Would an electric fan give me HP on 429?

[Dago Red]

Hey guys,

I know I posted the cam specs on here before, that is about all I know on my motor, no idea the pistons, rods, crank, figure all stock. not sure what was done on the dove-c heads. So without knowing exactly what I've got, and no access to Dino looking for little way we can increase the HP. I saw on muscle car that going to an electric fan would give 10-15, is that true on a 429?

It has a cross flow radiator from summit and the few times I drove it before sticking it in garage and tearing the body off it didn't have any problem with getting hot.

thanks guys, tips and tricks for wringing more power out of it low buck are appreciated.

Red

[pat mccarthy]

i would not run a E fan on any thing trying to make more power .i would be happy to lose the 10 or 15 hp they say and be able to keep it cool . they never talk about the bigger alt you need to run the fans? they take power to ? you know? there is no free lunch on this.

[Henry Rifle]

A 30-amp electric fan at 12 VDC (360 watts) draws the equivalent of about 1/2 HP. Assuming a 50% efficiency, an electric fan will draw only about 1HP. You may get a small advantage with an electric fan, but you'll never feel it in the seat of your pants.

[pat mccarthy]

that s is if one will cool it i have two spals they hardy do the job

[Dave Severson]

IMO electric fans are another of the race car items that are best left on race cars. From experience, it's a whole lot easier to find a replacement fan belt than it is a replacement cooling fan when you're miles from home and just cruisin' on a Sunday afternoon.... I have learned over the years to try to keep my cruisers as cruiser and race cars as race cars. A good mechanical fan with the proper shrouding on a well tuned street car will do just fine in the cooling department. Trying to maximize the horsepower on a street car usually results in something that becomes a pain in the butt to tolerate!!!

The absolute cheapest horsepower increase is making the car lighter!!!! There are many ways to make a car lighter if you do a bit of studying and checking the car over. If it's loaded with sound deadener, insulation, and undercoating remove it... Many pieces are just plain unnecessary on a car that is being used for a bit of "street sport" action... A donut spare weighs considerably less then a full sized spare, etc, etc. On a BBF, a $40 swap meet aluminum intake weighs about 12 pounds less then a cast iron one. I probably couldn't show you 1 place to take off 100 pounds on your car, but I bet I could find 100 places to shave a pound. On the dragstrip, 100 pounds less weight equates to 1/10 of a second lower ET!!!!

[pat mccarthy]

do not forget a fresh air package

[Henry Rifle]

I put an electric fan on my '34 because of lack of space. It drives around town and idles in traffic at 160. That, and the location of the C/L of the waterpump in relation to the radiator. Then there's my Vette "cruiser." It has two electric fans - from the factory - and drives just fine all day long, even in bumper-to-bumper Virginia summer traffic. Not picking on any of you guys, but most of the newer cars have electric fans. I probably could have fabricated a shroud for a mechanical fan, I guess, but why bother? Whatever works, I guess.

I don't advocate it as a power saver though.

[pat mccarthy]

well i have used them i run them in the 50 chevy but i hate the dam loud things .But like you i had no room so i did use them .i have i friend that works at be cool just down the road from me you know. i get in to it with him..on this. i just would not use one thinking your going to make power over a belt driven one thats all . and they do have a tuff time cooling any thing bigger then 500 cid . but that must just be mebut like you said what ever works i still feel better with the belt drive i have mine wired so they run off two dif circuits so if one stop working i can get home on one fan

[Dave Severson]

Yeah, they seem to work fine on cars equipped with them from the factory. Like Pat, I've had trouble with them on big inch engines and high compression engines....

[mooneye777]

i am running a large single pusher electric fan on my 429 with 12-1 compression, ive ran it in 98 degree temps for 25 to 30 minutes at a time in town and never ran hotter then 195 degrees. but ive got a good cooling system all around, with a huge B-COOL radiator, and a CSR electric water pump. its probably 25 to 30 horses gained with an electric fan and water pump, and that you can feel in the seat of your pants. but as someone stated before, it might not be the smartest route if you plan on driving your rod long distances though. i personaly am just never far enough away that i cant get my truck and trailer and retreive my car if needed.

[Dago Red]

Pat, what are you talking about on a fresh air package? one of those air induction kits you see on tv and in magazines? they work on a carbureted engine?

I don't know about cutting weight, I think it being a truck I have the opposite problem need more in back. Funny you talked about the noise and insulation dampener stuff, I was just getting ready to post asking which ones are good! Maybe this isn't the thing to mess with since it is cooling fine now. I really wish I knew what all had been done to the engine, give me some more ideas of what can still be done. I might contact the previous owner and find out who did the machine work and assembly for him.

thanks guys, always better to talk to people who have done it before trying it yourself.

Red