I am new, and have been reading alot of the forums on cooling. I also have a 454, that is also stroked. in my 68. Powerglide transmission with a 3200 stall converter. I have had it for two months. It is set up for the strip and I am wanting to make it more of a street driver.
It runs hot 220 plus if I step on the gas. Currentley I have a three row copper radiator with a twin 2100 cfm fan. no shroud and a electric water pump. I think the thermostat is 165.
What would be better??? A mechanical fan/clutch with a shroud, or an electric 4200 cfm fan (shroud needed ?) Sounds like I must install a 2 row alluminum rad. regardless.

Jay

By no means am I an expert on this, however my 461 BB chevelle has a 4 core radiator with dual electric fans and it sits at about 190 in traffic in the summer. I have to find the specs on the fans.

I am going Aluminum, more efficient, a little expensive though, but well worth it.

I'm certainly no expert but I did spend alot of time worrying about this prior to my bbc swap.

In the end I went with:
a big summit aluminum radiator, custom fit for a chevelle
thermostatic clutch with 7 blade fan (used off ebay)
and a refurbed tuff stuff water pump
Kept the SBC shroud

It runs at 180 but, idles in traffic at 190 on the hottest of summer days.

Not to say that all combo's need a shroud, but the best cooling efficiency has come from set ups with a shroud

If you want an aftermarket fan that blows a lot of cfm......
look at derale or Spal....

If you want some OEM dual fans that blow a lot of cfm, look at the 94-98 or 98- 2003 Ford Windstar fans.....

I use the 2000 Ford windstar fans they blow 4200 cfm with
One fan is a 15.5" and the other is a 13.3"....
I bought them from Rock Auto..... Get the ones made by Doorman. I believe they are $108
Alum radiator from Summit part ending in 80457
mr gasket hi flow 160* t-stat 3 3/16th holes drilled , that worked better than my stewart t-stat
The combo is in the sig...
motor runs 160-170*

I will tell you those windstar fans blow hard......I even have a tranny cooler in front of the radiator and I can take a sheet of paper and it sucks straight to the radiator, even the part where the cooler is...... PM me if you want pics and more info on the set up..... Check the search function.... I posted the data from doorman on the fan specS.......

Thanks for all your ideas and info, I really appreaciate it.
Jay :yes:

Thanks for all your ideas and info, I really appreaciate it.
Jay :yes:

Did you get the photos in your pm?

You could lower the temps considerably by adding a shroud and a thermostatic clutch and a OEM style fan. Are those fans you speak of electric?

Yes the fans are electric, and electric water pump. Trying to decide to go shroud, mechanical fan, or keep what I have and change the radiator to double row aluminum with 4200 cfm fans. I also have to see if the current water pump is high volume.

I would look at that water pump if i were you...I was looking at buying an electric water pump and had many team members tell me to go mechanical for a street car.
If you have electric fans already i'd stick with them and deffinetly add a shroud.

Paul

You really need to look at WHERE/WHEN the car runs hot...

Does it run hot when idling in traffic?

Does it run hot when cruising down the highway?

Does the distributor have a functioning vacuum advance mechanism? If its set up for the strip, it might not... Same thinking regarding ignition timing, if its set for strip-only, if might be causing cooling issues on the street ( I hada similar issue with my Chevelle when I bought it)...

Electric fans are really great for low-speed cooling (idling in traffic), and they might save some HP when racing.

Depending on whats happening, you might not need to change the radiator or fans, but perhaps just the water pump...

Its been a while since I have thought about this but...
Hot at an idle, its often a symptom of not enough airflow across the radiator (where electric fans or a good shroud will usually help).

Hot when cruising down the highway could be more a water-flow issue, since you generally have alot of air being forced through the radiator... This could be water pump or a too-small radiator...

The 3-core radiator might be too small, but I'd look at some other things first, before replacing it...

Why not both fans? You'll need a shroud. Get the mechanical fan with a clutch. Then inside the shroud, install a slim-line "helper" electric fan, to come on only when exta cooling is needed.