fan shroud on my 65 caliente

[jtgb428]

just got my comet out after sitting idle for 10 years. my comet has a 289 in it and while I was checking it out I noticed that it doesn't have a fan shroud around the radiator. it appears that it is the original copper radiator from the factory. was there a shroud used on my car from the factory? and if not will an electric cooling fan in front of the radiator help keep the temp down a little? I plan on doing some engine performance upgrades so I would like to do things rite. thanks, jim jtgb428..

[Lip Ripper]

Don't worry about it unless you have overheating issues.

[CALIFORNIA CALIENTE]

Some 65 Comets had a Fan shroud,mine came with 289 and Factory Air,NO fan shroud.I bought an original shroud,never used it as I went to a larger radiator.I sold it to a guy who lives in Fresno,CA.,very hot and humid there in summer,he said it did its job! ROY.

[Comechero65]

Since the car has sat for so many years, besides flushing the whole cooling system and possibly a rad and stat change, adding a shroud is a given whether it has ac or not along with at least a fixed 5 bladed fan. I have always ran with the shroud and never had a problem.
Ron

[jtgb428]

hey roy, its been a few years since ive been posting. i read one of your eariler suggestions that a 6 blade flex fan will do the trick and i just ordered one from summit racing. i will get it on this week. what do you think about electric fans in front of the radiator and lastly do i absolutly need a thermostat? thanks, jim jtgb428.

[Comechero65]

hey roy, its been a few years since ive been posting. i read one of your eariler suggestions that a 6 blade flex fan will do the trick and i just ordered one from summit racing. i will get it on this week. what do you think about electric fans in front of the radiator and lastly do i absolutly need a thermostat? thanks, jim jtgb428.

The 6 bladed fan is a good candidate for some slightly improved cooling. I would try that before resorting to an electric fan. Whatever you do a thermostat is definitely needed. Leaving it out will cause the coolant to pass through the rad too fast and not enough time to cool properly. I run a 160 stat though I know many say that's not good, have done that for many years. Never an overheating problem. Of course I also run a 4 core rad with shroud and a 5 blade fan. And I have ac as well no issues.
Ron

[popscomet]

POP doesn't have a shroud ,I've never had a heating problem,even in parades or cruises,none what so ever,and mine has 180 stat year around.Some time after I got my comet back on the road,back in the early 90's,the guy I bought my comet from pulled up to the shop and gave me the shroud that he said came off mine when it was new,but by it not ever giving any problems,I never took the time to put it on,and mine still has the little dinky orignal rad still on it,but I did have a rad shop check it and they said it was in perfect shape and I have a fixed 5 bladed fan....pop

[CALIFORNIA CALIENTE]

Jim;T-stat heat range depents a lot on what temperature the car has to live in.Out here in So.CA.,most get by with a 160 degree stat,if in colder climates you may want 180 or even 190 degree stats.I have had great luck with a composite 6 blade flex fan,have never used an electric fan either in front[pusher] or in back[puller],so I have no comment!In 143,000+ miles of So.CA. driving I never used a fan shroud on a factory three row,copper-brass radiator,never have had an overheating issue!!!I run a 19X26 all aluminum fan on the Comet with the 418" Windsor,NO T-stat as there is no provision for one,farthest it has been street driven is 12 miles each way to a car show in 90 degree heat,no issues!! I run distilled water and an attitive with water pump lubricant and an anti corrosive !! ROY.

[jtgb428]

Thanks guys, great info..Jim jtgb428..

[caseville cyclone]

Roy I'm SHOCKED, your Caliente had A/C and you tease Sassy about having all the creature comforts in his car!!! HA HA. I know that A/C is long gone or are you hiding something from us? Andy

[CALIFORNIA CALIENTE]

Andy;my wife was 8 months pregnant when we bought the Comet,the AC WAS the selling point!!! It is LONG gone,sold it to a friend,it is coming back in a 1953 Mercury Monterey 2 door hardtop,428FE,C-6 with a Gear Vendors Overdrive,9" with 3.70s and Traction-Lock,and 4 wheel disc brakes!!! I hope everyone realizes I am just bagging on all the creature comforts they have or are adding to their Comets,hell,I have disc brakes on both of my Comets and my 2002 F350 has ALL the creature features!!!!!! ROY.

[caseville cyclone]

Roy funny story,my wife was 7 months pregnant and I traded my 1965 Comet Cyclone because we were going to have a family. We traded it in on a 1967 Ford Galaxie 500 with a 390 2 bbl.,no power brakes,no powering steering and no A/C,although it did have an automatic. You should have seen my wife trying to steer that big boat being 7 months pregnant. I often wonder what ever happened to the Cyclone? By the way keep on bagging Fred,it gives him some incentive to do something just to keep warm!! Andy

[Aussiecomet64]

I wanted to get rid of the factory 5-blade fan in my '72 Falcon (351W) simply because in summer over here, we regularly get daytime temps of over 100 degrees, and let's face it, a belt-driven fan works hardest when it's needed the least (high road speed/higher revs), whereas in stop/go traffic, it's sitting there idling when it should be pulling LOTS of air. So I installed a 12" electric fan onto the 3-core radiator with no shroud, and the car almost instantly overheated on the first hot day.

I then sourced a genuine '70s Ford plastic shroud and mounted the electric fan to it, then mounted this assembly to the radiator.
A definite improvement, but still not adequate.
I was discussing this with my 22YO son, and he suggested a genuine Ford twin-electric fan assembly out of a modern Falcon. So a trip to the wreckers and $80 later, I've got a big plastic shroud with 2 big electric fans built in. I wired it through a dedicated relay, and used the thermo switch from the aftermarket fan, and this setup worked 100% until the aftermarket thermo switch failed.
I have since sourced a dual-range temperature switch from (of all things) a BMW. This is screwed directly into the left-hand tank of the radiator, is wired through 2 relays (Hi and Lo), and once I get this damned EFI system finished, I'll let you all know just how reliable it is.

This might seem like blasphemy, but if the system is 100% reliable, I might just use it on the Comet as well.

[CALIFORNIA CALIENTE]

Sounds good!! My friend built a 496,70 Chebby,used a factory GM shroud with the two fans.When the second fan would kick on it pulled so many amps it almost killed the engine!Not sure how big his alternator is,but he disconnected one fan,it runs cool enough with just one fan anyway!!I was looking at an early 2000s Lincoln that had a 4.6,loaded with accessories,that used a factory shroud,twin fan setup,looked about right width,nice and compact,was thinking if I have cooling issues with my wagon I may look for that setup,or similar!! ROY.

[comethead]

Im using a stock 5 blade fan, steel shroud, 180deg stat, and a NPD 3 row stock looking brass radiator. Stays super cool ALL the time.

NPD now carries a super nice USA made 3 row stock looking copper/brass radiator https://www.npdlink.com/store/products/ ... -2823.html
If my rad takes a dump thats the one Ill be getting.

Joe