Thread: brookville 32 build ....gonna be a monster

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Something I saw on this site,one of the members builds,is to reverse the firewall?{common practice?}Then you could offset the engine mounts 2 inches to the rear leaving the crossmember/radiator /wheelbase still intact....
minimal fabrication to offset the engine mounts and I am not sure how complex a firewall reversal is,but maybe the guy who did this will read this and elaborate on it?
Hope this post helps or sparks some ideas for ya!!!

You are going to need a shroud, the fan won't be efficient enough that close to the radiator. The fan needs room to pull air across the entire radiator not just a small area. My car is at work but I will gladly take detailed photo's tomorrow if you want.
Ken

ken please take pics and measurements if you dont mind .

on another note i am playing with the rear braceing and batt and fuel take mount , the support will be welded to the floor itself and will protrude up to the door area and then up to the rear deck where the brace is thatt the quarters were bolted to before they were welded , i think this should work fine as .the rear prtion will not rock on the floor or frame , ill also weld this after my shimming is done . next i have to figure the cowl area . however the rear portion of the body feels very sturdy but i feel this will add to that .

In the meantime, here is a representative picture. It is the shroud and fan on my kids '29. A '32 would be similar in depth.


Don

just looking at that setup , im doomed if i need that much room . this is depression time . im just thinking back , ive ran fans only with no extra shoud like that and have been fine . there is no hood in the way of bumper or valance, just a wide open radiator.. not saying you guys are wrong im just scratchin my head here

why dont you just move your engine back? You could have your engine and tranny mount all done in a day's time.

Some cumulative comments, mostly opinion intended to provoke thought.

As Randy said, moving the rad forward ends up looking odd. Reason being is we're accustomed to seeing the rad/grille shell ~ at the wheel center line, most evident in direct profile view. Moving it back, say as in Track roadsters, lakes roadsters, and many T buckets also appeals as it looks like the chassis is "reaching" out for more speed. When you push the rad/grille shell forward it looks like you ran into something and pushed the axle back and are having to limp around until you can fix it. Or that the front of the car is trying to fall forward on it's face. A second problem comes up in headlamp placement. If you mount the lamps slightly forward of the rad line they look "right", balanced. Move them back and it just accentuates the "misplacement" of the rad/grille. Also, moving them forward or backward (relative to the axle centerline) increases your chances of the front wheels/tires hitting the headlamps at full (or near full) lock.

Typical slim line fans are around 2 5/8 thick at the center of the motor (there may be some thinner that others know of, but I don't)they do taper thinner out to the edges, and the "ideal' is to have the blades 1" from the core to induce flow.

As for your bracing and batt placement. Most often the batt is placed on the passenger side, in part to somewhat offset the weight of the driver in solo mode. Also, particularly with a Chev engine, it's a shorter path to the starter with no crossover, meaning less resistance to current flow.

With 1" tubing you might want to consider another leg from the diagonal you've got at the quarter to the diagonal you've got in the center, bent or otherwise formed to match the contour of the deck former, and attached relatively high up, as close to the deck former as practical.

As an overall comment.........................you're building a custom fabricated car. You control every aspect of it. That means you should tailor everything to fit your particular, and optimum, needs/desires. Compromising, even in the face of additional time/money expenditures, will only diminish your ultimate enjoyment. You've set an arbitrary target date that's not very far out, don't let that self induced pressure force you into a compromise you'll later regret and will likely cause you to spend even more time/money to make right, either in a bigger rework than you face now, or in taking a bigger financial hit to unload the car either prematurely or to compensate for something unpleasant in function/appearance (and/or both).

With that said, we've mostly been talking chassis/body cures for what is essentially a blower drive issue. Though what you've got is the most common (and may have "the look" you most desire), there may be alternatives in that area that would perclude (or aleviate) chassis/body changes.

yeah the battery placement im thinking now , the reason i placed it there was because the fuel tank will share the same area so i was thinking about the weight factor , usally i place a battery in the truck over the pass side wheel but with the weight i thinking there but tat may still change like i said nothin is welded yet .. but i may just do that ...

if anbody has any opions about tank and batt placement drop a post .. the weight factor of a loaded fuel tank and or half tank will be pretty heavy

im gonna order a fan today and see what have when it comes , i found a dual fan w shoud 2500cfm that is under 3 in wide in deaft ...hope it will do the trick , ill also move engine back to fit it also if need be ..

going single cant fit duals , still need measurments though

I didn't make it to the shop yesterday. I'm heading over there now, will measure and take some detailed pictures for you.

Don

It only took1 1/2 to find it in 10 thousand pics
Its J.Robinsons ride.
He reversed the firewall,you may be too far along to do this,but it looks good and seems to make alot of room under the hood.
http://www.clubhotrod.com/photopost/...php?photo=3306
This is a pic a the reversed firewall.

I took a couple of pictures of my shroud and fan for you. Sorry for the blurry first picture, just got a new camera and it is really sensitive, I guess. The shroud adds 1/2 inch to the depth, sticking out from the radiator. My fan measures 16 diameter and is 1 inch thick at the outside of the plastic shoud and 2 inches thick at the fan motor. The fan motor sticks out 3 and 3/8 inches total from the shroud.

Hope this helps you out.

Don

little update i cut to fit the firewall and clamped it into place next ill get the feet welded , is there any tips about if i have to shime the body first or anything im not thinking or....

another one is i ordered my fan today and it should come wed from jegs , the fan is 16 wide by 3 3/8 deep hope it works it is gonna be tight !!