Fan clearance issue
 

Have my 8BA with Super Dual intake back in my '40. Am now working on the fan issue. I have tried what I thought was a '42-'48 fan assembly, but turned out to be a '49 assembly which has an 18" fan. Definitely no clearance with the upper hoses !! I have a '42-'48 oil hub assembly, but no fan. Has anyone out there run a '42-'46 assembly with stock 16" fan and had clearance with the upper hoses with a 8BA in a '40? Does any know where I could purchase a replacement fan ? What are other options, if any ? An electric fan is really the last resort. I do know about the crank mounted option that other members here done.

Re: Fan clearance issue
 

This will help. Be sure to read all the links. Also Bob Drake sells 8BA fan hubs.
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showt...ance+1936+ford

Re: Fan clearance issue
 

.

You have obviously found out that using an 8BA-type engine in these earlier cars always seems to present a REAL problem when trying to come-up with a solution for a MECHANICAL fan, and of course, even thinking about settling for an ELECTRIC fan to 'band-aid' the problem is about as cool as taking your sister to the prom! It's a given that you need to lower that fan to clear the upper hoses in a '41 or earlier Ford.

Fellow FordBarner "Heard" had a similar problem with an 8BA in his little '36 3-window coupe. We designed and built (from scratch) the unit seen in the picture below which LOWERS the fan's location with reference to the upper hoses. Click the link below for a better description and more pictures. DD

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showt...08#post1869208


https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...2&d=1476383810



.........

Re: Fan clearance issue
 

Here's a few more photos that may help you design a solution. I made the alum. fan pulley back in 2014. BOB DRAKE now sells them at a fair price. Go to his web site.

Keep in mind each situation is different. My 8BA is in a 40 using wide belt 8RT water pumps and a Walker radiator. Make a mock up of your parts before you start taking your car apart.
My fan is 16 in. There are folks who have other ways of doing this.

Good luck.

Re: Fan clearance issue
 

19forty, what crankshaft pulley are you using?

Re: Fan clearance issue
 

Nice solutions!

Re: Fan clearance issue
 

Pulley is a 1949-50 Merc. I think the 49-50 Ford pick up 8RT engine is the same.
Here's one on Ebay with an outrageous price.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1948-1953-F...UAAOSwqQpeRZvb

Re: Fan clearance issue
 

Thanks for all the good info. Now we can start working this problem out. One other question, where do find a fan that fits the original bolt pattern or the Drake hub ?

Re: Fan clearance issue
 

thank you. I have a pulley out of a '52 F2 that has a lot more space between the two pulleys. It might not be original, don't know.

Re: Fan clearance issue
 

40cpe; Keep doing research. I know I have seen posts where folks also used the narrow belt pulleys found on stock (two narrow belts) 8BA engines and 51 Merc engines.

Re: Fan clearance issue
 

Best thing would be to call Drake and ask him. You could also look at after market fan blades to see what 'matches up". I got mine at Super Shops before they folded years ago. Sumitt and Jegs are a good source. If you can accurately "center" an aftermarket fan on the Drake hub, you can always drill new holes in the fan. I am not sure if the Drake hub has a "hub centric" locater designed into it.

If you decide to use an original fan blade make sure it has no microscopic cracks of flaws that may cause it to work harden and fly apart. I had that happen ONCE! It went thru the hood and into the radiator.

https://www.bobdrake.com/FordItem.aspx?Item=21A-8600-K

Re: Fan clearance issue
 

19Fordy,

What is the approximate dimension between the original fan pulley location and where you presently have it located ?

Re: Fan clearance issue
 

Don't forget...on a '39 DeLuxe (not on Standards) through '41 Fords, the fan mounted directly on the crankshaft snout! DD

Re: Fan clearance issue
 

19fordy has a great idea; have your machinist buddy make a new set up that will have everything fit perfect and new bearing and aluminum pulley which can be machined to hold modern fans.

Re: Fan clearance issue
 

REPLY to Deadforty: I don't know. The reason for that is that after I installed the Walker radiator and shroud, I installed my homemade fan pulley set up and immediately noticed that I would need to make aluminum spacers to move the fan forward so that the fan blades would be 1/3 into the fan shroud for suitable air flow.

I would suggest that after you install your engine, you then install your radiator and a mock up of your fan pulley bracket and hub so that you can actually measure and find out what distance you need to keep the fan blade ay least 1 in. away from the radiator, taking the flexing of the fan into consideration. On the 40 there are two sets of holes in the top frame rail for the radiator location to be moved forward or backward.

I did not use the stock 1940 nut, bolts and springs and springs when I installed my radiator as I wanted it to sit lower down. Check all this out as you solve your problem. There are many variables.

For instance, my 8BA has early style heads so the radiator hose configuration is different. Then, if you are going to use a shroud, again take measurements and make the needed spacers for the fan pulley. It's easy to make a mock up of the assembly out of wood.

Re: Fan clearance issue
 

fortyfords makes a good point. If you use a fan spacer you can have it machined so that it has the fan blade holes in the location you need AND a hub centric "button" can be machined on that spacer. You may want to have a couple of sets of fan blade holes drilled into the spacer as there is plenty of room to do it. Easy to do once it's on the rotary table. Make several fan spacers of varying thickness "just in case".

The 6 inch dia. piece of 6061 Aluminum needed to make the fan pulley, etc. is not cheap if you buy it retail. Drakes pulley is a good deal for the money.