common alternator to upgrade to for more power accesories? I'm planning on adding a sub down the line. Nothing crazy, just a 8 or 10 inch sub to even out the sound in the truck.

[67ChevyRedneck]

I had an automatic 3 row radiator (700R) in my truck with a flex fan. Added a 7 blade clutch fan and it helped, but still got hot in traffic, so I put in a factory 4 row. You do need the wider brackets for both the bottom and top to hold it in place. Hasn't overheated since.

[zellway]

Originally Posted by slowyellow

The truck already has a pretty thin radiator in it. PO did that. So it looks like electric fan is the way to go? What is a common alternator to upgrade to for more power accesories? I'm planning on adding a sub down the line. Nothing crazy, just a 8 or 10 inch sub to even out the sound in the truck.

I added a power master 100 amp alt. I got the fans to try them out. They work fine in the 120 deg heat. I hot rod around and sit in traffic with no problems. I do run a 195 thermostat. I did drill 2 small 1/8" holes in it to let water flow past it just a bit. With out the hole the temp would get up to 195 and drop to 175 each time it would open. Now its always around 190. If you have a good fan shroud it should be fine. Don't try and run it without one.

[gotchamel]

Curious myself,hope to fire up my c10 with new VA this weekend.Not knowing the history of my cooling system I replaced the 3 row with a 4 row radiator,flexfan{7 blade}and a new wp.Did not want to get everything back together and have issues.

[slowyellow]

Originally Posted by zellway

I added a power master 100 amp alt. I got the fans to try them out. They work fine in the 120 deg heat. I hot rod around and sit in traffic with no problems. I do run a 195 thermostat. I did drill 2 small 1/8" holes in it to let water flow past it just a bit. With out the hole the temp would get up to 195 and drop to 175 each time it would open. Now its always around 190. If you have a good fan shroud it should be fine. Don't try and run it without one.

Which fans did you get? And are you saying that I'd be ok with my stocker as long as I have a good shroud? Isn't there a fan that is identical to the stock that just has more blades that increases airflow? I thought I heard that somewhere.

[Beelzeburb]

I have a VA GenIV system on my Suburban. Running an '88 454 with factory 5 blade '88 viscous fan and BB fan shroud. Original style 4 core radiator with a gigantic transmission cooler blocking nearly one half of it, running the trans fluid through the in-radiator cooler too, and I've got an engine oil cooler in front of the radiator as well. Just drove it through 100+ degree weather, up steep grades and sat idling in a hot, crowded national park this week with the A/C on full blast. Never once had a single time where the coolant temperature was above 200 degrees.