Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

Does it make sense to add an electric fan to the Onetwenty's engine? The temperature always rises quickly during stop and go. Otherwise I have no temperature problems on long trips. I would also have enough space in the trunk for a second battery.

Not really. Better to locate and fix the actual problem rather than trying to patch it with kludges like electric fans.

Good afternoon...Just our own experience with our 1949 Deluxe 288, when we purchased her twelve years ago...After all the flushing of the radiator, engine, head, and water distribution tube, then consider that you might well have a leaking head gasker or prehaps a timing chain that is a bit stretched...We ended up with a new radiator and head gasket, and a rebuilt Delco distributor. The Delco does all the vacuum advance internally and the other manufacturer requires the entire distributor to turn, which makes the plug wires move, and that can be a problem. Ernie in Arizona.

As Don said, if there is a persistent overheating problem then a repair is needed but if your car is good most of the time and just needs help in heavy traffic then several have installed fans in front of the radiator that can be turned on or off for use when driving in parades or stop and go traffic. One poster I know of on this forum has a thermostat on his 1940 160 6v fan that can turn the fan on as needed in addition to having a manual on/off switch.

I don't know if you have a specific fan in mind to need a separate battery or if you just want to run it on an extra battery but unlike a few years ago, there are several places that now sell low power consumption 6v electric fans. Here is one that is sold by a company closer to you. I didn't see many specs on that fan but there are also several American companies with different sizes and selections. Here is Speedway's site, one of the American companies. In trying to avoid the overseas freight and duty charges possibly some German hot rod type companies would also have comparable products.

I think Howard means me. Here was my post.

As others have said, the cooling system will work as designed. For parades and traffic jams in very hot weather, I installed a 6v fan. There are fans advertised as 6v, but they are 12v. They run, but not as they should. Mine is a Maradyne Electric Radiator Cooling Fan with a 6v 40amp Relay for fan control, plus an override switch to shut the fan off on a warm day and many stops, so the battery doesn't run down.
MP-166-K6 Radiator Fan 6v $155.
MFA104 Fan Mounting Kit 45.
LAW 89105 20 amp circuit breaker 16.50
COL 3031 Inline fuse holder 14.
BUSS AGC10 fuse 2.50
HAY 3653 Thermostatic adjustable fan control 55.
GM 12513020 seal material 30.

'35/'36 /'37 Packard 120s seem to suffer from restricted airflow to the engine compartment. Anything that could impede airflow into and out of the engine compartment, such as a center-mounted license plate, accessory lights, badges, etc, is to be avoided. It's important to keep the radiator core free of bugs, butterflies, mud, dust, lint, and so forth, and to keep the engine and and splash pans clean. Any added under hood accessories should be located so as to avoid impeding airflow, so far as is possible. Adding insulation (header wrap) to the exhaust header pipe from the manifold back to where it is clamped to the bell housing would be a good idea.

My 120 has an electric fan ahead of the radiator. It is mounted very close to the radiator and above the center of the radiator core. It draws a lot of current and moves a lot of air. However, when it is not operating, and the car is moving down the highway, it restricts airflow through the radiator. Mounting a fan in the "well" just behind the grille and below the radiator core might be a good idea. The fan would need to be tilted somewhat to direct air backward and upward toward the radiator.

Many thanks for all the information. I can drive for hours on the highway at up to 100 km/h (with overdrive) and the temperature is stable in the middle of 100-180. Only without or with little airstream does it quickly go up to 180 and more. The cooling system is ok. Constantly restarting is not a solution either. Yes, the question is where to mount the fan.

The stock fan on the '37 120 has a rather low pitch angle and no shroud. I don't think it turns very fast relative to the crankshaft speed. The low pitch and low speed were done in order to keep noise down and support good fuel economy. The '38 or '39 120s had "cooling tunnels" added to front inner fender panels to exhaust hot air from under the hood. Refer to the literature library on this site for detailed information. I believe that 2 different fans were used on the 120s, with the later one having more pitch.

Correct. A heavy duty fan was introduced for 38 junior models to improve air flow in low speed cooling and was later authorized to be fitted on several other earlier and later models. A later second heavy duty version fan was also introduced for other models the first fan wouldn't fit. The bulletins mentioned the fans would not help problems with high speed cooling. Trying to correctly identify and find one of those slightly different heavy duty fans today would probably not be easy.