Just speaking from personal experience, two of my friends with new builds had/have cold case. 70 challenger 383 450hp or so, 100 amp Alternator, Had a large single fan that came in the kit, overheated at the drags, runs hot in town... Changed to a Griffin rad. and dual SPAL fan setup works great now.
Friends recently rebuilt frame off 64 Pontiac GTO modified solid cam +.040 389 Hi power Alternator, Coldcase dual fan runs hot everywhere but 50mph+ speeds. he's getting ready to pull it out as soon as car show season ends.

I'm not sure what fans Cold Case ship with, maybe that's the issue my friends had/have ?

Whatever you do, I try not to support China if possible.

 

Spal has a nice dual fan setup that fits first gens well. Summit has them.

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Dont place too much faith in cfm specs. It is so easy to fudge the data.

Don

 

Jeez. I just bought the CC with dual fans. I hope I don't have that problem. I did all this research and it was the most recommended in relatively affordable price range.

 

Jeez. I just bought the CC with dual fans. I hope I don't have that problem. I did all this research and it was the most recommended in relatively affordable price range.

They work fine for many people,
I'm just telling you my experience with guy's I run with every weekend.

Whats that saying..
Good,fast, cheap.. pick two.

 

Thanks for all of the replies so far. Unfortunately I do seem to be in the scenario of the CC fans not being enough. If possible I was hoping to modify/reuse the CC fan shroud for use with SPAL fans. I should be able to just add some rivet nuts or nutserts if the holes don’t line up. I am still concerned though over how much the SPAL fans will help. A couple of thoughts/questions:
1) CC fans claim to be 1200 CFM each. Depthwise, I don’t think I can fit SPAL fans with a whole lot higher CFM rating. Are there fans just that much better?
2) I am controlling the fans as single speed units with individual relays activated by the Holley Sniper EFI ECU. I have measured voltage and get 12v when the fans are running. I assume this same setup will work with the SPAL fans?
3) I could possibly fit a pusher fan on the front driver side of the radiator (input side on cross cooling rad). Should I consider that option?
Thanks again

 

As I said cfm ratings are often bogus, especially when dealing with offshore vendors. Your fans are very likely not 1200 cfm. Spal is a trusted supplier, you can believe their numbers.

Current consumption is a good indicator. The higher the current, the higher the cfm in general.

The Spal fans sold by Summit will work with your relays.

Don

 

I also have a BBC with CC radiator, custom shroud and dual 12" Ford/Bosch fans, plus I have vintage air which means the VA condenser blocks the air from going directly thru the radiator to some degree. I haven't driven the car since last October (no interior) but on a balmy fall night of around 70° the car would run at about 190° at 50 mph. Get down to 20-35 mph and stop and go in town... temp would climb to 220°. I wasn't getting full voltage at the fan controller so I rewired it direct to the terminals. Hoping when I get my interior in I can do some road testing and see if the problem persists. Engine tune hasn't changed since before the addition of AC, serpentine, CC, and eFans. With the old BBC 4-core and straight mechanical fan (no clutch) I never saw temps over 180°-185° unless I was stuck in dead stopped traffic on a 95° day.

In theory, the CC radiator on paper should be more than adequate, but several people have had similar issues leading to different fan setups. I seriously doubt that the CC dual fan system is adequate for a BBC with AC and a cam. Spal fans are probably the best aftermarket fans you can buy, maybe followed by DeRale. My personal opinion is that a BBC needs at least 3000 cfm if not more. If I can't get my setup working correctly, I'm thinking I might either put the 4-core back in or buy a different brand radiator. Vintage Air sells a "Monster" 18" single fan that has a brushless motor... its supposed to be a beast, and its made by Spal. There's also been some discussion of using the dual brushless fans from a Chevy Volt which are either 12" or 13" and are part of an integrated shroud. If you have a Holley Sniper you can probably control the brushless fans, but for those of us running a carburetor and no ECUs, I guess a brushless fan will need some sort of custom controller. Nobody's explained that in detail, most discussion has been controlling brushless fans with a Terminator or Sniper setup.

 

i originally had a single 16” fan from CC, but I had clearance problems with the original long water pump setup. I went to the dual fan approach, but also went to a short water pump. Even in that configuration i am somewhat space limited. I also would like to see at least 3000 CFM, but I’m not sure I can get there. CC says the 2 fans are 12” fans, but it looks like 11” fans are the largest I could use from SPAL. They have a 1605 CFM fan that I MAY be able to fit depthwise on the passenger side. It definitely won’t work on the driver side. I can probably only get about a 1000 CFM fan on the driver side. That only gets a little over 2600 CFM; however the hot input side would have the bigger fan.

