Electric Fans

PostPost by: JohnIngham » Sun Jul 18, 1999 9:41 pm

Has anyone on the list installed an electric radiator fan in their Elan?

I want to install one in my S2, but the only examples I've seen are Kenlowe
fans mounted in front of the radiator. This prevents the bonnet (hood) from
being opened properly, so if you want to get inside you have to physically
remove the boonet. This does not seem efficient.

I've thought of installing a 'pull' fan, but the thinnest I've found is 58mm
thick and the space between the radiator and the fan pulley is 53mm.

I've also thought about installing a small fan (or 2 of them) down in the
nose behind the grill and running ducting to the radiator.

Any ideas or experience? Surely those of you in CA or AZ have had to deal
with this problem!

Thanks for any help,

John Ingham







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PostPost by: Citromike » Sun Jul 18, 1999 9:59 pm

Hi John

I installed a Hayden electric fan in my Elan S4 last summer here in sunny San
Diego. It made a tremendous improvement in cooling over the other things I
tried, which included :
3-row core
new thermostat
blocking all alternative air paths
Water Wetter solution
minimal 25-75 coolant - water mix

I used a 10" fan which is actually larger than the radiator, but the mounting
pins which push through the core worked just fine.

I bought an extra thermoswitch/relay kit to have a variable cut-in point, and
ignored the existing fan switch in the radiator top tank. The problem with
the existing switch - if the coolant is lower than normal the switch isn't
immersed in the coolant, thus no fan! And even less cooling. The new thermal
sensor pushes into the core fins at any place you like.

The overall cost from PepBoys was about $75 for the fan and $35 for the
thermoswitch, relay and wiring

Worth every penny if you save a $4000 Twink rebuild

I had no problem with hood clearance; I took the factory fan and bracket off
and saved it.

--
Michael Roeder
[email protected]
[email protected]





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PostPost by: sprinterdave » Mon Jul 19, 1999 7:53 am

In message <[email protected]>, John Ingham
<[email protected]> writes

air is pushed through, they are quite efficient. most of the english
suppliers, Paul Matty, Sell simialr items

--
David Shiers





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PostPost by: John Sullivan » Mon Jul 19, 1999 11:28 am

John:

I've installed a Tripac fan from Racer Wholesale in my S2, requires no
modification other than removal of the existing fan blade. It attaches
directly to the radiator and allows opening of the bonnet enough to remove
the retaining springs. It definitely does not look 'period',if that is a
concern.

Racer Wholesale also sells Spal fans which are slightly thinner, probably
making it easier to open the hood all the way.

Regards,

Patrick O'Sullivan


-----Original Message-----
From: John Ingham [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Sunday, July 18, 1999 5:41 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [lotuselan] Electric Fans


From: "John Ingham" <[email protected]>

Has anyone on the list installed an electric radiator fan in their Elan?

I want to install one in my S2, but the only examples I've seen are Kenlowe
fans mounted in front of the radiator. This prevents the bonnet (hood) from
being opened properly, so if you want to get inside you have to physically
remove the boonet. This does not seem efficient.

I've thought of installing a 'pull' fan, but the thinnest I've found is 58mm
thick and the space between the radiator and the fan pulley is 53mm.

I've also thought about installing a small fan (or 2 of them) down in the
nose behind the grill and running ducting to the radiator.

Any ideas or experience? Surely those of you in CA or AZ have had to deal
with this problem!

Thanks for any help,

John Ingham





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PostPost by: abstamaria » Mon Jul 19, 1999 3:50 pm

John,

I installed a Kenlowe fan (which mounts on two "L" aluminum tube brackets)
in front of my S4's radiator. I had to cut out a square notch in the
leading lip of the bonnet, so that the bonnet will clear the fan motor and
swing up completely. You might want to try this, if you wish to stick to
Kenlowe (more authentic and period, and comes from the Motherland).

Regards,
Andres
Manila
45/8439






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PostPost by: JKING » Mon Jul 19, 1999 7:28 pm

Thanks John Ingham
I'll try Old Ford Spares.
My S1, which I have owned since 1964 had the same style knob, except for the
symbol, for all functions, i.e. choke (strangler?), headlight lift,
wipers/windscreen washer, cigarette lighter, and heater.

Electric Fan
I installed an electric cooling fan years ago. I obtained a 6 blade Kenlowe
fan without the motor which, as you point out, wouldn't fit behind the
radiator. I built a small
tripod structure out of aluminum angle stock which I obtained from a hardware
store. I got a common heater motor from a car parts store, NAPA I believe,
the shaft of which fit the Kenlowe and bolted it to the tripod. I then
bolted the tailored tripod in front of the radiator low enough and far enough
forward so the hood (bonnet) would pass between the fan and the radiator when
opened. I also installed a VW thermostatic switch in the top radiator hose
and a three way switch on the instrument panel. I wired the switch for
manual fan control, thermostatic control, or off. It has been a very
successful unit for the past 30 years in that the car has never had an
overheating problem which it used have to with the twisted sheet metal thing
they called a fan blade that was bolted to the water pump pulley.
J King, Pacific Grove, Calif.





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PostPost by: JohnIngham » Thu Jul 22, 1999 7:04 am

To everone who sent information about electric fan installations a big thank
you, especially Citro Mike for the photo.

It turns out that the core of the radiator isn't any good, so the first step
is replacing that. Then we'll see if it can take idling in a 10 min. traffic
jam without overheating....

Incidentally, the person doing the work used to modify Elans for John
Willment Racing in the 60s and is a great place to take your car if/when you
don't have the time or expertise to work on it yourself. He did an amazing
job of sorting out the suspension on my S2 after it was first built from
parts by a supposed expert in L.A. His name is Mike Brown, based at Hayes
(on the edge of London) and his particulars are:

Mike Brown Rally 0181-573 1082

He works on most anyhting and seems to have a fondness for Mustangs (lovely
GT350 in there at the moment).

On the subject of old Elan people, anyone in the Berkshire area needing
paint or bodywork, there's an ex-Mike Spence person just a block from me
[down a back alley, never advertises, stumbled across him by chance] who
does spectacular stuff with glass and paint. Spence, for those who don't
know, was a 60s racer who created the BRM Elans. Of course, as I look for
the company name and number I can't find it....If anyone's interested say so
and I'll search it out.

John








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