aluminum fan

Hi Sir:

I would change to an aluminum fan. You can get one at Snyders, Mikes or your favorite Model A Vendor. They are balanced, powder coated and will not impale into your radiator or hood when it brakes (the original type of fan). One of our club members gave us a presentation on this showing how his original fan impaled into his hood. His repair cost close to $700.00.

Henry's 31
 
1930 coupe said:
You can inspect a original fan with a magnifying glass and find no cracks then go for a drive and throw a blade in 5 or 10 miles after inspecting it.
Many times they rust out from the inside and be just a couple of miles from failure, but the outside will look perfect. So if you decide to use a original fan DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK.
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Thsi right here. I have yet to find a good 2 blade folded sheetmetal fan. they can be 100% crack free but feel the blades themselves, they almost all have bulges from the inside out from rust. Some are near the tip of the blade some more centered but never evenly (aka not counter balanced, one side is always off balanced)

This is about like gluing different sized weights to any fan blade and expecting to to be safe.

Go spend the $50 or so for the one piece cast aluminum and dont have to worry about it.
 
A couple of notes. I had a stamped four blader on my '30 coupe. The one of the blades decided to fly off and introduce itself to my radiator. I was out on a tour at the time so we took the fan off, separated the two "halves" and continued on with a "two blader" after filling the radiator with stopleak. I won't get into what a mess that made in the engine compartment.

As a side note a few folks in my club have said that they have had "balance" issues with aftermarket two blade cast fans. I am rebuilding the engine in my '28 roadster as we speak (OK "having" it rebuilt would be more precise) and I plan on having the new cast fan I bought from Snyder's balanced before installation.
 
About 5 to 7 years ago some of the aluminum fans did have issues with blades not being straight or parrellel with each other. This also caused some balance issues.

All the aluminum fans I've checked for the past 5 years have been excellent in quality and balance.
 
There is no way to measure the remaining fatigue life of an original fan, so no matter how good it looks, you are playing Russian Roulette. Keep in mind that the principal loading on the fan blades is BENDING, TWISTING and TENSION. There is no way to reasonably repair, reinforce or enhance the fatigue life of an original fan.
 
I just got a new two blade from Snyder's last week. No delay. I like the looks much better than the four blade that someone put on it.
 
Like Tom, I also have several fan blades that do not have cracks in them. I like to use original parts, but I am torn between the "original" look and a possible problem. What to do!
Rusty Nelson
 
New replacement fan from Snyder's last year. Perfect fit right out of the box, no mods needed. Perfect balance. I would recommend a new aluminum fan to anybody who drives their Model A, for safety AND peace of mind.

And yes, the original IS garage art now even as we speak!!
 
Just bought an aluminum fan. Snyders has plenty of them. After installing it I took a close look at the 4 blade I took off. Not saying anyone is wrong but the fan is riveted in 8 places, 4 to the pulley and 4 it the hub. Then the castle nut also holds the blade. No way this fan would have come apart. Looks original. Maybe it' just the original 2 blade that falls apart.

By the way the 4 blade does pull through more air than the 2.
 
JOES31 said:
Just bought an aluminum fan. Snyders has plenty of them. After installing it I took a close look at the 4 blade I took off. Not saying anyone is wrong but the fan is riveted in 8 places, 4 to the pulley and 4 it the hub. Then the castle nut also holds the blade. No way this fan would have come apart. Looks original. Maybe it' just the original 2 blade that falls apart.

By the way the 4 blade does pull through more air than the 2.
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The old model 46 truck four blade fans are just as likely if not more likely to sling a blade as the original two blade fans. I've had at least two of the four blade fans sling a blade. The rivets didn't break, the blades cracked between the rivets and turned loose. Just because the old truck fans have four blades doesn't mean that they will move more air . The four blade fans have less pitch and don't move nearly as much air as the original two blade fan.

The model 46 fans were used on four cylinder Ford trucks from 1933 till end. These fans were sold as a replacement for the model A fan , probably in to the fifties . Some are newer than others and have less stress and wear. Even if the four blade fan is new old stock, it makes removal and replacement of the water pump very difficult and isn't the better choice.
 
There was a study on fan blades posted here a year or so ago that stated the 2 blade fan moved more air by as much as 15% over a 4 blade steel fan or 6 blade plastic fan . If you do a search you will find the study.
 
After replacing my 4 blade with the 2 blade aluminum I notice that at idle the car runs at a hotter temperature. The only thing I changed was the fan, so what makes it run hotter than when the 4 blade was on the engine? The pitch of the 4 and 2 look about the same.
 
Don't know. If you prefer the four blade fan, put it back on. If it hasn't been used much and is in excellent condition you will probably never have a problem .
 
wrndln said:
Like Tom, I also have several fan blades that do not have cracks in them. I like to use original parts, but I am torn between the "original" look and a possible problem. What to do!
Rusty Nelson
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You know what they say Rusty?...."You can pay me now or pay me later!"

Pluck
 
With all the repeat talk and posts about this, and new stories all the time about them coming apart, I am just surprised that some insist on still running the original ones, feeling that they just need to inspect them. Why in the world take a chance? Unless you have an original high point car, it doesn't make any sense at all......in a word, roulette!
 
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