 

The dual Spal fan setup has a shroud, no need to try to mount it to your existing shroud. Trying to cobble something up or adding a pusher is not a good strategy imho…

Your underlying assumption that the cold case offshore fans are 1200 cfm is not valid imho.

This one

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Don

 

Also make sure your wiring is up to snuff. You should have 13.5 volts on the fans when the car is running and the fans are on. If the wire is too small or you did not wire them directly to the battery it will cause low voltage and they will move less air. This is important.

 

THIS^^^ !!!

I ran dual electric fans with Champion 3 row aluminum for 4 years and overheated in stop and go a couple of times (1970 Chevelle with BBC). To get ready for Hot rod power tour, I upgraded to 2 14 inch SPAL fans. Each fan draws 19.5 amps. I did not upgrade my fan wire relay kit, nor did I upgrade my 100 amp alternator. I burned out a fan relay and discovered my fan relay wires were getting VERY hot. I am ordering the SPAL fan relay kits and 150 amp alternator.

 

i do like the referenced dual fan setup from SPAL and may go that way. Any thoughts on the similar setup from DeRale rated up to 3600 CFM?

I will also go back through my wiring again, in fact I probably need to check overall draw to ensure my 100 amp alternator is sufficient

 

i do like the referenced dual fan setup from SPAL and may go that way. Any thoughts on the similar setup from DeRale rated up to 3600 CFM?

I will also go back through my wiring again, in fact I probably need to check overall draw to ensure my 100 amp alternator is sufficient

I am not familiar with that derale setup but I do know I place higher trust in Spal to be honest with their CFM ratings. Compare current draw to be sure. Higher current generally means higher cfm but they have to be specified under the same conditions.

 

The SPAL setup puts out 2700 CFM and uses up to 39 amps. The DeRale system says 3800 CFM at 37.4 amps. I assume you are correct that the current draw may be a more important stat to look at than CFM. I think I will give the SPAL setup a try

 

Check the voltage on your current fan setup before you spend more money on fans.

Don

 

Don's advice is sound. I discovered that I was only getting 11.4 volts after he suggested I check mine out. I subsequently have rewired my PWM fan controller direct to the battery terminals. IIRC, Spal shows you fan ratings with zero static pressure, meaning a free-standing fan with nothing in front of it. So when they say a fan is rated at 3000 CFM at zero static pressure, and that fan is then placed in a shroud and attached to a radiator... the peak CFM will drop by some factor based on the airflow passing through the radiator. All that being said, Spal fans are known as being extremely powerful and efficient. And their brushless fans seem to be both powerful and super slim.

 

Flea lite has always been my choice. Never had an issue.
Stupid autocorrect
Flexalite

 

Currently running about 12.7 bolts which I don’t believe is too low.

 

spal has 11" brushless fans with around 1500cfm per fan and correct temp sensors kits that on it at 160 and off it at 180 for example..

If my mechanical setup wouldnt be so damn effective and keep me at 140 at cruise and 160-170 in hot stop and go traffic i would go that dual spal brushless way with my big 4-row radiator.
But then i would also switch to an electric waterpump and therefore whole new accessory drive

 

The PWM sold by Northern Radiator and designed by Carl Casanova is one that a few us are using. It works great, but won’t work with brushless fans. Carl told me a month or so ago that he’s working on a PWM that will control brushless fans.
The current Northern PWM can be purchased with a 180 or 195 degree sensor that is adhered to the side of the radiator tank close to the lower/outflow hose. It also works with AC setups.

 

The Northern controller can be purchased on eBay.

I have also used the DCC controllers with good results.

constant temperature controllers

Don

 

So I got the SPAL shroud and fans from Summit and gave them a try yesterday. I let the car run for 30+ minutes sitting in the garage. Worse case went to about 205 with hood closed and AC running. I haven’t been on the road yet, but it looks like the SPAL setup is definitely better and may work.
I temporarily mounted the setup using zipties. Now I need to figure out how to mount it permanently. The shroud is not the right size to fit “around the radiator like the matching CC shroud, so unless I come up with something better I may need to fabricate some type of brackets. Any ideas? Additionally, the shroud sits off the radiator and leaves about a 3/4” gap all around. Should I trim the shroud to fit closer? Ideally, how close should the fans be to the radiator?

 

You want a gap, the fans should be spaced off the radiator so they draw air from the entire core. But the edges of the shroud should be tight to the radiator with no gaps. So you will need to fabricate a mount for the fan shroud. Maybe you can cut up the cold case shroud to make a mount. Hard to say without being there.

