440 Magnum Cooling - Help for a Novice

[Magnum66]

Hello!

I'm looking forward to being a part of this group. I have a '66 Charger that I inherited from my late father. We worked on it a little together over the time he was alive, but nowhere near enough for me to know everything I'm running into. Right up until he passed, he was trying to deal with overheating issues.

Here's where I'm at now. The car has a 440 Magnum that has been bored about 40 over. At this time I found the radiator was leaking and have ordered a replacement that will be here this week. I have also put on a high flow water pump and new thermostat as well. Now, I'm looking at replacing the 18.5" Ford mechanical fan that is on there.

I've been down the rabbit hole of mechanical vs. clutch vs. electric and I think I've got a good handle on that. I don't think the noise from a mechanical fan would be a huge issue for me, and I think that's the best route at this time. I'm hoping one of you fine people here could either correct me on that or otherwise recommend a good fan (clutch or mechanical) that will do a good job at cooling this beast. Info and links would be most appreciated.

Thanks!

[cdr]

#1818 Flex a lite fan blade

[Magnum66]

#1818 Flex a lite fan blade

This one from Summit? https://www.summitracing.com/parts/flx-1818

I know this isn't a huge issue, but do you know if it comes in any color other than blue? I'd rather have silver or black if possible.

[John_Kunkel]

Welcome to the board Magnum66.

A couple of observations.

The '66 Charger never came with a 440 and the '66 B-body has only 22" radiators. Has the radiator been changed? Trying to cool a 440 with the small radiator can be a challenge.

IMHO, those flex fans are junk, you'll do better with a factory 18" 7-blade fan with a clutch; and a fan shroud is mandatory. Consider changing to a 26" radiator.

[Magnum66]

Welcome to the board Magnum66.

Thank you very much! Looking forward to not going through this journey I'm on alone. 

The '66 Charger never came with a 440 and the '66 B-body has only 22" radiators. Has the radiator been changed? Trying to cool a 440 with the small radiator can be a challenge.

Yes, this was a factory 383 car but in the 1980's, dad swapped the driveline out of a '69 GTX into her. The radiator has definitely been changed many times. The new radiator I ordered has a core width of 24 3/4" and a height of 17 5/8" and came recommended by a local radiator company to work well up to 700 HP. I sure hope I wasn't mislead there. The overall dimensions of the radiator are 22 1/2" x 25 3/8" (19 1/4" including brackets) x 3 1/8".

IMHO, those flex fans are junk, you'll do better with a factory 18" 7-blade fan with a clutch; and a fan shroud is mandatory. Consider changing to a 26" radiator.

I'm not sure a clutch fan will be able to fit within the clearance I have. I'm hoping to do some more measurements when the new radiator comes in, but it looks like it would be very tight, if it would clear at all with a clutch. I do have a shroud that I will be reinstalling when the fan and radiator are installed.

Thanks for taking the time to reply and for the warm welcome. 

[cdr]

Welcome to the board Magnum66.

A couple of observations.

The '66 Charger never came with a 440 and the '66 B-body has only 22" radiators. Has the radiator been changed? Trying to cool a 440 with the small radiator can be a challenge.

IMHO, those flex fans are junk, you'll do better with a factory 18" 7-blade fan with a clutch; and a fan shroud is mandatory. Consider changing to a 26" radiator.

This 1818 fan is not junk. it is not a junk flex fan, it is rated 8k rpm & is very well made, I used one on my Charger, it is a 7 blade stainless steel fan. they do make it in silver. 4818

[b5blue]

Check with Mancini Racing for fans and look at http://www.speedcooling.com/26-Big-Block-Mopar-Radiator.html they have 22" also.

[c00nhunterjoe]

I would ditch the "hi flow" pump and put a stock one on it. A 22" radiator opening will cool a big block in summer heat if done carefully.

[justcruisin]

Make sure the best you can that the engine is clean, no point in fitting up a new radiator and pumping crap through it. The 26" is better than the 22" for obvious reasons but if you have a 22" radiator panel I would stick with a 22" radiator, it will do the job if set up right. What have you ordered? The flex fan that has been mentioned will shift a good amount of air, I fitted a 19" version to a friends 400 chevy that would over heat in traffic, made a big difference. Some say the rivets on the blades can loosen up but I haven't seen that. I use a HV pump with a cavitation plate along with a high flow thermostat, works good for me. Air flow is key, a fixed mechanical fan is hard to beat in that respect. What ever fan you choose make sure that you use a tightly fitting shroud, the fan blades should be positioned about half to 3/4 of the way into the shroud and the gap from the blade tip to shroud kept to a minimum.

[John_Kunkel]

I'm not sure a clutch fan will be able to fit within the clearance I have.

Hayden makes a short fan clutch. The HD model (#2947) is 2.71".

[Mopar Nut]

Do you have A/C?

[Magnum66]

Do you have A/C?

No, no A/C.