I talked to a guy at Walker Radiator, and he said they don't make shrouds for 56' Fords or Merc's. And to try Vintage Air. I am at work so can't get onto some catalogs as we don't have Adobe reader and I don't want to download any other programs (boss is touchy!) Where has anyone actually gotten a shroud for a similar car as mine? Maybe I can just call up a place and order the same shroud? 

A few years back a Thunderbird parts seller from Texas sold these car shrouds on ebay. I bought one for my 56 Ford.



It would not fit due to the power steering pump pulley hitting the shroud. I tried to modify it to fit but was impossible. The only way it could fit on the car would be if it had a large bump in the housing for the power steering pulley to fit inside the shroud. If you do not have power steering a good sheet metal mechanic should be able to make one out of galvanized sheet metal. These are guys that do ducting for heating/ventilation systems in buildings



marv

My Merc has the original power steering set up. I would think a shroud made for a 56' Ford car would fit, at would hope so! I would like to have one that looks nice, not just peiced together!

I measured my fan blade again and it looks like it is 18 inches. I was thinking going with a 17 inch for a bit more clearance.

These guys (Speedway) have steel - or aluminum - (6) riveted rigid blades.

Sizes 15,17,18 or 19 diameter

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Heavy-Duty-Steel-Cooling-Fan,1846.html

They also list this kit to make your own shroud - but it will need to be a 28 inch width radiator - read the reviews......

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Aluminum-Fan-Shroud-28-W-x-185-H,17146.html?baseNo=9174026#tabcontent

Some like Speedway - some don't - I've not had any problems with their stuff but I usually knew what I was getting ahead of time.

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

What do you recommend? Metal blades or aluminum? Both say they are non flex deigned. Also, that shroud sounds like it's too large, someone said use it with the 31" inch radiator.

Gal:

You seem to be agonizing a lot about your cooling system, going to a bigger radiator, wanting more blades on the fan, shroud, etc.  Are you having serious cooling problems, or anticipating them?  Maybe with the new radiator the other things won't be necessary.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

I am a worry wart! It does get a bit hot (up to the third mark on the temp gauge) sitting in traffic for 3-4 min. Makes me nervous! I don't want to ruin this new radiator sinceI do not have a warranty on it. I think a shroud and six blade fan will help.

Hoosier's asking the right question - how hot does it run? - the stock sedan / station wagon cooling system usually seems to run quite nicely. Guys with the T-birds have a few issues but they have some specific problems to address too. The dash gauges are notorious for being inaccurate but can be recalibrated.  

If you can find someone with an Infrared type temperature probe (that you just point closely at a specific spot to check temp) - you can tell what the temp is at the thermostat housing where water is exiting the block. For example - my bird runs just about exactly 100°F over the ambient outside air temerature. That won't boil over (takes 220°+) a radiator with a pressure cap - even the low pressure variety.

The aluminum fan blades - I finally put a rigid aluminum bladed fan on my outfit to replace the steel one - because I liked the looks of it. The steel ones worked fine. Pontiac and other GM divisions used the aluminum blades in the sixties (as a seven blade variety) - and I saw one on a GTO at a show here last summer than gave me the "bug" to try one. The owner had removed the paint from the blades (not the center) and polished the blades. Very nice.

Have you read elsewhere on here to get a high volume thermostat? That is a good investment - passes several more gallons per minute than the el cheapo's.

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

Gal:

A couple of thoughts I had.  Does the Merc still have the original distributor with the dual diaphragm vacuum advance, does it have the original teapot?  If either has been changed, the ignition advance probably isn't working as designed.  This is more critical if the carburetor only has been changed.  Also, if the engine has ever had the heads off, one or both head gaskets could be installed backward.  This causes water flow problems.  A Y head gasket has three rounded and one square external corners.  The square corners should be visible at the upper front of the head on both sides, indicating correct installation.  Did you have this heating problem before the radiator change?

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"