I just finished installing a Vintage Air AC unit in my '64 Valiant, but I have one concern. The stock fan is the 16", 4-blade, non-clutch version and I know it's not going to cool my engine in stop and go driving when it's 100 degrees in Texas.

I have a 5-blade with a clutch, but there is not enough clearance to the radiator, so that option is out.

It looks like my options are a 5 or 6 blade stock replacement fan, a 6 or 7 blade flex fan, or an electric fan. The electric fan would be my choice, but to clear the water pump, the best CFM rating I can get is 1300.

Does anyone have an idea how that compares to the stock fans or the flex fan?

lancer_41@excite.com

Haven't a clue. Is putting the electric fans in front of the rad an option?

fglmopar@aol.com

Nope, there is barely enough room for the condenser.


lancer_41@excite.com

Many Volaré and Aspen cars with Slant 6 and air conditioning came with a 5-blade flex fan and plastic shroud from the factory. This blade will fit in less space than the clutch fan.

My 1976 Valiant came with a 7-blade solid fan. The part number on that blade is the same as was used on the V8 Hemi engines. It is quite flat but moves air. Neat, huh?

RJ

rj@flyingcamel.net

You might consider a bigger aluminum or 4-core copper/brass radiator. I just picked up a "universal" Griffin aluminum radiator (2" thick core) from Summit for $190 that will fit right in my '64 Dart with a few fabbed brackets. Can't comment on the cooling improvement yet, but I bet it will be huge.

Lou

RJ, I'm working on an article right now. I have quite a few photos and most of the text written. If time permits, I should have it ready to submit for Chuck's approval in a couple of weeks.


lancer_41@excite.com

That's one of the things I've been considering, but I'm really short on clearance already and while it would help overall cooling, it won't do much for the time I spend idling in traffic. I still have to move the air in that situation and the stock 4-blade fan just won't do it. Even without the AC, the temp climbs quickly while idling on a hot day.

With the condenser installed, I have no room to move the radiator forward from the stock location, and there is only 2.20" between the water pump shaft and the radiator core.

I really hate to use a stock 5 or more blade fan because of the HP draw and noise, but it might be the only option I have. I've heard that flex fans don't move as much air, though I've never heard any numbers quoted. I've also heard they are quieter than the big, stock units, but I don't have any data to back that up either.


lancer_41@excite.com

Off subject, sorry. But I couldn't help but notice a couple of '64 Valiants on this thread. I am in desperate need of a picture of the back seat upholstery for a '64 Valiant Signet package. I am ready to get my interior done, have material, found a shop, but can't come up with a pattern. Any ideas?


rjwoerly@ucdavis.edu

I have a 6 blade fan (I think it is 6, I'll have to check) for my 63. It looks stock, but the blades are angled more than stock. The guy at Classic Auto Air said this would pull enough air for standing traffic in Florida.

I am having the clearance problem too. I have not installed the fan yet. It has been sitting in my garage waiting.

My plan is to have the fan spacer cut down as much as possible. If not, I think that I would have plenty of room (including belt clearance) if I did not use the spacer. The big problem there is that the hole in the fan is too small to fit the water pump without the spacer. I may be able to get the hole enlarged, but will try that as a last resort.

John Killin



Killin5@yahoo.com

It's been awhile, but don't you need at least some of that spacer to keep the fan from hitting the pulleys or sumpin'.
Also, I beleive my friend was dealing with clearance problems on one of his mopars, and he ended up using a fan clutch for some kind of Buick. You might try perusing a catalog with specs for different applications.

fglmopar@aol.com

I had a 68 Valiant with a 225, A/C, automatic and had a cooling problem in the summer. I live in SE Texas where temps can get around 100 degrees. The way I fixed the overheating problem was to get a later model HD radiator, (small top tank wide core), the shroud that fit the radiator, the HD fan (6 or 7 blade), the spacer and the overflow tank. I put all of that in the car and that fixed the overheating issue. It could idle all day long in 100 degree heat in neutral or drive and not overheat and the A/C was going, to keep me cool. The only issue was it was a little noisier but at that point who cares long as the engine doesn't overheat and I am cool. Believe it or not the heater even worked better in the winter. I guess that was because there was no air in the cooling system. I didn't even bother with a rebuilt radiator. I got a new one from Pep Boys for I think $120.00 with a lifetime warranty.

mwhiteho@hotmail.com

I think I'm just gonna get a bunch of old heater cores and glue them to the bottom of my van and then plumb them into the system!
What do you guys think?
10 or so of them stuck along the bottom?
Ought to add a little to the cooling?!?!?
Later,
Dan

Unfortunately, the '64 has a small cutout for the radiator and there is no room to increase it without major modifications to the sheet metal. I seem to recall they increased the cutout and radiator size in '65 or '66, but that doesn't help me.



lancer_41@excite.com

Maybe what you could do is have one of the newer radiators cut down to fit the opening. Is the opening as wide as the 68 up Darts and Valiants? If it is just have a radiator shop cut out the core you can't use and have them put it back together. Even if you can't do that setting up the older radiator as a closed system and adding some kind of shroud should help. The newer radiators came in several different sizes. I think the one for the van is narrower than the one for cars. If I remember they are all the same height. I wanted to put the largest radiator I could in it. I forgot to mention one other thing I did to mine. I changed to a 190 degree thermostat too. An old guy told me that a 190 degree thermostat would keep the coolant in the radiator longer and that would help cooling. That made sense to me so I did it and it worked. Like I said the car could idle all day long in 100 degree heat with the A/C going and it would basically stay at between 190 and 200. I also used a 50 50 mix of water and antifreeze. Make sure that all of the water jackets are clean as you can get them too. I took the freeze plugs out on the side of the engine and washed it out real good to get all of the junk that had settled in there over the years out. Good luck



mwhiteho@hotmail.com