Re: The Duchess Project: 1940 Super 8 Convertible Sedan

Posted by Joe Santana On 2018/8/1 13:17:44

AUXILIARY RADIATOR FAN: If because of global warming, freeway grid-lock, or, like me, you're planning a trip to CA to submit yourself to both, you might be thinking of slapping on a 6v fan. Gird yourself.

I purchased online a 6v fan, mounting brackets, and thermostat control switch from Macs Radiator, an Oregon radiator repair company. They had rebuilt my tanks and installed a new core. When the stuff arrived, the Portland facility couldn't install it for a few weeks because of vacation schedules and backlog. The Portland company they send backlog work to couldn't do it either for the same reason. OK. I called the Salem office and they said they could, so I drove the Duchess 40 miles to Salem.

After a few hours, they decided they couldn't install it without removing the grill assembly, so they would need the car for a couple days. They would also need the wiring harness and relay for it, which arrived from Portland while I was there. I would need a ride home, so I told them not to install and drove home.

They had suggested Gibson's Auto & Electric which does a lot of custom and vintage car work. I made an appointment and brought the car in Monday. Over the weekend I removed the radiator splash pan in hopes they could install without removing the nose cone (grille assembly).

Gibson's is a very large and clean shop with a couple dozen vintage (Are '50s, '60s' and '70s cars vintage now?) cars. Don Gibson tossed out options for installing and wiring the fan, switch placement, function and finishing. After looking at the front end, he assured me, without removing the grille, they would install the fan high on the radiator where the hottest water comes in from the head. The thermostaticly controlled switch had a rotary knob for setting the temperature to turn the fan on from 180 to 240 degrees at the bottom of the tank. Once the temp is set where we want it, it should be be secured with a piece of tape.

I also want a master vintage switch under the dash to override the thermo-switch either on or off. If I'm through driving for the night or a couple hours, I can turn off the fan and let the engine cool down normally, saving the battery. If, and I think this would be rare, if the fan doesn't come on when it should, I can turn it on without getting out of the car on the freeway and adjusting the thermo-switch. He said the vintage switch had a 10-32 stem, so I modified the knob of a broken doorhandle by drilling its stem from the handle, cutting off its stem, and threading the stem 10-32 to screw on to the vintage dash switch.

Gibson's is thorough, too. Don started by checking out what I brought. He bench tested the fan which claimed to draw 3.2 amps, 750 CFM. It actually drew 2.1 amp directly attached to the battery with barely enough wind to move a piece of paper. He called Macs to confirm it was a 6v fan. They sent another "6v fan" with no difference in performance, unless connected to a 12v battery. The Spal harness/relay they sent to go with it was 12v also.

Don set about sourcing the correct components. He found and ordered 6 volt 40 amp Relays from NY.

For the fan, I had contacted Scotty's Cooling Fans, RI but had to leave a voicemail and didn't hear back for a couple days. In the meantime I had ordered the "6v fan" from Macs. Don called Scotty's also and had to leave a VM. Someone probably needs to forward calls to a cell. He contacted Speedway, but the 6v they offer is made in China, no CFM rating provided, and had poor consumer ratings. Passed on that one. He checked with Flex-A-Lite and Hayden - No 6 volt fans offered. At Maradyne Cooling, TX, he obtained a 6-volt Fan and mounting kit with a CFM rating manufactured by Maradyne in Mexico.

Gibson's will wire it up and cover the wiring in vintage asphalt casing to match what we have for all the other wiring.

For a complete install of the right fan in the right place, with a reliable thermal control and relay plus proper and some special switching, that suits a vintage car, we have $500-600 in components and 8 hours labor.

But I wouldn't go to CA this month without it.