Electric cooling fan

[IndyJimW]

The first step for intalling the LT1 is going to be replacing the stock cooling fan with a electric system, also I'm tired of the noise from the stock fan. I found a new kit (part# FLX-180) from Flex-a-lite that should work fine. It includes a shroud, fan and controls. My radiator core measures 22x19 and this unit measures 21.5x17.5, I talked with a Tech Support guy at Flex-a-lite and he said that they have had this unit handle up to a 383 ci stroker. He also said that he used to work at a old Studebaker dealership so knows a little about the Avanti. Ordered from Summit for $250, should be here soon.

[SBCA96]

I found a new kit (part# FLX-180) from Flex-a-lite that should work fine. It includes a shroud, fan and controls. My radiator core measures 22x19 and this unit measures 21.5x17.5,

Sounds NICE! I am VERY interested in the results. Is it a single or a dual fan? I also want to

dump the mechanical power robbing ready to break off and fly into your radiator fan.

Tom

[IndyJimW]

Sounds NICE! I am VERY interested in the results. Is it a single or a dual fan? I also want to

dump the mechanical power robbing ready to break off and fly into your radiator fan.

Tom

Single fan system, you can see it at http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.a...15&autoview=sku

I should have it by Monday, I will post pictures. My '87 didn't use the Chevrolet radiator so I "ASSUME" this may work on all Avantis.

Jim

[jmenacker]

Single fan system, you can see it at http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.a...15&autoview=sku

I should have it by Monday, I will post pictures. My '87 didn't use the Chevrolet radiator so I "ASSUME" this may work on all Avantis.

Jim

I hope the electric fan set up works out for you. We tried to lose the belt driven fan on our '82 without much success. A single electric fan was first mounted on the engine side of the rad. The car would overheat in the summer whenever it wasn't moving. Forget about even thinking of turning on A/C.

We had a new three row radiator made up. It helped a little bit. Then we moved the electric fan in front of the radiator and put the mechanical fan back on. No more overheating. It is almost a little too cool now as the temp gauge hangs between 180 and 185 degrees -- on a hot day -- in traffic -- with A/C on.

There is no question that the mechanical fan adds clutter, robs Horsepower, and makes unwanted noise. We just couldn't seem to keep the engine cool without it.

Best regards,

Joe M in WV

[SBCA96]

There is no question that the mechanical fan adds clutter, robs Horsepower, and makes unwanted noise. We just couldn't seem to keep the engine cool without it.

So weird ... I dont see WHY it couldnt be setup with the electric. I was wanting to

go with a dual fan, staged, but even single, it should work. My Avanti is a mutant,

as it runs at about 140-150. I dont know what the deal is, I also have a leaking

core plug??? It takes forever to warm up, never shown the signs of running hot,

so I have no reason to doubt the gauge.

Tom

[jmenacker]

So weird ... I dont see WHY it couldnt be setup with the electric. I was wanting to

go with a dual fan, staged, but even single, it should work. My Avanti is a mutant,

as it runs at about 140-150. I dont know what the deal is, I also have a leaking

core plug??? It takes forever to warm up, never shown the signs of running hot,

so I have no reason to doubt the gauge.

Tom

There really isn't much room for air to get in and out of the engine compartment. If the electric fan by itself works for you, then that would be a good thing.

We got tired of turning the heat on at stop lights in the summer. Anxiety about overheating the new mill took too much fun out of driving the car. Reinstalling the mechanical fan put the problem behind us.

On our '82 my guess is that the A/C condenser inhibits air flow through the rad and it is difficult to get enough heat transfer without a strong puller fan.

Joe M in WV

[SBCA96]

On our '82 my guess is that the A/C condenser inhibits air flow through the rad and it is difficult to get enough heat transfer without a strong puller fan.

Could be .. I dont have A/C on the 63 (and its black). My Impala has two large fans, but a large engine

compartment. My Camaro has two large fans, and NO room in the engine compartment. I wonder if its

the dual fan setup that makes it work? Of course the fans are staged, so one comes on WITH the A/C

and then the other comes on at a certain temp, and then BOTH come on at a max temp.

