Ever since I bought the car I've had issues with it running hot, or over heating or something. When I first bought it in the spring of last year it was running hot even in the cool weather. I ordered a custom Howe 2 core radiator and it cured the problem sub 80*. However, when it got in the 90's it would run hot even with the A/C off with just the single ATI fan so I added a small 9" Spal fan above the blower to help get heat to that side of the motor. It helped, but lately we've had 100* plus and the car got to 240-245ish in that heat so I've had to turn the A/C off which sucked.

I finally got tired of it and ordered all new fans. I ditched the 16" ATI puller in favor of a 16" Spal puller that pushes 2070 CFM and a 14" Spal pusher rated at 1720 CFM, I also kept the small 9" Spal (590 CFM) above the blower.

Here are some pics of the setup:

9" and 16" Spal Pullers, total pulling CFM: 2660 CFM



14" Spal pusher fan 1720 CFM:



Misc:





If anybody plans on doing this I would advise either 2 12" pushers on the front or 1 12" pusher. The 14" fit correctly height wise however we had to trim the rail to get it to sit flush in the car, heres that process haha:





I drove the car home when it was 100* out side, A/C blowing through 20 minutes of city traffic, lots of stopping and going, converter slip = hot motor with zero issues, never went above 220, averaged 210. If anybody is having these over heating or running hot issues I strongly advise this mod. I don't know if just replacing the puller would have helped, however I didn't want do it then it still run warm.

Thoughts?

EDIT: Excuse the scratches on the fender, the car has been in the shop alot because I keep changing stuff! Also, the wires were taped/loomed after these pics were taken.

 

Do you have any pics with the radiator installed and everything back together? How much room do you have from the radiator to the most limiting part in the center of the radiator?

 

I can get pictures tonight, I don't have any really direct ones of the radiator, but this was after the install:



Unfortunately you can't see the fan by the meth line, but I'll get a better picture tonight.

 

Looks good. So did you have a pusher and a puller fan when you had problems and then added the 3rd fan (9in) to the mix?

 

Looks good! Does the puller come on at the same time as the other fans?

He originally had the ATI 16" and the spal 9" pullers. Now he has the Spal 16" and 9" pullers, and added a 14" pusher in the front.

 

Yes sir, all the fans are tied into all 3 relays but come on at the same time. Also if the car goes over 200 they stay on for 90 seconds after shut off.


Correct!

 

I've been thinking of adding a pusher to my puller as well.

 

Don't have the over heating issues some have and I am just running the SDCE fans with an LT1 radiator and the air deflectors in place. Glad you got it worked out for you!

 

Good to hear man. I'm watching you & Chad like a hawk for my build, LOL. I'm copying Chads fuel system & puller fans on the FMIC. And now looks like your fan set-up to help prevent overheating. I'm sure I'll have issues if I dont go possibly overboard on my fan set-up since my car is daily driven year round. I'd rather have a little more fan than some consider neccessary over dealing with overheating issues.

 

^ Yea I hear ya, that 6 weeks out of the year that plagues us with really hot temps is enough to make me do it. I love it now, and its nice that the 16" fan is a smaller profile than the ATI piece, everything fits a lot nicer now.

 

The fans look good! Bob

 

Heat with the ATI kit can be a pain.Have a few customers with 400+ci/ATI motor's that had the same problem. Did the 1 SPAL puller.Made sure that fan shroud is 100% sealed to the radiator,then sealed the AC condensor to the radiator and installed 2 10" pusher fans. The SPAL is used as Fan 1 then the other 2 come on as high speed. The cars have never gone over 210,even on 100+ degree days. Took some time to figure it all out though.

 

This looks good, I may have to do this as well. I have been not running the air. I don't really drive the car much anyway.

When I go at it, I want to do it just once. I have the Ron Davis radiator but have been holding off becuase I think it will actually make it run hotter, mainly due to the tighter fin count which will reduce airflow through the core.

Airflow is the key, I actually think the stock radiator or LT1 radiator is all that is needed with the right fan set up.

Nice! Next time cover that paint when those sparks are flyin'

 

Trust

Glad to hear that the change solved your cooling problems. My fan setup is identical to yours (Spal puller fans) but it wasn't until I added two 12 inch pusher fans to the face of the ac condenser that solved my cooling problem once and for all.

It's all about getting air through the ac condenser with the pusher fan on the face of the ac condenser so the the pullers on the rear of radiator get more air to pull.

The additional air flow from the pusher also cools the condenser so the AC cools better too.

BTW - mine is cooling great with the 97 SLP style radiator that I reinstalled proving you don't need a bigger radiator if you install the correct pusher and puller fans. In the pic below - hard to see but two 12 inch pusher fans are installed on the face of the ac condenser.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1835930...7623345499537/

BTW - no cutting is necessary when using two 12 inch pusher fans.

 

woohoo im so glad i saw this for future reference. btw, would anyone be so kind to pm me the best place to get an LT1 Rad (what yr is best or thicker?)

btw trust, since you have a scratch on the car now doesn't that take off like 5k off the price?

