Bainzy Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Finished this up the other day. Here's a photo of the fan in place during the installation (before I'd fitted the sensor and wiring):As you can see, a fairly tight fit but still plenty of room to move it around a little to get it right where I wanted it. This is a pull fan, 10" cheapie from ebay and is exactly the same type that Tom used for his twin install at the front of the radiator. I also later used the same alloy adaptor and switch in the top hose that he got from ebay. My car still has all the original cardboard valances, in front of the radiator and at the side of the engine.The fan works brilliantly, and as soon as it comes on the temp gauge stops moving and climbs back down to normal temp. Any speed over 5-10mph and the radiator seems to work at full effectiveness as the needle doesnt budge, and its only when idling for some time that it will creep up.It's pretty loud if you had it running with the engine off, but when it comes on at a traffic light with the bonnet shut, it's fairly difficult to hear over the engine, you have to be listening for it. Through-rad mounts aren't as bad as I expected, but still aren't an optimum solution so eventually when I get chance I will make some brackets to mount it on instead. So far no leaks and it all seems rock solid.Warmup time is a hell of a lot quicker, half the time at least - especially if the car isn't moving. Definitely a mod worth doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Sounds like a worthwhile job worth doing, do you have any links to the fan and adapter/switch you got off ebay?Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bainzy Posted May 11, 2011 Author Share Posted May 11, 2011 Sure,adapter/switch: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120710554603&rvr_id=231470461308&mfe=sidebarfan: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Electric-Radiator-Cooling-Fan-10-Push-Pull-Universal-/400114030219?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item5d28a7968bthe fan is set up as a puller as standard so I didn't need to reverse the blades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willows40 Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 The cooling system on a spitfire is perfectly capable of doing the job it was designed for. The only worthwhile mod is on the later spitfires is to fit a full width rad as per early spitfires.Electric fans are fine and if you want to fit one by all means do so but they are not really needed on spitfires.cheers andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bainzy Posted May 11, 2011 Author Share Posted May 11, 2011 Just because its capable without one doesn't mean it isn't worthwhile. The car with a full width rad and mechanical fan was more than up to the job of cooling, but now that I can have the choke out for significantly less time, I'll get more miles to a tank and probably less engine wear. Plus the heater works earlier which is nice too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 I fitted an electric fan on my 1500 as its viscous was broken.I also felt at the time it would help liberate a few horses ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willows40 Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 hi alexI have a electric fan on my tr7 for the same reason plus it was cheaper.Its just that there has been alot of threads about electric fan on spitfires and if someone didn`t know better they would think it was fault with spitfire when its not.How`s my old car going?cheers andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom2000 Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Neat install bainzy, pleased my install post has been of some use :) I'm currently running two of those fans (currently on the front) with a full width radiator but will be reducing it down to one mounted like yours and fittnig shrouds. I got stuck on the M25 for 2 hours in blistering heat and heavy traffic on Monday and the radiator (with two fans on) got to 1/2 way. Which for a full width is alot! But is no doubt down to the fact both fans pretty much entirely bloke the radiator!Did you use the same relays? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 willows40 wrote:hi alexI have a electric fan on my tr7 for the same reason plus it was cheaper.Its just that there has been alot of threads about electric fan on spitfires and if someone didn`t know better they would think it was fault with spitfire when its not.How`s my old car going?cheers andy Its going well, seems to be suffering with vapour lock when hot though :-/Needs addressing as the wife didnt like sitting on the hard shoulder waiting for it to cool down ;)Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard B Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Heat shield? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bainzy Posted May 12, 2011 Author Share Posted May 12, 2011 Tom2000 wrote:Neat install bainzy, pleased my install post has been of some use :) I'm currently running two of those fans (currently on the front) with a full width radiator but will be reducing it down to one mounted like yours and fittnig shrouds. I got stuck on the M25 for 2 hours in blistering heat and heavy traffic on Monday and the radiator (with two fans on) got to 1/2 way. Which for a full width is alot! But is no doubt down to the fact both fans pretty much entirely bloke the radiator!Did you use the same relays?Your water temp gauge or thermostat must be different to mine Tom, a fraction under 1/2 way on my temp gauge has always been optimum warmup temperature. The fan kicks in as the gauge starts to head between the 1/2 way and 3/4 marks.The thread you made was very helpful, although I couldn't have done mine exactly the same as yours even if I wanted to, as the oil cooler would've interfered with me putting a fan on the front. I used just the one relay, a 30/40A heavy duty I got from Maplin for a quid or two, and I also fused both the switch and the fan with 5A and 15A respectively. The latter might be a bit high for only one fan, though it's better than no fuse at all. I wired it to the 12v live feed as opposed to ignition feed, as it will only run on for about 30 seconds after turning the car off, even if the car is really hot.I'm making some adjustments to the dashboard soon so I might put a light to tell me when the fan's come on, as it can be quite hard to hear when the engine's running (funny as it seems really loud when the engine is off!). You can get these sort of warning lights that match the indicator one, a few people seem to sell them:Not that a light is really necessary, I'd look at it more out of curiosity rather than anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junkuser Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I fitted an electric fan to my Spit 4 some years back to see what difference it made. It probably did save some engine power but the day the brushes decided they had done enough service and would no longer conduct power to the commutator, on a hot Australian summer's day in city traffic, I was glad the steel fan was in the boot.Suppose it could have happened in a more serious situation.Steel fan still on as I like things simple and reliable.Not sure how often people check brush length on their electric fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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