Tom

[IndyJimW]

Fan kit arrived today and I was really surprised in the high quality of this kit, its better than most OEM pieces. The shroud is very well made with two fan supports molded into its one piece design, a strong piece that shouldn't flex. It has a very good one piece rubber seal around the outside diameter of the shroud that should seal a gap of up to 3/4". Each of the four sides of the shoud have two nutserts installed for the mounting brackets. Comes with several well made brackets, thermostatic control module and all necessary wiring. Looks easy to install, thermostat module allows you to wire into A/C so that fan comes on anytime A/C is on. You can have the fan controlled by the ignition or it can continue to cool after car shut off. I plan on installing the kit this week.

[SBCA96]

The shroud is very well made with two fan supports molded into its one piece design, a strong piece that shouldn't flex. ..... Looks easy to install, thermostat module allows you to wire into A/C so that fan comes on anytime A/C is on.

Sure sounds like a quality kit, lots of options. So then it IS a dual fan setup, thats NICE!

Tom

[IndyJimW]

I've started installation of the Flex-a-lite Fan kit and wanted to share some photos.

These are the parts you get with the kit.

This is the back side of the fan shroud.

This shows the seal and quikserts.

I pulled the radiator to make it easier to install the fan shroud, this shows how well the kit fits the Avanti radiator. The fan shroud sits between the tanks perfect, with about 3/4" of core height not covered. I will have to modify the brackets they include with the kit or find some others.

I will post more photos of the installation later.

Jim

[SBCA96]

These are the parts you get with the kit.

Looks good. I didnt realize that the Avanti radiator was so 'square'. A dual

fan kit wouldnt work too well. Looks like that one fits amazingly well!

keep us posted! (my DSL is dead, so my responses are slow )

Tom

[IndyJimW]

Being a professional mechanic I hate working on my own vehicles, so once I get started I usually "FIX" alot of things (that are bothering me). I decided to take the radiator down to the radiator shop I use to get them to build me some good fan shroud mounts, the ones in the kit were OK but.... Anyway I'm looking at the engine compartment and all the clutter in it

and decide to clean it up a little, one thing leads to another and now I'm;

1.) Moving the horns to behind the front turn signals on the bumper bracket, this gets them out of the engine compartment and out of sight. This also lets me to move the wiring harness for the horns and front lights from the engine compartment to behind the nose.

2.) Ordered a serpentine belt drive kit from GM. This will get rid of the old fan belt system, includes new water pump, alternator, P/S pump and A/C compressor. It will also move the A/C compressor from the drivers side to the passenger side of the engine, allowing me to get rid of about 10 feet of a/c hoses.

http://www.gmpartsdirect.com/results.cfm?s...number=12497698

3.) With all the room I now have with the radiator, shroud and all drive accessories removed I 'm going to install a ground kit that I've had laying around waiting for the right moment.

4.) Install new poly engine mounts.

5.) God only knows what I may see next, did I mention that I'm a professional mechanic and HATE working on my own stuff!

So now my Avanti's sitting in the middle of one of my bays, blocking my mechanics and ticking off my service writer. Did I mention that I hate....

Jim

[SBCA96]

2.) Ordered a serpentine belt drive kit from GM. This will get rid of the old fan belt system, includes new water pump, alternator, P/S pump and A/C compressor. It will also move the A/C compressor from the drivers side to the passenger side of the engine, allowing me to get rid of about 10 feet of a/c hoses.

All sounds great, but I am VERY confused about this one!! The LT1 will give you this

exact setup (though the A/C compressor might not clear the frame), you could save

the money and jump on that LT1 swap instead. Seems like an aweful lot of work to

do when you plan on changing the engine anyway.

