Electric Fan Pricing

[Mudeblue]

I have been working on an overheating problem on my 65 SF now for over a year, have done hours of research and planning including talking to vendors and other enthusiastic's at local car shows. My journey has included buying a Griffin aluminum radiator (stay away from), installing a Derale 17" fan, re-buying and re-manufacturing a 17" Derale electric fan just to get the shroud (won't well one without the other). Sixteen hundred dollars later, problem not solved!

One of the biggest problems was engineering spacing and tolerances since I installed a kit which provided my a serpentine set up with a a/c pump, power steering pump and alternator (great set up) but difficult to work around!

After much ado, staring at the ceiling in the middle of the night, inventing new four letter words, I and the individual who orchestrated the restoration project from pails of pieces and scattered parts to a completed project have "engineered" a solution. This includes the having a 26" radiator manufactured, design and manufacture of a shroud to carry dual, brushless, 14 inch brushless fans, straight blade with a combined air movement of 4,000 cfm! I live in Phoenix where the temperature hit 121 degrees today so a 17" clutch fan with a shroud not an option; just not an option! As currently designed and installed, the Griffin radiator and 17" Derale fan along with a 15" pusher fan can not handle 90 degrees at the red lights, no clutch fan!

With that background, my question is why there is such a significant difference in the cost of brushless fans; Derale fans only is $800 for a pair and with shroud, controller is $2,025 before shipping and sales tax, Stal around $1,000 and none of their setups will work because of tolerances. Obtaining a shroud has been my biggest . There is a company, Pro Form, that sells the fans I need, 12" brushless, 4,000 cfm, no controllers required and which because of design, will allow me to work around the tolerances and I/we manufacturer the shroud.

Again my question, why the big difference is price between the manufactures? WHAT AM I MISSING?

 

[CBODY67]

My suspicion is that all of the electric fans are made off-shore, so most cost the same production cost. The difference might be the quality of the components in them AND the name on the box, more than anything else.

Another deal is that most of the OEM electric fans for late-model vehicles are brushless, too. Which means the salvage yards can have many "in stock" that might fit your application. In an old thread about putting a Gen III Hemi in a '67 Plymouth, the poster mentioned how easy it was to put the complete radiator and fan out of a late-model Challenger into his car. I was shocked!

There are also some Camaro forum posts which mention which model year to look for in the salvage yard, too. With pictures of how they fit the older cross-flow radiators.

A common-size Chevy cross-flow radiator has about the same core area as the Chrysler 26" radiator! Just need to fab some mounting brackets to the back of the core support to make it work in the C-body cars. Re-route the trans cooler lines, too. Plus finding some OEM molded hoses that will work. I'd look for the OEM-style aluminum composite ones for even better cooling performance.

But the late-model Challenger Hemi model looks to be so much slicker to install. Will need to install a surge tank as the coolant recovery tank on the Challenger is pressurized by the radiator cap on it. Just a little more execution to get a factory-engineered radiator/fan package for not much money. BTAIM

CBODY67