Engine: Fan clutch or not

[what huh]

I am probably over thinking this but need to ask this question.

Do I need a clutch on my mechanical fan or can the fan be bolted straight to the fan pulley?

Just got settled into a new house that I bought and my neighbor is a antique car nut as I am. He has a 1954 Dodge Power Wagon. Anyways he asked me what I was working on and we got to talking about the cooling system. I told him that I needed to find the correct fan clutch for the fan, and after that my cooling system will be done.

He said that a fan can be bolted right to the fan pulley. All I would need is a spacer to get the fan a bit closer to the rad.

Can a fan be bolted directly to the pulley and turn with the engine rpm constantly? Is it best to use a fan clutch?

Can we talk about this a little bit?

Thanks
Charles

[GinettaG12P]

Space it closer to the radiator and bolt it directly.

[flyinlow]

Yes typically the fan can be bolted on with a spacer, the only minor downside is slightly lower mileage and most likely un noticeable power loss as you'll be driving the fan all the time.
I've done it Lot's of times over the years and have never regretted it

[Skip Lackie]

The fan clutch was developed (around 1960?) to allow the fan to freewheel when the car was traveling at high speed and/or in cold weather and didn't need the fan to cool the engine. By freewheeling, it saves a few horsepower and gives slightly better gas mileage. It came to be installed as standard equipment on high performance cars and vehicles in HD applications, like taxis. If your vehicle doesn't meet that definition, you can dispense with it.

[JoeHall]

Nobody has yet mentioned that it will run much quieter, at road speeds, with the clutch working properly. That's kinda important, since most Studes are still geared for 1950s to 60s roads. Driven on modern roads at modern speeds, the direct drive fan spins so fast it sounds like an airplane. But the occupants become tone-deaf to the noise, sooner or later.

[jclary]

I've done it both ways. To me, the issue isn't so much the fan clutch as much as it is what is gained. Most of our Studebaker vehicles performed just fine without a fan clutch. There is a gain of less noise, and, when it is not engaged, the chance of a bit more fuel efficiency and available horsepower. The downside, on some models might be clearance, as some vehicles have a tight space without a clutch. The big downside is if the clutch fails. I've had that to happen on at least four vehicles (That were manufactured with fan clutches) through the years. I've never changed a vehicle, that came with a clutch, over to a direct drive fan. However, the first time I had one to fail, it was a learning curve figuring out what was wrong, and how to diagnose the problem.

It certainly wouldn't be anything I'd ad to aid in cooling problems. One cooling "aid" I've added that helped on extremely hot days, was to make a custom shroud to direct and concentrate airflow. Air flow is a funny thing. Air works best in straight line unobstructed flow. Turbulence is not as good a heat exchanger as straight unobstructed flow. A series of little heat saturated tornadoes tumbling around in your engine bay are not as able to remove the heat as a nice smooth linear exchange of air flowing through.

This characteristic of air flow holds true for particulate flow and filtration in paint spray booths too.

[what huh]

And this is why I love this forum and the Studebaker community. Not only did you guys provided all the answers to my question, you all also gave me everything I need to make a educated decision.

THANK YOU!!

[TWChamp]

Nobody has yet mentioned that it will run much quieter, at road speeds, with the clutch working properly. That's kinda important, since most Studes are still geared for 1950s to 60s roads. Driven on modern roads at modern speeds, the direct drive fan spins so fast it sounds like an airplane. But the occupants become tone-deaf to the noise, sooner or later.

Joe beat me to it, but fan noise matters to me, as well as the fuel economy gain. If it originally had the fan clutch, then I'd replace it with another clutch.

[Gunslinger]

If you go the route of a fan clutch then get one with a lightweight fan rather than steel. The really only downside to a fan clutch is the additional weight hanging on the end of the water pump bearing. If you can install an Avanti water pump it will help from changing water pumps more often from premature bearing failure.

[55 56 PREZ 4D]

I don't know if your Champ has a radiator shroud or not.
Whether you use a fan clutch or not.
The fan should be spaced so that the blades are halfway into the edge of the shroud for maximum airflow.
No shroud, about 3/4" from the radiator.