Cliveyboy Dual-Fan Setup?

[jbeach]

Dear Elan Aficionados,

When idling in South Carolina's warm summer temperatures, my current radiator/single, front-mounted electric fan setup allows my water temperature to gradually creep up. Once I start moving it settles back down, but the problem is severe enough to make stop-and-go in-town driving an anxiety-ridden pain.

I'm considering replacing my current radiator (which appears to have been custom-made at some point in my Elan's somewhat murky history) with a rebuilt S3 radiator and the Cliveyboy dual-fan setup:

http://www.cliveyboy.com/product/lotus- ... -fan-kits/

Clive seems a prince of a guy. Have any of you installed Clive's dual-fan kit and, if so, what is your experience? Recommendations?

Because these fans are mounted on the rear of the radiator (between the radiator and the engine), I assume this setup eliminates the fan currently attached to my engine's main fan-belt pulley. Is my assumption correct?

Many thanks!

John

[mbell]

As mentioned I have this setup on my car. Only just on the road and haven't experienced a full on Texas summer yet but so far the setup has kept the temp under control nicely.

You will need to remove the mechanical fan. I have reasonable clearance to the fans as removing the filler neck on the radiator allows it to be mounted a little further forward and still clear the bonnet.

Clive is straight seller and have no problem recommending him and his products.

[terryp]

I run full Cliveyboy here in France and have no problem driving the car in whatever the heat is in the summer. You do have to remove the fan if you have one and finding TDC can be awkward but not impossible.
I also went for the radiator brackets which help with installation.

If you have any queries, just post!

Terry

[gus]

I run a single good fan on the small radiator and it will idle at any temperature until it runs out of gas. In fact I forgot to turn the fan on a few years ago, 95 degree day, temp at 120C and that single fan dropped the temp just fine. Bought a new fan control after that

If you are having temp problems at idle then you are either too lean or too advanced at idle.

Cars get hot when it is hot out. 100C is not hot. 120 is, but if it is not boiling then it is not 'overheating'

Not trying to trash his product, it no doubt serves a purpose on modded cars

[terryp]

Clive's product is really just the arrangement and the bracketry (If thats a word!)

The question on whether you need twin fans and a larger radiator in lieu of the standard radiator is the question.
Its been mentioned before on here about the "marginal" cooling system of the later Elans.
Whilst I agree that the car would not overheat , large fluctuations in engine temperture are not good for any engine. With a twin fan and larger rad set up all you get is piece of mind and the ability to not have to keep one paraboid eye on the temperature gauge!

While you are at it, Clive's coil bracket, heater and main hoses and air cleaner mount are also very good.

Terry

[ecamiel]

I have a single fan which didn't work well. It just didn't run fast enough. After checking voltage drop I rewired from direct switch to relay and now it's a whole new world of cool running!

Eric
64 S1

[mbell]

Personally I went for this set up and dual fans for two main reasons:
- I live in a sub tropical climate, aka hot, summers see 40C+ regularly. So even thou don't plan to use the car in that weather I need to be sure it can cope.
- Am considering adding AC longer term for the above reason

I don't think the standard narrow radiator and fan would cope. So needed to do something, at least a new fan, and decided if was doing it i should do it properly AKA Clivey boy setup. This would give good setup for adding AC later (dedicated AC fan, and one for engine, good size for adding condenser).

[jbeach]

Thank you everyone. This is all extremely helpful.

Looks like I'm going with a refurbished S3-type radiator and Clive's dual fan setup, including his brackets, thermostat housing, silicon hoses, and fan controller.

I'm debating moving the coil. I like taking it out from under the carburetors (why in the world did Colin C. put it down there the the first place?), but feel it looks just a little cluttered where Clive's bracket places it.

I know I'm breaking a forum rule, but while I have your attention, does anyone have a source for Tudor washer and radiator overflow tanks? I'd love to replace my old, yellowed tanks with new, clean ones.

Many thanks,

John

[SF69Elan]

Hi John, you've received a lot of good feedback here - I'm a bit late but wanted to provide some additional info in case it's helpful.

My S4 was running hotter than I'd like, and I wasn't comfortable with the cooling capability of the original S4 radiator and fan, especially in stop and go traffic. I did similar research and narrowed the options down to Cliveyboy and Coolex based on the great reviews for both options on these forums. I ended up going with Coolex - I think at that time Cliveyboy was out of stock or had stepped away from sales for a brief period, so it made my decision easy.

I haven't had the opportunity to get my car back out on the road with the new dual fan Coolex setup, but I'm sure my cooling concerns will be addressed. Subsequent to purchasing the Coolex radiator, I purchased the coil relocate bracket and silicone hose set from Cliveyboy when he was back online.

You can see the radiator installed and the installed location of the coil with the Cliveyboy bracket, as well as at least the top hose in a video that I've posted here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5SFTsH_hl4

Once I get my car back from the shop, I plan to post more pictures of the Coolex setup (promised them I would a while ago when I bought it) - wiring, brackets, etc. in case that's helpful for folks in the future.

Sounds like you've got a good plan moving forward.

Regarding Tudor bottles - I was able to find replacement washer bottles online, but could only find the smaller bottles with the logo (you can see this in the video) and without the pump mounted in the top, not the original larger size. RD Enterprises sells a replacement radiator overflow bottle and bracket (as do other sites), but the bottle doesn't have the logo, you'd have to purchase one of the Tudor stickers separately.

Rich

[collins_dan]

I think your solution of refurbed s3 rad and dual fan set up will serve you well. Baltimore has similar heat and traffic. I have a Dave Bean large alum rad with 2 fans, and its works fine on my S4 with strombergs, sprint cams and headers. I note the carbs, cams and exhaust as in my experience those contribute to the hot at idle symptoms. I went through a couple of fans until I got to ones that were strong enough to make a difference. I also tried my fans in front and in back and settled on in front. Either location was equally as effective for cooling, but I found the fan in back much hotter for the driver. The one mod that I have thought about is putting two computer fans in front of the holes above the left front wheel, as a way to further drive hot air out of the engine compartment. Good Luck, Dan

[jbeach]

Thanks Rich and Dan,

Rich - holy toledo! You have one great-looking engine compartment. I cannot imagine the time (and resources) that went into getting every detail just so. While my S4 will never come close, you've given me new motivation.

I'm going to go with the smaller washer bottle - I like it's scale within your engine compartment. I'll check online to see whether I can find one. I've been in contact with Ray and will likely go with his larger one with decal for radiator overflow.

Dan - Thanks for confirming. I have a Dave Bean - built 1700 engine, with Sprint cams, Strombergs, and headers, so that may explain my creeping temperature gauge at idle on hot days. I'll probably experiment with fans in front versus rear to see how it affects passenger compartment heat - thanks for alerting me to that.

I'm really looking forward to finishing this phase of my work so I can spend some time actually driving this amazing car!

Best,

John