Slick 60's

I am reassembling my '65 with the radiator and fan blade (4 blade factory style, 18.5" diameter) that came off the truck, and noticed there is only 1/8" clearance between the fan and the upper radiator hose. Is this normal? Seems to me the torque of the motor could close that gap pretty quickly. I'm thinking of either trimming some material from the blade tips or elongating the holes in the radiator to gain little more clearance. I dread taking the radiator back out. Putting the hoses on was a pita.

Tried to attach a photo but "...board attachment quota has been reached."

Thanks for any input.

Mojave922 wrote:I am reassembling my '65 with the radiator and fan blade (4 blade factory style, 18.5" diameter) that came off the truck, and noticed there is only 1/8" clearance between the fan and the upper radiator hose. Is this normal? Seems to me the torque of the motor could close that gap pretty quickly. I'm thinking of either trimming some material from the blade tips or elongating the holes in the radiator to gain little more clearance. I dread taking the radiator back out. Putting the hoses on was a pita.

Tried to attach a photo but "...board attachment quota has been reached."

Thanks for any input.

i would not trim the fan blades. they are balanced. i would look for a different shaped radiator hose or locate a smaller fan.

jim

Assuming that the hose is correct and routed correctly, you need a smaller fan.

Get a longer hose,one that is flexible with ribs....

Didn't even think about the blades being balanced. Thanks for that tip and others. Will be looking for a smaller diameter flex fan.

I finally figured out why the gap is so much closer. I retrofitted a '62 390 block into my '65 which required adding 1/4 steel plates to the motor mounts. That effectively raised the front end of the engine. I think I can drill new holes in the radiator flange to raise it 1/2" or so, enough to buy some fan clearance and still clear the hood. Boy, if I would have known all the little tweaks that would be required to fit a '62 engine...

I was unaware until recently about the early and later FE blocks. I have one of each sitting side by side and the difference is both minor and obvious at the same time. Glad you figured it out.

Mojave922 wrote:I finally figured out why the gap is so much closer. I retrofitted a '62 390 block into my '65 which required adding 1/4 steel plates to the motor mounts. That effectively raised the front end of the engine. I think I can drill new holes in the radiator flange to raise it 1/2" or so, enough to buy some fan clearance and still clear the hood. Boy, if I would have known all the little tweaks that would be required to fit a '62 engine...

Not related to your fan to hose clearance, How close is the fan to the radiator? The C2AE pumps and pulleys have the same belt groove spacing as other FE engines but the long nose shaft will put the fan closer to the radiator if you use the truck fan spacer.

chris401 wrote:

Mojave922 wrote:I finally figured out why the gap is so much closer. I retrofitted a '62 390 block into my '65 which required adding 1/4 steel plates to the motor mounts. That effectively raised the front end of the engine. I think I can drill new holes in the radiator flange to raise it 1/2" or so, enough to buy some fan clearance and still clear the hood. Boy, if I would have known all the little tweaks that would be required to fit a '62 engine...

Not related to your fan to hose clearance, How close is the fan to the radiator? The C2AE pumps and pulleys have the same belt groove spacing as other FE engines but the long nose shaft will put the fan closer to the radiator if you use the truck fan spacer.

Hey Chris, I do remember you saying something about the longer water pump shafts on the early engines. Currently with the 1" spacer and factory fan, there is about 1.5" from fan to radiator. Without the spacer, the fan contacts the 3-groove crank pulley.