Thread: 38 ford shroud

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Dose anyone know of a dealer that sells a shroud for a 38 ford. A buddy of mine has a 38 with a BBC and it over heats. He has 2 fans pulling and one pushing, timing is right, and so is every thing else its just more engine than fits with room for air. If he runs with the hood off it helps, but still on a hot day will reach 250. WAY TO HOT. He just bought it and was told that the engine is stock 454.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that the electric fan on my 5.0 powered Jeep crapped out. It was an Autozone special and was the biggest one I could fit in there 3 years ago when I swapped in the engine. It always ran warm, and I tried everything to get it to run cooler, but sometimes at lights it would get into that 225 to 250 range, and I think that is too high.

So when this fan died, I remembered I had a SPAL fan in the shop that I got with a bunch of other stuff in an Ebay purchase, so I dug it out and put it on. As soon as I did I noticed I picked up about 3/4 inch more clearance (the old one just about touched the lower crank pulley) but the real surprise was how much air this thing moved. You could tell it was putting out the 2700 cfm's it said it would.

On the way home that night I got caught in traffic and the temp never went over 200. Actually stayed more like 190 most of the time. If I had built a shroud it would probably have been even better. I am sold on Spal fans.

You also bring up something I know to be a fact. When you stuff a big V8 in an engine compartment that held a small engine originally, the air has no where to go, and creates a blockage for the incoming cooler air. The air will actually go around the grille. Also, as some on this forum will point out, make sure you have a vacuum advance distributor.

A shroud can be as simple as a flat aluminum plate with a hole the size of the fan cut out in the middle. If this helps, here is a picture of my Sons radiator for his Olds powered '29. The manufacturer says he cools an 800 HP Willys with this same set up.

Good luck.

Don

You don't indicate when it goes to 250. Is that in stop and go, down the freeway, normal around town driving without a lot of stop time? Or all the time regardless of operating condition? It makes a difference on diagnosis. As Pops mentioned, air needs to go through the rad. Often on these older Fords people don't reinstall the sheet metal pieces that go around the rad, behind the grille, especially if they put in something other than a stock profile rad. Without those pieces some/most (?) if the air will bypass the rad core. Personally, three fans is too many, especially the one in front of the core. It's another source of air flow blockage. Others disagree, but my suspicion is they've had success because the rest of their system is up to the task and the front mount doesn't cause enough problem (IMO). There are lots of things to consider besides fan and timing. For example, has he checked to see if there's a thermostat installed? The restriction they offer is useful for controlling flow, and the temperature rating is less useful for the top temp rather it's for the minimum temp. How does the hot air get out of the engine compartment? Sometimes with a big block install the builder will eliminate the 45 degree toe board portion of the lower firewall. Part of the purpose for that, other than foot comfort, is to give an exit path for the engine compartment air. Again, the flow thing. Others I'm sure will pipe in with more things to check.

Walker makes an ABS shroud that fits the outer dimensions of the stock profile rad, and is solid so you can cut the opening to meet your application. Any dealer who sells Walker rads should stock those as well. After that it's all the fab 'em options that are frequently offered here.

Well Denny, at least I know you've got my back.............wanna borrow my glass eyeballs?

Well I guess I thought you guys could read my mind The rad. is of stock size but 4 core. It has a Bitchen firewall. It has A/C which I beleave is the bigest problem with air flow. The thermostat is a 190 it runs over 250 all the time and higher in trafic. At 70 its the same as at 25. Every thing it new but it runs hot he even tried that licquid that makes water cooler. We put a different temp gauge on and its about the same. It has block hugger headers. With the hood on it will run even hotter. the two fans that pull come on with the ignition sw. the one in front comes on with the A/C we tried running all 3 without the A/C on it makes no differance. It looks to me that all the sheetmetal is all there and where it belongs. I think by eliminating some of the inner fenderwell he would get more air movement.