 

Haha, it was professionally detailed the next day .

 

Ok i been through this , I had upgraded to a spal extreme 16" single fan , it works but sounds like a tornado/hurricane under the hood when its running, didnt like the single fan operation either.

OK frist thing after the fan upgrade was i bought a SLP/LT1 radiator
The LT1 radiator cors are over a inch wide from what i remember maybe a 1 1/8 to 1 1/4 wide , its been a while i forgot, but i do remember that the stock LS1 Radiator is only about 3/4" wide.

Installing the LT1 radiator made the car run about 5 degs cooler at a highway speeds 50-70 MPH , stood around 175-180 degs , and at a stop when the fan kicked on the temps droped faster over the LS1 radiator. It was worth the $ IMOP

but still the single spal fan set up was no good, i didnt like it, to loud and can on all the time.
So i went for broke and bought the SD-concepts duel fan shroud kit, nice set up, 2 spal fans , one was i think a 14" and the other a 10 or 11" , the fans are street fans and made to last a long time & quite, and the metal shroud fits and seals tight against the radiator.
I wired the fans just like stock , I was impressed it worked perfect, and cooled the radiator nice, temps never climp above 180 when both fans are running. It was in the
90's the past few days here and very humid, and i seen the temps climp to 185-188 tops while the car ideled for a while,. highway speeds temps were at 180-184
I love this set up, and you cant tell every thing fit like stock .
I believe a SLP/LT1 radiator is all what most street cars will need with two "good" puller fans wired stock on a street procharged (P1-D1) system, one relay for each fan. But also a good sealed fan shoud, so there are no leaks and so air can be pulled and sucked through the radiator, also the air dam in place and if it is trimed for the twin intercoolers make sure its not trimed to short , it should be the full length of the radiator.
hope this helps

 

Very nice piece. I plan to create the same type of setup since I have to create a shroud and purchase the fans still. Would you be able to give me the model numbers of the fans used?

Also for making the metal shroud, would I be able to just use the stock fan setup as a outline on my stainless sheet? Or would I need to get the dimensions?

Thanks and any tips towards creating one would be helpful.

 

IDK the fan modle #'s and i cant see anything while they are mounted, everything is tight under there

 

Tips:

Don't get the Spal Extreme when getting a fan. It is for short term use only. SPAL notes that now on their site contrary to when I purchased mine.

Get the 16 inch fan that is built for street use. Call them for support (excellent).

http://www.spalusa.com/store/main.as...dy&c=FAHI&pg=2

Get some very rigid cardboard and trace the outline from an ATI shroud or the stock shroud. I would use aluminum sheet rather than steel for the shroud. Look for an industrial scrap yard that sells scrap aluminum. You should be able to buy a sheet for less than $20.

When tracing the template, trace bigger rather than actual size. This will allow you to trim to size when fitting the template to the radiator.

Tape and cover both faces of your radiator with carboard when fitting the templates. You don't want to gouge the fins or radiator tubes when installing the shroud.

The shroud should mount nearly flush on the face of the radiator. Therefore make sure all fan mounting bolts have a round edge with the bolts facing out with nuts and washers tightened from the fan side. You don't want the bolt heads gouging into the radiator when hanging/mounting the shroud.

For the small fan - a fan mounting kit is all that is needed to mount the fan to the shroud. About $9 at Advance Auto. Use bolts for the 16 inch fan. The torque from the fan might possibly shear the plastics pins (over time) if you use a kit. The 16 inch Spal has a lot of torque.

The hanging tabs on the shroud are the most important when cutting the template - not too short or not too long. You don't want the shroud to shift from left or right or up or down.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1835930...57623345499537

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1835930...7623345499537/

The ATI shroud has a 90 degree angle bend on the top and bottom of the shroud. Their purpose is to create a seal top and bottom. Rivet light aluminum angle to your shroud if you want.

Check for clearance when mounting the fans. You do not want the fan blades to get into the radiator when running. Because the fans are puller fans the blades will want to pull towards the radiator. A rubber seal between the fan facing and the shroud will aid in creating enough clearance. See pic below with the rubber seal installed for the 16 inch fan.

A Meziere ewp makes it nearly impossible to install the shroud. Remove it first if you have one. It's long snout interferes with the upper radiator hose also.

You can wire both fans directly into the stock wires or rewire the fan connections with the same type of weather seal plug matching the stock plugs routed to the relays.

Although you might find a used ATI fan for sale it will not pull the same amount of cfm as a Spal. Some say the ATI fan is built by Spal. I have the Spal Extreme and a new ATI 16 inch. The motor and blades are different from each other.

You can cut the holes in the shroud with a nibbler, electric saw, or cutoff wheel. I used all three.

Cut the 16 inch hole first, then mount and test fit. Mount the small fan as high as possible. Its bottom has to mounted high enough so it does not touch the charger. It must be low -profile (less than 2 inches thick).

Test rotation before you install the fans and shroud into the car and id each wire. Each fan must pull. Many fans have been wired wrong making them pushers instead of pullers. In fact ATI's instructions were wrong at one time (2004 time frame).