64 Wagonaire fan blade

[rbigcal]

The 4 blade that's on it is exactly 17", I was thinking of just buying a new one, not any pull and pick places close by here, not that would have old stuff anyway. All of the so called 17" fans I see are actually 17.250. I already had pretty close clearance in one place with the 17". It was hell to make a shroud from scratch, so it's off a little here and there. That's why I wondered if an original shroud would fit on the aluminum radiator. The top hose connection is in more than original. I am attempting to weld the bottom back onto the one I have, may be able to slot holes and bring it up a little for clearance. It's also hell to get bottom radiator bolts in and out with the shroud unless you have very small hands, I think that's why I ended up cutting bottom of shroud. I didn't think shroud was really helping much, I mostly wanted the top part above the fan. I have a car show I was going to go to and trying to get this wrapped up.

[rbigcal]

What kind of radiator do you have, 2-row or 3-row?

It's a 3 row.

[rbigcal]

What diameter is the fan on a 64 Lark type supposed to be ?

[JoeHall]

If you don't mind doing a little pick-in-pull hunting - there are some other fans that will work with those fan clutches.

Fan below on my Champ came off a Dodge 318 - think late '70s or early '80s - seven blades and will move a lot of air when it is warmed up. Good luck.

Nice looking 259/289 there. It looks driven, as I prefer them. Yes, nowadays a shiney motor is preferred, but not necessary. I usually repaint them during rebuild, every 100,000 miles or so, and some paints hold up better than others.

I also like your fan. I have ran 7-blade 1970s-80s GM thermo clutch fans on all three Stude Hawks now (2 Gts and a 56J), for several years. They are quiet after the first 3-5 minutes, when they sound like an airplane. Afterward, they adjust themselves, based on air temps coming through the radiator. I understand the OEM, 5-blade Stude clutch fans were viscous drive, and a bit more primitive in operation. The 7-blades also pull a lot of air, straight backward, through the radiator and onto the engine. Whereas, the OEM Stude fan slings a lot of the air sideways, and will blow a cap off your head, if not careful. So I prefer the more modern thermo clutch, and 7-blades seem to be the magic number.

OTOH, I also ran 7-blade flex fans on Studes for many years, including the desert. They are simpler in design, much lighter, quiet, and also pull a lot of air, straight backward. I simply made the 5/8" pilot hole larger, to fit the Stude and Packard waterpump snouts. On one, I centered a quarter (25 cent coin) over the hole, scribed an outline, then enlarged it with a rat tail file. It ain't rocket science, but a machine shop makes the job easier. LOL

[altair]

Your intake manifold appears to be very hot all the paint is off it, maybe your heat riser is stuck? I have a 259 engine in my 54 Champion sedan and I have the 6 cylinder radiator and fan for cooling, I installed a 160 thermostat and that is exactly where it runs. The major thing I did to the engine was to clean the crud out of the block, and there was a lot, I also cleaned the oil passages to assure good lubrication. My opinion is that your issue with the fan is looking in the wrong direction. The engine should stay cool with a two blade fan. Driving at 20 MPH with no fan should stay cool, I would remove an expansion/frost plug and check the block for debris. Also remove the bottom rad hose and open a garden hose full it should take all you can give it.

[JoeHall]

What kind of radiator do you have, 2-row or 3-row?

[62champ]

If you don't mind doing a little pick-in-pull hunting - there are some other fans that will work with those fan clutches.

Fan below on my Champ came off a Dodge 318 - think late '70s or early '80s - seven blades and will move a lot of air when it is warmed up. Good luck.

[rbigcal]

That's what I had in mind, but wanted to get an idea if it would make enough difference to make it worth the expense. Experimentation gets expensive ! I see SI has a clutch for Avanti which I assume is the same.

[showbizkid]

The viscous fan clutch was optional equipment and was designed to decrease the effect of a fixed fan "fighting" forced airflow from the outside as speeds increased, i.e., the faster you go, the more air rams through the grille; a fixed fan is pushing against the incoming air so cooling becomes less efficient; the viscous clutch let the fan submit to the incoming air for better cooling. It was also equipped with a balanced 5-blade fan, so if yours has a fixed 4-blade, likely the clutch died and a previous owner replace the whole thing with a standard fan. You might be able to find a suitable replacement for original from Forum members or Stude vendors - I did!

[rbigcal]

I forgot to say I checked head temp and top radiator tank with laser and it was about 230. Just did timing and carb settings. Radiator is aluminum jeep type. Engine just overhauled, but had same problem before. Has a/c, but don't run it when sitting at idle and take auto trans out of gear. I thought maybe front end styling might have something to do with it and possibly having condenser if front of radiator. As I believe it was bezhawk said in forum before thermostat temp is not going to effect running hot, but I do have low temp on in it.What heat riser valve ? lol

[Jeffry Cassel]

Modern "gas" burns hot. Our old radiators were just good enough to get by when new, but now we must contend with bad gas and clogged radiators. Take radiator out and have it professionally cleaned. Do you have a 160 deg. thermostat?? Late model Studebakers always had trouble with moving enough air thru the radiator so a more aggressive fan may help. Be sure timing is correct and you are not running too lean. Be sure heat riser valve works and is not stuck in the closed position. Good Luck!

[rbigcal]

Worse slow/idling, but gauge runs about 3/4 the way over at 55-60 outside temp about 80 last week. I made a fan shroud sometime ago, but ended up cutting bottom off for some reason. Not too sure if that made much difference. I am going to take it off and weld bottom back on, but I thought of trying to find a 5 blade fan if it will help.

[RadioRoy]

Under what circumstances does the overheating occur? Driving fast? Slow? Idling? Weather? Have you checked the gauge for accuracy? Do you know that it really is overheating?

[rbigcal]

Trying to sort out overheating problem, and seems like most info points to Hawks and not much on Larks. Engine has a 4 blade fan and according to build sheet originally had a viscous clutch. I was wondering if a 5 blade fan would make a noticeable difference and if there would be any real advantage to putting a clutch back on. I read somewhere that different size pulley's are used between clutch and no clutch.