I'm doing a full modified restoration on a 69 convertible. I have a new 383 that puts out 450 horsepower. I also have a Tremec 5 speed and will install the Vintage Air system. I would like an aluminum radiator with electric fan(s). I live in So. Cal and will probably be under the speed limit, so I want to make sure I can keep this engine cool. I'd also like it to look cool. I've heard about dual fans that come on at different temperatures from each other.

I'd love some advice on how I should proceed. Be Cool looks good, but not sure of the exact setup. Flex-A-Lite seems to have some nice stuff, but I haven't heard much about them. I'd like to keep the cost under $1,000.

Thanks for your ideas and experiences that may help me make a decision.

you have private mail P/M

you might consider a dual speed F*rd Taurus fan, that is what I use on my (well before I blew the motor) and it kept it cool down here in Miami in stop and go with my 2 x 1.25 Griffin Aluminum radiator. The Taurus has a 2 speed motor in it. It would cost significantly less. When I pull my motor apart in a few weeks I am going to paint the fan housing body color, along with the rest of the engine compartment to give me a little better looks under there. It looks like you might be willing to spend considerably more however, so you may consider have a custom twin fan setup. All you need to do to have the fans come on at different temps is to wire two temp sensors or if someone makes it a temp sensor that has two switch points on it.

check this link
https://secure.wf-api.com/www.chevellecooling.com/46.html?psid=u9ZHJtgXHSlqqw.Dwb-O

Spal now makes a PWN control unit that is variable and works with the a/c units .

http://www.spalusa.com/
Don

I have a similar situation with my 69 Convertible here in Hotlanta. 440+HP, traffic and the want for cool air a blowin on the wife....and sitting on the thermostat cycling point is what it's all about. Mine was built five years ago when I designed the cooling system for it.

First, definitely buy a high-quality aluminum radiator and high-flow water pump (such as a TuffStuff, Stewarts or Edelbrock. The larger the radiator the better because it will diminish your need for airflow at idle under the most duress conditions and the high flow water pump will close the deal.

Alumitech, BeCool, PRC and a few others are very good and would cover most applications. While to take nothing away from Don here at Alumitech....great product...great service and knowledgeable folks... and probably best bang for the buck.... if I now had a choice in upgrading mine and was worried at all about keeping it cool under the most severe conditions... I would look at a Fluidyne aluminum three-row drop-in. See here... http://www.fluidyne.com/pl_hpdomestics.html That radiator has huge efficiency ratings with three 1" tubed rows, crossflow design.... and dovetailed with a moderate fan system knock em dead!....even a good mechanical fan. Be prepared to pay the piper tho.

There used to be only a few good electric fan systems to choose from...but now there are many more. Spal, Derale, to name a few....and while the suggestions of Taurus fans here are plentiful.... I would opt for a MarkVIII fan...huge....relatively quite for its size.....not too expensive....and whopping air production....probably the best electric fan out there now.

While multi-speed fans are the rage these days... I am more apt to keep it simple with single speed fans. Multi-speed fans require alot more electrical hookup and sensing... while singles do not. But, I will say that there are many new electric fans from different manufacturers that offer built in motor controllers and other fancy-smancy widgets to control the fans....that work well. Do your homework here.

I just received a Be Cool aluminum radiator kit with twin electric fans (I haven't opened the box yet).

http://store.summitracing.com/default.asp?Ntt=bci-80168&searchinresults=false&Ntk=KeywordSearch&DDS=1&N=115&target=egnsearch.asp&x=16&y=7

Summit Racing part number BCI-80168

It looks to be a nice setup, and with brackets designed for my car. Does anybody have good or bad experiences with this setup? The dual fans seem to cover a large percentage of the surface area (should be efficient). It should look nice under the hood as well.

Criddell..
I bought the same setup... it dropped in with no problems at all. I assembled everything onto the rad support outside the vehicle, and then dropped it all in as one unit (seemed like the easiest way). Good luck with it.

http://www1.cedar-rapids.net/00000083/temp/rad.jpg

I have a 69 camaro RS and I am considering doing the same and have done some checking into several options. I too don't want to spend $1000. I see on eBay a seller by the name Universal Parts Inc. has an aluminum Northern radiator(with built in trans. cooler) and dual Spal fan set up for $577 that includes the shipping. One of the gearheads at the auto parts store said the northern radiators were a good unit and that SPAL fans were the best. He does alot of racing. He told me that the Flex lite fan did not pull enough air to keep things cool. He usually though will go junk yard shopping and look for OEM equipment. Thats because he knows what he's looking for and I am not one of them. Two reasons is, it's cheaper and the factory stuff keeps things cool. I am one that too would be looking for a plug-n-play set up. Hope this helps.