I have a 70 El Camino with a rebuilt 350. Being that I live in Phoenix, AZ, it gets pretty darn hot for my car. My problem is that my car absolutely will not run under 200 degrees with the air conditioning on. It doesn't matter if its 90 or 115 degrees out, it insists on runnning at 205+. I have a 5-blade clutch fan but no shroud as one won't fit. I am condidering buying a dual electric fan setup. Will it help? What brand works best?

Thanks in advance,
Ryan

P.S. A shroud won't fit because I think this car was hit real hard - it's actually a 72 with a 70 front clip. Who knows what the previous owner did.

Generally speaking, electric fans don't cool as well as engine driven fans. If you want to go this route, get the highest CFM model you can find. There are a couple 2800 to 2900 CFM ones in Jeg's catalog. I have a 2800CFM one in my 67 (350CI) with an aluminum radiator and no A/C. It does get warm, >200degs, in traffic on a 100+ day. One nice feature is being able to run it without running the engine. However, it does draw 14 amps so be sure your electrical system is in top shape.

------------------
Pat Kelley
66 & 67 El Caminos

Most aftermarket fans will run in either direction. Got room in front of the radiator? Fairly simple to use the through ties and wire up a switch for a fan running as a "pusher". tom

Ryan, check out Flexalite's "Black Magic" fan. It is rated at 2,800 cfm and has a built-in shroud and thermostat. It works very well as long as the rest of your cooling system is up to par. What size/shape is your radiator in?

The "Black Magic" is a puller fan (mounted on engine side of radiator) and you should have enough room to mount a pusher on the front of radiator if necessary. At the temps you are running into, I would get the two electric fans, a high-flow water pump, and a high-flow 160 degree thermostat. This combo keeps my non-AC Malibu's engine nice and cool (never over 180) during Houston's hotter than heXX days down here. I can no longer remember what 90 degrees feels like during the day!!

------------------
'70 Malibu - 383 'Fog Fed' Stroker! Houston, Texas Gold Member #39
Chevellz Alwayz!

I live in AZ and i have no problems i have a 350 with about 400+ hp a friend of mine took off his fender walls and he said that it got cooler but you can't drive in the rain like toghnight

I always thought that the fan did nothing as long as the car was moving 20 mph or more. My '70 in L.A. runs nice and cool with one 16" electric only.(no a/c)
If you are driving down the road does your car run at 200 degrees? If so then fans are no solution, and you might have another problem.
The great thing about electric fans is that you don't need shrouds.

On my 1971 Chevelle with a 350/TH350, I just put in a brand new three tube radiator, a transmission cooler, and a 195 deg thermostat. I was having overheating problems where I was running 215-235 deg. After the 195 deg thermostat I run 200-205 pretty consistantly with no ac. The Chevy guy told me that the 350's were designed to run a 195 deg thermostat and I would get better compression with the engine temp at 200. He was right on that part, I could tell a difference in the preformance with it staying right at 200-210 verses the 180-235 I was getting with my 180 deg thermostat. Oil doesn't cook out until past 240 or so (so I have been told) so maybe hotter is better!

R,
If you can find an electric fan from a 85 Z-28 at the bone yard, it should do the trick and it comes with its own "built in" shroud. I had one on my 67 Camaro 10sec race car and could not make it run hot without turning the fan off. It is a real clean loking installation and I am sure it will fit right in the Chevelle. By the way, if the car still runs hot at speed, when there should be plenty of air going through the radiator, the problem is probably something other than the fan. My 71 Heavy Chevy has the original 2 core radiator that came in it new and you can't make it run hot either. It has a 355 and runs 12.50's street driven and has never been over 180 since the day it was new.


------------------
Bill Koustenis
Advanced Automotive Machine
Waldorf Md

1971 Heavy Chevy - original owner
Team Chevelle #100