I am restoring a 65 Mk II and would like to replace my damaged original
fan
with a flex type. Has anyone had any luck in finding a good replacement?
I
have had a hard time finding a replacement fan that will fit. Have
checked
the Flex-A-Lite web site and they don’t seem to have anything that will
work.
Hello Doug
I replaced the metal fan on my 3.8S type with a Flex-a-lite 400-416 nylon
fan ($15 from Summit or Jegs). My original fan was heavy, bent, missing it’s
balance weights and made removing the radiator a painfully exercise. When
the water pump bearing wore out prematurely, I wanted to try something else.
I tried running my car without the mechanical fan, first with a 1100 cfm
electric and then with a 2100 cfm electric, but neither “pusher” fan could
handle idling on 95 degree F days. The Flex-a-lite fan needs to be modified
by drilling a 2 1/8" (measure your water pump flange) hole with a hole saw
and new mounting holes for the bolts. The blades need to be trimmed from 2"
down to around 1 1/4" to clear the belt. If you have more room than me, just
make a spacer and move it closer to the radiator, I think somewhere between
1/2-1" is best, but the motor does move around a bit. The only tricky thing
is getting the hole saw centered. I bolted the fan to a block of wood and
drew the center on the wood and used a drill press. The material is soft and
easy to cut. The fan has curved blades and moves a lot of air and idling
temperature is more stable, but I still have the electric on a thermostat. I
also recommend a fan shroud, you can still get a new fiberglass one or you
can make your own. It is also a good idea to use a modern 7 lb cap and a
clear plastic overflow tank ($6 at most parts stores). If you live in a hot
place, you can also try reducing the coolant mix to 70% water (water conducts
heat much better) and use Redline Water Wetter. If you still have problems,
put a restrictor (1/4") in the by-pass hose from the intake manifold to the
water pump, a Mark II/S needs as much water going through the radiator as you
can get. And remember, it’s not overheating until it boils over. The
temperature gauges tend to read low when the sender is bad, I once had once
that never went over 70 C (probably a good selling product). The experts at
Redline say the ideal temperature for coolant is 190 F (88 C), but I don’t
know anyone on the list who has a Mark II that runs too cold in the summer.
Paul Saltwick
3.8S Type
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Or you could move to Alaska. This time of year it takes 14 miles at 55 mph
to get the temperature gauge to register.
The roadster is parked today. It promises to get no warmer than 16 degrees
F and the “Taku” winds coming off the Juneau Ice Field are predicted to gust
to 65 mph. Not a roadster sort of day.
Yesterday at 20 was just plain cold…although the car started fine after
sitting behind my office all day.
Oops…sorry guys. I lost track of which list this is. Well, the Mark 2
has been tucked away all clean for weeks now. Same comment about
overheating though!
Tom Carson
1962 Mark 2, 3.8 MOD
1954 XK 120SE OTS, S674946
Juneau, Alaska–
I am restoring a 65 Mk II and would like to replace my damaged original
fan
with a flex type. Has anyone had any luck in finding a good replacement?
I
have had a hard time finding a replacement fan that will fit. Have
checked
the Flex-A-Lite web site and they don’t seem to have anything that will
work.
Hello Doug
I replaced the metal fan on my 3.8S type with a Flex-a-lite 400-416 nylon
fan ($15 from Summit or Jegs). My original fan was heavy, bent, missing it’s
balance weights and made removing the radiator a painfully exercise. When
the water pump bearing wore out prematurely, I wanted to try something else.
I tried running my car without the mechanical fan, first with a 1100 cfm
electric and then with a 2100 cfm electric, but neither “pusher” fan could
handle idling on 95 degree F days. The Flex-a-lite fan needs to be modified
by drilling a 2 1/8" (measure your water pump flange) hole with a hole saw
and new mounting holes for the bolts. The blades need to be trimmed from 2"
down to around 1 1/4" to clear the belt. If you have more room than me, just
make a spacer and move it closer to the radiator, I think somewhere between
1/2-1" is best, but the motor does move around a bit. The only tricky thing
is getting the hole saw centered. I bolted the fan to a block of wood and
drew the center on the wood and used a drill press. The material is soft and
easy to cut. The fan has curved blades and moves a lot of air and idling
temperature is more stable, but I still have the electric on a thermostat. I
also recommend a fan shroud, you can still get a new fiberglass one or you
can make your own. It is also a good idea to use a modern 7 lb cap and a
clear plastic overflow tank ($6 at most parts stores). If you live in a hot
place, you can also try reducing the coolant mix to 70% water (water conducts
heat much better) and use Redline Water Wetter. If you still have problems,
put a restrictor (1/4") in the by-pass hose from the intake manifold to the
water pump, a Mark II/S needs as much water going through the radiator as you
can get. And remember, it’s not overheating until it boils over. The
temperature gauges tend to read low when the sender is bad, I once had once
that never went over 70 C (probably a good selling product). The experts at
Redline say the ideal temperature for coolant is 190 F (88 C), but I don’t
know anyone on the list who has a Mark II that runs too cold in the summer.
Paul Saltwick
3.8S Type
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