Don

 

However you mount the fans, try to keep the fan hub/blades away from the core of the radiator. Inside the shroud I was told 3/4” to 1” should be the minimum space between core and shroud. Almost looks like you could wrap a band of aluminum around the Spal shroud where it is and fasten aluminum to plastic with pop rivets? Then fabricate some brackets to mount to the hollow crossover on top/bottom.

 

I think I will go the route of modifying the CC shroud. It has the necessary bends to fit into the top and bottom of the radiator, will close the gap and should hold the fans about 1.5” from the core. I can cut off the top and bottom sections and then use nut rivets or something similar to mount the SPAL shroud onto the end pieces.

 

I ended up using the Spal 11" dual fan setup for my 500hp LS engine, 94 degree day in traffic temp went up to 203 and while cruising 197. I had a metal shop bend some aluminum then I fitted and trimmed the pieces to fit the rad. You might have to notch out near the flaps.

 

I ended up using the Spal 11" dual fan setup for my 500hp LS engine, 94 degree day in traffic temp went up to 203 and while cruising 197. I had a metal shop bend some aluminum then I fitted and trimmed the pieces to fit the rad. You might have to notch out the near the flaps.
View attachment 292212 View attachment 292213 View attachment 292214

Very nice. I ended cutting the upper and lower sections from the old CC shroud and then using threaded inserts to attach the SPAL setup. The old shroud pieces fit nicely like your new metal. I have not hit the road yet, but I am hopeful that I will see similar performance

 

A lot of discussion on electric fans . . . . . .why not just go as the factory set up with no issues of over heating for decades. None of the 37 F bodies I have built had EF and cool just fine. The loss of HP is minimal. JMO

 

I guess it is just a matter of personal preference. Some guys are worried about HP loss. Personally, I prefer the clean look at the front of the engine compartment that comes with the electric fan setup. The factory setup works great, it’s just not for everyone ...

 

Pretty clean look, has taken best engine awards 22 times in every show it has been in.Front of the engine is all original, painted or chromed. To each is own, your right

rds 22 times in every show it has been in.Front of the engine is all original, painted or chromed.

 

Nice but you lost me with that upper radiator hose. You hate electric fans, I hate those hoses… A properly fitted rubber upper hose looks far better imho. Not those universal flex hoses, I hate those too…

Don

 

A properly working and correctly fitting electric fan is just hard to beat. Look at all the high performance high HP brand new cars that use them.

When you need the airflow most, is when your sitting in traffic at IDLE.

Which is moving more air, a mechanical fan mounted to an idling engine, or an electric fan setup running at 100% ?

All these electric fan issues in my opinion, are mostly caused by a poor choice, or manufacture quality...

 

Maybe a Moderator will chime in and delete the posts that have nothing to do with the topic of "Electric fan recommendation".
Some feel its necessary to offer condescending advice and then gloat, while others offer up sarcasm to not hide their resentment, last time I checked there's another forum for non GM cars.

 

Maybe a Moderator will chime in and delete the posts that have nothing to do with the topic of "Electric fan recommendation".
Some feel its necessary to offer condescending advice and then gloat, while others offer up sarcasm to not hide their resentment, last time I checked there's another forum for those kind of cars.

Agreed. This thread was very helpful, and I look forward to posting more info about results when I get the opportunity to test the car; however there is no need for the sarcasm. Asking why an alternative approach is not used is fine, but without the judgement. At the end of the day, the owners opinion is the only one that matters. Build your car the way you want it built, and recognize that some may appreciate while others won’t. All stock is awesome. All modified is awesome. Somewhere in the middle is awesome. These cars are awesome!

 

I believe this is the PWM some of you are referring to: Z18350 NORTHERN PWM Fan Control Kit, correct?

The product description is as follows:

Z18350
PWM Fan Control Kit
High Efficiency Pulse Width Modulation Cooling Fan Controller

• 40A standard current capability
• AC over-ride
• Overheating protection
• All components UL-94 compliant
• 180 Degree temperature sensor included part number Z18352
• 160 PART Z18351 and 195 PART Z18353 Degree sensors are available and sold separately

Each 14 inch SPAL fan draws 19.5 amps. I have 2 fans. Is a 40A controller enough if I am drawing 39 amps?
I recognize that it only draws that at 100% capacity.

 

Yes… that’s the one. You can double check with Northern or contact Carl, and confirm that this PWM will properly handle your brush motor Spal fans. This unit does not switch them on full power, it’s a ramped slow start to not create too much of a load.