Making a Shroud, need ideas

cardinal fang · Jul 5, 2007

I am dumping the taurus fan on my 350 chevy fj55. Blew a fuse a few months back and it got really hot! I am going with the 19" clutch fan that came with the 350. I have a large sheet of aluminum that I plan to make into the shroud. Just looking for ideas on how to go about it. Cardboard design first?

FJ40Jim · Jul 5, 2007

Yep, just make a cardboard box that is the ht & width of the rad, and appx the depth of the distance from fan to rad. Remove the fan clutch & fan, install box. Mark back of box where center of waterpump is. Draw circle centered on WP shaft, add 1" around perimeter for body/rad/engine movement.

Doesn't have to be fancy, just has to be a box that fan draws out of rear and air enters through radiator in front.

inkpot · Jul 5, 2007

Howdy! Yea, what Jim said. IIRC, you only want 50%or less of the fan actually inside the shroud. I am running a solid 19" fan w/o a clutch. No room. No shroud. I am using a Flowcooler water pump and truck pulleys which spins it faster. Stays at 180, even today, at 115 in Phoenix. John

scouthead · Jul 5, 2007

All of my chevys with stock clutch fan setups have 90% of the fan blade inside the shroud. There is almost an inch of space between the tip of the blade and the rim of the shroud though.

If you have enough room for the clutch fan, could you adapt the corresponding chevy plastic shroud to your FJ? I plan on doing this with my '73 Piggy, but do to lazy-ass-syndrome have not dragged the big old thing out of my side yard to see if it will be worth the hassle.

dgangle · Jul 6, 2007

I made mine of cardboard and found a guy that fabs stockcar bodies. He unfolded what I had done, laid it out then bent & cut into the proper sharp. he had to add a few rivets here and there but it looks and works awesome. Someone had the idea of simply fiberglassing over the cardboard then dissolving the carboard away with water...walla...fiberglass shroud.