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I am wondering if this fan would work on our cars. I think it was determined KevinAZ has a Mopar fan although it is slightly different in blade tip design than this one.

Does anyone also into Mopars know whether the engines this fan lists for has hubs similar to our Packard fan hubs so that all it would need is the holes enlarged like Kevins fan. I do see some fan clutches associated with the same engines so perhaps that is also required--in which case a no go???

KevinAZ fan

Mopar fan

EDIT: The center shaft hole appears smaller on the Mopar fan pulleys but looking carefully at an enlarged view of Kevins fan on a following post, unless it is camera angle, his fan looks ragged on the hole circumference as if the center hole was also enlarged.

Howard, I installed an aftermarket 6-bladed fan on my '55 Clipper. It was originally on my '47 Custom Clipper, but I found a Packard 6-bladed fan to use instead. The center hole is too small to fit over the pump shaft, and to bore out the hole would get into the four slotted mounting holes. To overcome this I spaced the fan out from the water pump hub with some flat SAE washers. The mounting holes are slotted to accommodate different bolt patterns and are self-centering. It is about one-half inch less diameter than the stock fan. The blades are aluminum and the center part is steel. I painted it black so as to hide in plain sight. It has worked well, quiet and smooth. Photos of it are in my project blog.

Thanks, JW. I don't need a fan but there have been some people on the forum recently who have been looking and not finding an aftermarket flex fan quite suitable--either because of looks or fit. Was thinking that new Mopar fan could possibly work as is -- but after reviewing more, believe not. However, I think it may be able to be made to fit and I think possibly that is how KevinAZ's Mopar fan was done. If so, it would be a steel alternative that would not look quite as out of place as the typical flex fan.

Here is my reasoning--and sometimes my reasoning is faulty so anyone feel free to disagree.

The Packard V8 fan is roughly 18 1/2 x 4 1/4 blades and a 1 1/4 center hole. 53-4, I expect is similar in size but don't know about the hole.

The new Mopar from BPE is 18" x 2 1/8 so yes, it is somewhat smaller. Center hole size is unknown but I'm guessing from looking at the pulley about 5/8. I don't know if the fan Kevin has is that overall size or not but the two side by side look close. One question right off might be how much better would the smaller size of the 6 blade be than the standard Packard 4 blade.

The Packard fan has a wide center hole but it's outer circumference is fairly close to the bolt attachments. The Mopar pulley has a fair amount of space between the center hole and the bolt holes. Looking at Kevins fan, I'm leaning to his fan hole being opened up because the finish edge around the center hole is not smooth. If so, a couple of unibits--one to start the enlargement and then changing to a large #21 size would do the job nicely on the center, keeping it centered and I think still not get any closer to the bolts than the Packard fan. It would need a drill press for a good job though. A round file would most likely take care of the bolt hole elongation.

A spacer is also a viable alternative and there are several thicknesses out there but I think the large center hole is still a problem with real spacers. There is always the washers.

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Howard, with all respect, I do not believe the fan blade shape is important, unless the car is being judged. In that case hold out for an original Packard fan. Once installed an after market fan, like the one I used and painted black, is almost undetectable. No problem using washers to space the fan away from the water pump hub. It works for me.

(o{}o)

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JW, I totally agree. I was trying to give another option with the fan because there have been at least two people in the last few months looking for the heavy duty Packard fan--with unknown success. One poster did buy a modern aftermarket fan recommended by it's mfg as fitting the car and it didn't. Unsure what anyone else did.

Looking at some of the larger catalog sites, seems most now sell a variation of the same style fan for aftermarket with the slots for a universal fit but our hubs won't work without needing the washers or a spacer. One of the people looking would rather have one not using washers so that leaves few options.

The aftermarket universal fans with slots preclude enlarging the center hole so as I see it, the best alternatives would be to find a fan that can be made to work directly like maybe the Mopar, or make or modify a solid spacer with holes to fit our hub. 61 spacers shown on the Napa site & it appears all the best candidates seem to have slots or small centers like the fans. Other options are use the washers, mill off the protrusion on the Packard hub, or find the real Packard fan.

Of the options, If a real fan is beyond reach, I think the Mopar type fan or the spacer might be the better alternatives. Milling out the back of a spacer to fit the hub might even be the best one because many fans including the Mopar would then fit with minimal work. Washers work, but some are uncomfortable using them alone - either because of looks or the perceived lack of solid support in case a bolt should go missing.

"Milling out the back of a spacer to fit the hub ..."

Yes. THat's exactly what i did on my 56 Exec. However it it is more of a simple lathe turning operation than a milleing operation.

If a fan can be faound that has the rite BOLT pattern but a center hole that is too small then patient HAND fileing of the fan center hole will work just fine. Probably about an hours worth of work.

I used the spacer and machine cut it to fit water pump hub because i wanted the fan closer to radiator and had a mill/rotary index table available to me at the time.

at this point i believe a fan SHROUD is the best way to go and forget about 6 blade fans. However i have not been able to find any kind of MODERN PLASTIC PRODUCTION shroud that can be cut to fit. I've tried at least 8 different such shrouds over the last 8 - 10 years. Mounting and clearing lower hose and centering of madern fan shrouds seem to be a problem because most modern shrouds are for cross flows.

I suppose one could fabricate a spacer ring. This would not be too complex a job, but would require some good skills. The ring would provide full support to the fan and might address the concerns of those who do not want to use washers. This would also eliminate any permanent modification to the pump shaft hub. Just a thought ...

(o{}o)

Have you looked at any of Vintages shroudsvintageair.com/ Catalog Page 78 & 79 show several universal cut to fit. Some look to be vertical.

If you find one that fits, kindly come back and tell us the exact fan and precisely what you did to make it fit.

At this point, with air still uninstalled, I'm leaning to an electric fan and adding an alternator. that seems to be something the local "certified master mechanics" can actually handle. Maybe.