8BA Fan Assembly with 17" Flex Fan

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decling

Senior Member
I just finished up a fan assembly for my 8Ba. Living in Arizona I wanted to use a better fan. I didn't want to put an electric fan behind my original radiator. I designed up this and made it. This will give me 1 1/4" between the fan and the radiator "on my setup". I am not happy with the bearing as it is loose. I read some comments on it and it is not the best bearing. I have a NSK bearing similar that will work so I will be changing it out.
 

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Last edited:
Re: 8BA Fan Assembly

More photos.
 

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decling said:
I just finished up a fan assembly for my 8Ba. Living in Arizona I wanted to use a better fan. I didn't want to put an electric fan behind my original radiator. I designed up this and made it. This will give me 1 1/4" between the fan and the radiator "on my setup". I am not happy with the bearing as it is loose. I read some comments on it and it is not the best bearing. I have a NSK bearing similar that will work so I will be changing it out.
Click to expand...
530617
 
That is an impressive amount of work to put a flex fan onto a flathead V8.

Personally I have never had an 8BA with a decent block and decent radiator that needed a bigger fan, the factory 8BA fans always moved plenty of air for the driving I do in south Texas.
 
Have you set the engine in the frame and set the radiator next to the engine?
With the 8BA style there is usually not enough clearance to run a fan like you set up.
 
Yes, I have a spare block in the chassis and the radiator in it. I had to replace the firewall do to a previous owner hacking up the original. I went with an aftermarket one that gave me more room. I actually have the motor mounts 1" farther back. this allows me the room for this setup. I will have 1 1/4" between the fan and radiator. this set up is ~ 3/4" longer than the original. So with the motor 1" farther back no issues. this could also have a shorter front fan mount as short as you want as long as the fan blades cleared belts and pulleys.
 
Do yourself a favor.
Little Harsh, but here it is.
Take that Fan and sell it a Swap Meet , or put it in your Recycling Bin.
Your Body, Radiator & Hood will be happier.
Stretch
 
decling said:
Yes, I have a spare block in the chassis and the radiator in it. I had to replace the firewall do to a previous owner hacking up the original. I went with an aftermarket one that gave me more room. I actually have the motor mounts 1" farther back. this allows me the room for this setup. I will have 1 1/4" between the fan and radiator. this set up is ~ 3/4" longer than the original. So with the motor 1" farther back no issues. this could also have a shorter front fan mount as short as you want as long as the fan blades cleared belts and pulleys.
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We (Heard Saxon & Myself) did something similar on his '36 3-W coupe with an 8BA. Typical situation with the radiator leaning back at top ..... very little room. Electric fans suck! So, we built our own. The KEY part is the bearing. We discovered the Corvair fan bearing that sits on top of Corvair engines. There are a few still floating around out there as NOS. Click the link BELOW for pictures and details. I have many more pics and details if interested. It cools well in Florida heat. As nice as yours looks, ours is much shorter front to rear.

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=278828


Coop


.
 
I’ve been doing similar using the black plastic (?) fans fro speedway .
Make sure to install washers on the attaching bolts on that fan !
 
V8COOPMAN said:
We (Heard Saxon & Myself) did something similar on his '36 3-W coupe with an 8BA. Typical situation with the radiator leaning back at top ..... very little room. Electric fans suck! So, we built our own. The KEY part is the bearing. We discovered the Corvair fan bearing that sits on top of Corvair engines. There are a few still floating around out there as NOS. Click the link BELOW for pictures and details. I have many more pics and details if interested. It cools well in Florida heat. As nice as yours looks, ours is much shorter front to rear.

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=278828


Coop




Yes, the design you did is what inspired me to do this. I looked for a while to find the bearing you used. Ebay at the time didn't have any. I found a local Corvair parts collector, he said he had one, but never produced one. I gave up looking as I was spending to much time looking for one.

This design was specific to my spacing between motor and radiator. I designed it to have the front be removable. That front piece could be adapted to be longer or shorter. Since the hole pattern the fan bolts to on the pulley is the same as the front piece you could bolt the fan there making it really short. I just wanted something unique. Probably more time and money than necessary, but it is what I wanted and doesn't have an electric fan that I didn't want.
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decling: Very nice work. You did good! I have a similar set up as V8 with a 17 in. fan and it works fine.
The most difficult part was finding an affordable chunk of 6061 aluminum to make the fan hub AND having access to a good lathe.
 

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19Fordy said:
decling: Very nice work. You did good! I have a similar set up as V8 with a 17 in. fan and it works fine.
The most difficult part was finding an affordable chunk of 6061 aluminum to make the fan hub AND having access to a good lathe.
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Thanks. I go to the supply house to the remnant section. The material are usually 1/2 the price per weight and I like to get big pieces to use to weld on to keep parts cooler. So I have a bunch laying around. I also have the lathe and mill to work with.
 
19Fordy said:
decling: Very nice work. You did good! I have a similar set up as V8 with a 17 in. fan and it works fine.
The most difficult part was finding an affordable chunk of 6061 aluminum to make the fan hub AND having access to a good lathe.
Click to expand...
530646


530647
 
19Fordy said:
Gee, I have been using a stainless steel flex fan since 1999. No problems.

What specifically is wrong with using a flex fan?
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I believe around 2013 a Flex-a-lite brand fan was coming apart. Something about the rivets and construction. Also some that were aluminum blades were stress cracking with fatigue and failing. This is a Derale stainless steel fan that is rated to 8,000 rpm. The pulleys are 1 to 1 and I don't think I will be running 8,000 rpm. That is all I know from what I have read. I have no first hand experience having one fail nor do I personally know anyone that has.
 
decling said:
I believe around 2013 a Flex-a-lite brand fan was coming apart. Something about the rivets and construction. Also some that were aluminum blades were stress cracking with fatigue and failing. This is a Derale stainless steel fan that is rated to 8,000 rpm. The pulleys are 1 to 1 and I don't think I will be running 8,000 rpm. That is all I know from what I have read. I have no first hand experience having one fail nor do I personally know anyone that has.
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The irony is that back in 1972 I had the stock 8RT Ford fan blade come apart due to work hardening and continuous flexing over many years. Fan blade pieces went into the radiator and through the 40 hood just missing my head as I was looking into the engine compartment. That was a "mind changer" for me.
 
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