Tom

[IndyJimW]

Not that confusing, I'm not planning to change the engine for awhile and the serpentine setup cures three problems I'm having now. A/C compressor bad, alternator not quite right and I HATE belts (20 years working on fleet trucks). Still not sure if I'll install a 350 or the LT1 yet, been watching the Chevy sites and learning the problems involved.

Jim

[SBCA96]

Not that confusing, I'm not planning to change the engine for awhile... Still not sure if I'll install a 350 or the LT1 yet, been watching the Chevy sites and learning the problems involved.

I can put you in contact with a guy I know who HAS an LT1 in a Monte ... if

that would help you. Also, try the 2nd gen Camaro website should apply:

http://www.nastyz28.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=49

Tom

[IndyJimW]

Got the radiator back from the shop, we removed the two radiator support rods and used the kit brackets to mount the shroud. The shroud should give plenty of support to the radiator as it is a very well made piece. I should have the installation finished in the next few days. Will post results with pictures.

Jim

[IndyJimW]

Just finished installing the fan kit.

This shows the radiator before installing.

This is the radiator installed.

This is the controller installed.

After I test the system I'll clean up the wiring, so far the sytem has worked find. The first thing that I noticed is how quiet it made the car. The fan is no louder then the heater blower fan on low speed. Seem to have more power off the line too. Now I'll have to fix that damn wind noise now.

Jim

[SBCA96]

The first thing that I noticed is how quiet it made the car. The fan is no louder then the heater blower fan on low speed. Seem to have more power off the line too.

Cool! Looks factory. Good work. I have read that those mech fans can rob quite a

lot of HP. Now .. the REAL question ... how does it cool??

Tom

[IndyJimW]

Cool! Looks factory. Good work. I have read that those mech fans can rob quite a

lot of HP. Now .. the REAL question ... how does it cool??

Tom

I just started driving it, so far so good. I will keep you informed.

Jim

[Guest berdes]

For what it's worth-- (pun intended) I picked up a Camaro dual fan with shroud from the wrecking yard. Same dimensions as the Avanti radiator. Not in yet but the trial fitting is perfect. Cost? $50.00 !!

[SBCA96]

For what it's worth-- (pun intended) I picked up a Camaro dual fan with shroud from the wrecking yard. Same dimensions as the Avanti radiator. Not in yet but the trial fitting is perfect. Cost? $50.00 !!

More details are required, what year Camaro? You said dual fans, so it must have been a 3rd Gen or a

4th Gen 350 V8. I have a 93 Z28 (4th Gen) and I have thought that the dimensions looked darn close!

Tom

[IndyJimW]

System works fine so far. The only thing I don't care for is the way the controller works, on at 200F, off at 185F. I'm looking at a controller from http://www.dccontrol.com/ you set it at the temperature you want and the controller adjusts the current to the fan to keep that temperature.

Jim

[SBCA96]

System works fine so far. The only thing I don't care for is the way the controller works, on at 200F, off at 185F. I'm looking at a controller from http://www.dccontrol.com/ you set it at the temperature you want and the controller adjusts the current to the fan to keep that temperature.

Keep us posted .. I am sure there are many here (not bothering to post) that

are interested in what you end up with!

Tom

[IndyJimW]

I've been testing the electric fan for the last week with great results. My engine uses a 195F thermostat and I haven't noticed much difference in engine temperature. There is some more movement in the gauge from the fan turning off and on, but it doesn't get any hotter. I still need to get the A/C running so that I can test with the A/C running. I have noticed a bit more power in first and I'm wondering how this may affect my fuel mileage. I can't tell when the electric fan is on and I really enjoy driving the car more now without the engine fan noise. I would highly recommend this fan kit.

Jim

[SBCA96]

I have noticed a bit more power in first and I'm wondering how this may affect my fuel mileage. I can't tell when the electric fan is on and I really enjoy driving the car more now without the engine fan noise. I would highly recommend this fan kit.

Well .. it makes sense that it would work better all around, I doubt that ALL the new car

manufacturers went to electric fans just to make things more complicated!

Tom