Thanks for the replies, and the comments on the car. I really lucked out in getting this car, and the restoration has been interesting but then aren’t they all. I haven’t been able to resize any of the photos of the restoration in progress, or the “finished” product, so I haven’t uploaded any to the website. I was blessed with a car that was almost complete except for the shroud and the hard top.
I’ve relied on a lot of reading to try and figure out what to do regarding the overheating issue. I knew from the start that since the car didn’t come with a fan shroud that it was going to be a challenge to cool it, not to mention that the engine was rebuilt which according to some will add to the temperature in the engine compartment.
It’s funny that you should mention the hood because that’s one of the things about the restoration that looking back I would have done differently. But, I started the project without a lot of background.
I’m not a mechanic but based upon my understanding of cooling systems, plus the data in the cooling article, it seems to me that the key is airflow across the radiator, not so much through the engine compartment. I can’t find the Ford six-blade fan, and even if I could I wouldn’t want to trim it and as I mentioned at the moment I have no way of raising the engine to accomodate it. But, thanks for the tip. I’m not a huge fan (pun intended) of flex fans but that may be the way I’m forced to go, at the very least a different one.
One major point that we can all agree on I think – no shroud is a bad thing. I need to find something, and I think this week I may try to call a junkyard or two in the area and ask them if I can bring the car down and try a few on for size. Barring any luck there, I’d have to keep looking for one or have someone form one for me, which would probably be the same $$$. Not to mention, shelling out $400+ for a shroud that might not cure the problem at idle in the desert in summer isn’t a gamble I’m willing to take just yet.
I need to start somewhere, I’ve got the electric fan and now I’m working on the mounting bracket. I need to remove the radiator this weekend to do that, which offers me a great opportunity to flush it shortly after a rebuild, which can only be a good thing to get rid of any metals that might have made their way into the cooling system. Any suggestions on coolant by the way? I was planning on picking up some of the less-than-toxic stuff that’s on the market now and cutting it 50/50 w/distilled water.
I’ll keep adding to this thread as I get deeper into the project but I suspect that as I make the airflow into the front of the car more efficient that I’ll have more luck keeping the temperature gauge needle closer to straight up and down.
Thanks again for the replies, I’m glad I found this resource.