COMET CENTRAL

I bought this thing not long after I bought my Comet way back in '08 and it's been hanging on my garage wall ever since. Does anyone know which way is up on this thing? Is this even worth installing, it looks pretty puny.

I’d be curious too…….Have others found something better? If so, what is it and where can I get one?

Depends on your take on puny. I run stock radiator on my solid roller engine with aluminum heads and headers under the hood and don't have a cooling problem. I would recommend installing it. If you look at the dimensions, it only fits one way, shouldn't be hard to figure that one out. The slotted mounting holes are for vertical fit and the fan is centered in the shroud. My car runs 180F on the highway all day long at ambient temp of 90 degree F. If you're looking for a crutch, you have problems somewhere else in the engine. May be a timing issue or lean carb jetting.

Joe

My car has a basically stock and well worn, though good running 289. I normally have no overheating problems with a two year old stock replacement radiator, a 165° thermostat and an ancient flex fan until the mucho caliente ( see what I did there) part of the Summer hits. I also added a Gano filter years ago just to be safe. I (unfortunately) live in the Central Valley of California (trust me, it sucks here) and during the Summer it gets hotter than the Devil's 'taint. Here's this weeks forecast just so you know I'm not exaggerating:
I only described it as puny because it's very narrow and doesn't seem like it would direct much more air through the radiator than running without a shroud at all. I guess I'll pull the top hose off and give it a shot......may as well check/clean out the Gano filter while I'm in there.

the stock shroud for my comet is also PUNY,,,and it was forgot to be put on back in 95 when the car was redone,,but I run a 180 stat year round and it runs so cool it ain't worth taking the time and effort to add it back on,,,,I think it;s being used as a picture frame hangin on the wall in the shop....I never have had a heating problem,,,even tho I have a new heater core,,,this 289 in my comet runs so cool...the heater really won;t burn you up in the winter,,,there is more to a heating problem sometimes,,,,head gaskets wrong,,block clogged up,,,rad clogged,,,wrong fan....etc. pop

the stock shroud for my comet is also PUNY,,,and it was forgot to be put on back in 95 when the car was redone,,but I run a 180 stat year round and it runs so cool it ain't worth taking the time and effort to add it back on,,,,I think it;s being used as a picture frame hangin on the wall in the shop....I never have had a heating problem,,,even tho I have a new heater core,,,this 289 in my comet runs so cool...the heater really won;t burn you up in the winter,,,there is more to a heating problem sometimes,,,,head gaskets wrong,,block clogged up,,,rad clogged,,,wrong fan....etc. pop

Muttley wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 06, 2021 1:46 pm

Here's this weeks forecast just so you know I'm not exaggerating:

Don't doubt your honesty about the temps. I don't live in the Valley but down here it usually gets up to 100F every Summer as well. Like Pop, I don't use a shroud but I rarely drive the car when temps get over 90F. I do run A/C on the highway but kill it in traffic to keep engine temps below 200F just to be safe. Keep in mind, the hot thermostat was designed to be fully open @ 210F.

Pop hits on the major causes of cooling problems and you can cool an engine by keeping it in top tune, as well. Run the proper heat range spark plug and check the ignition timing. I also jet a tad fat for the Summer to help cool the engine a little more. In the Winter, it will lean back out with cooler temps. I guess the only saving grace we have down here is high humidity. It helps in the Summer.

Joe

Might someone have a recommendation for an aftermarket radiator shroud that will fit my original size radiator and 17” belt driven fan?