I know it's been discussed a lot about the pros and cons . I was pro mechanical fan before but I'd like to try and electric one for a bit. And if it continuously lets me down I'll just put the mechanicl one back on.
I've got the fan ,all the wiring,and a fan shroud made up. But it don't know what I'm going to do with the thermostat switch. I'm looking for ideas of good spots to put it. I really don't like the idea of putting it in line on the upper rad hose or splicing it in the a heater hose. All the spots on the intake manifold look pretty tight. The only spot I really like is the thermostat housing but there's no holes in there.
Soo.....your thoughts?

 

They make thermostat housings with threaded ports for this very reason for just about every old V8.

 

Do you know where to get them ? I can't find them on summits web sight

 

I put my switch in a T-fitting in the heater core line. It works, but I think I need a different, higher temperature switch. The one I'm using now closes the circuit perhaps a bit too soon and then never reaches the shut-off temp to open the circuit and shut the fan off.

 

Is it close to the water pump? And did you see any performance or millage gains ?

 

It's about mid-length of the heater core hose. I forget now if it's the upper or lower hose.

No performance/efficiency changes noted, not that I expected any. I mostly did it just to make the front-end of the engine easier to work on.

 

Ya that's part of the reason I'm doing it to. Way more room

 

This is my E-Fan conversion done with just about 90% Ford Junk yard parts for under $150 or so (Fan motor new OEM from NAPA)

I used a Hayden adjustable thermostatic switch that used a surface probe which I inserted at the very top of my radiator. It is secured with a small blob of tar next to where the hose meets the tank & fins. I bought it at Advance Auto (their brand, same part #) for about half of what it was priced at Summit. This is it "mocked up" on kitchen table:



This is the enclosure (Radio Shack) That houses all the above :



Taurus 2-speed fan & shroud mounted inside stock F fan shroud:



By removing air pump & doing a mech to elec fan conversion, my 5.8 was MUCH more rev happy & had a much greater throttle response. Better mileage? I can only surmise since I still have tank cross-flow and no accurate way to check. I firmly believe I have greater horsepower availability since there was much less rotational mass spinning although there are plenty here who argue that the alternator makes up for that even though I don't RUN the fan most of the time.

One of the greatest benefits to me besides the above is that with proper soldered push connectors is that I can pull the whole thing in about 5 minuets to do any sort of engine/front dress service, including NOT having to drain the radiator or disconnect hoses.

None of this is 100% permanent & could be changed back easily with the exception of how I suspended the Taurus shroud:



Interior switch control:

 

The thermostat housing has a "boss" cut into it left over from the 70s' that was used for a thermostatic vacuum control valve. You can drill & tap it like below. I use it for a mechanical temp gauge sender.

 

That was done to a stock housing?

 

Yep.......

 

Perfect. That's what I'm going to do then

 

Scndsin, your first pic, that's all a foreign language to me. I would like to do this myself though. I'm actually not a complete fool with electronics but all that seems like a bird's nest. Is there a version of that, that just comes ready to plug in? Haha

Also, is the dial in the engine bay to set the temp for "auto on/off"?

 

I build electrical stuff from scratch mostly. There is a term called "bread-boarding" & I have no idea why...

What you're looking at is 2 bulbs on the left standing for a separate speed of the two speed fan. The other bulb on upper right stands for the AC clutch. When it comes on, the fan goes automatically to "Hi" & back to low when it disengages. All done though the diode that came in that 3 relay box as was done from the factory.

Yeah, the **** on the box adjusts the temp that the fan "auto" runs. I dropped the probe in the oven with the whole shootin'-match sitting on top & with a quality oven gauge scribed temp numbers on the "dial" to ball-park initial adjustment & fine tune with the mechanical gauge.

Whole thing is protected by a 40 amp fuse. The rotary switch had a smaller 20 amp that protects the relay power.

Been working fine for years.

 

Follow the below link for thermostat housings.

It would make things a lot easier if you would tell us what you are working on, so that I don't have to go searching through your posts.


https://www.summitracing.com/search/...rder=Ascending