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Cheap fan shroud 1964 Galaxie guide

8K views 12 replies 5 participants last post by  4SpeedJeremy 
#1 · (Edited)
I did one of these for the 3G alternator conversion a while back. Same deal. Just so someone using google or the search function in the future might get saved some research.

Same disclaimer, Im not saying this is the only way to do this job, not even saying its the best. But it will work.

So the 1964 model year galaxies tend not to come with full fan shrouds. A repro is made, but its over $300 in some cases. Hell of a lot to pay for a reproduction piece of plastic. Some have reported junkyard swapping fan shrouds from other model years. Modifying them for use with the Galaxie. Hard to nail down exact models that will work.

So using the Galaxie radiator base measurements I did some searching and came up with this cheap circle track shroud on Summit. Its width matches the 1964 radiator well, it is a little tall, but not much.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/dom-545

I did have to modify it slightly to fit under the factory upper metal piece. Its pictured, basically you have to shave a little off the top towards the outside. After mounded you could modify it a little more to raise it higher and try to center the fan better than I did.

The other modification I think I might make is to use some cheap Lowes weather strip to put in between the shroud and the radiator. Point would be to move the fan slightly more into the shroud to achieve the most efficient half in half out. With the shroud all the way against the radiator its more like one third in two thirds out.

To mount I just used the common cheap pull ties that you install transmission coolers with. So if I had to cut them and reposition or add the weather strip I would only be out a few bucks.
 

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#7 ·
Nice job on your shroud, I like it ! if I get tired of my retrofit junkyard one, maybe I'll try it ?

To chime in on the clutch fan dealie; Yes, it fits in there just fine ! I've tried a couple different depths of clutches over the years, all in an attempt to reel in the heat, lol. Currently I'm back to a 18" rigid 6-blade and no clutch......along with a smaller diameter w/p pulley --but's that another story.

Anyway, if someone needs more details about clutch use, just holler !

Norm

Picture from 2015 with a clutch fan set-up:

damper627a by 1964 Galaxie 500, on Flickr
 
#8 ·
Cool. Good to know.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hda-2947

I did see that one yesterday, that apparently Hayden started making specifically for tight clearance situations.

I would like to ditch the rigid fan just because I hate giving up horsepower.

To further the shroud thread some, I just got around today to giving it a good long test drive in daytime heat. In true Jeremy fashion, immediately after installing the shroud I broke the starter. I learned it had the new style starter on a 153 tooth flywheel. Thats a whole different thread, I used the conversion gear from Total Performance.

Anyway, the shroud performed well. It more or less acted the same while driving, but that was never a problem. It did for sure massively slow down temperature gain while sitting still. You used to damn near be able to watch the gauge rise, now I let it sit in the garage still for like 5 minutes after it was already at temp. It rose maybe 7*. Before it would get up near 220* in short order.

I do think I could make it a little more efficient by getting the fan the correct depth as I mentioned earlier. For now Im going to leave it alone, if I get around to trying a clutch fan then I will try and make some adjustments.
 
#9 ·
If it's of interest, I used a shorty clutch for a 61-63 T-bird and bought it through The Bird Nest. I'm sure Larry's and/or other t-bird parts houses sell 'em as well. I too was seeking that certain depth, but in retrospect it made little difference -- I did notice that as my fan approached the rad (via trying different length spacers), the cooling system worked better. --basically throwing that rule-of-thumb out the window in my case.

All of that could simply be a by-product of how my shroud works, versus say one that is shaped more like yours (and o.e. ones --slim-line and narrow-er).

So, I wanted to ask you if that Total Performance drive works ok for ya --or ? Reason why......I had referred a guy on a FE facebook group to them, and was curious about product feedback. ...if no good then I won't send anyone down a rabbit hole, lol.

As FE and Galaxie owners, we send ourselves down enough of those, don't we, lol. :p

Norm
 
#10 · (Edited)
If it was a couple days ago that was probably me. I actually really wanted to try that mini starter, but when amazon warrantied my broken starter and the gear from TP was only $25........it was really hard to pull the $200 trigger on a mini starter. If I continue to have hot start problems I will look into replacing the 4g cable with a bigger one. See how that goes.

Worked well. Arrive promptly. Easy install. Hardest part of the hole thing is the stupid top bolt on the starter mount. Spun the engine right up. And it is visually different. Larger over tooth to tooth diameter than the later gear. The dude who was saying the early gears are an 1/8th bigger may have been into something.

My only complaint was it was hard to find. Basically if you don’t stumble on that old magazine article, how would you know? And even then, there is more than one total performance. So you have to take note of the Michigan address from the article and narrow it down. AND THEN it’s not easily found on the guys website. You basically have to do all that sleuthing and call them. Oh and no directions, so you STILL need that old magazine article for the directions.

Honestly things like that are why I write little guides like these. Once I do the legwork I try to save future suckers from having to jump through all the same hoops.

On your fan depth, while I believe there is a general optimal distance from fan to radiator, it’s pronably more about depth in your particular flavor of shroud.

Also, if the radiator isn’t sealed up good to the core support, that might play a role. If the fan is farther back, it might easier find the holes. Whereas if the fan is right up near the radiator, it pulls more through that. Just a thought. Air, water, and electricity are all going to follow the paths of least resistance. The name of the game is forcing it to go where you want it to.
 
#11 ·
Oh trust me ..... I've done some very intense and deep searching on this ..... My rad has every factory air seal, and some. Plus, my shroud is totally air-tight against the rad --made up foam seals, hand-shaped the shroud so it follows the contours of the rad .....yada, yada, lol. Basically, all that is left is for me to just get another engine (and why is another thread I'll spare you from hearing, lol).

I was a Ford tech, parts manager and pretty much everything in a Ford back-shop for 25 yrs, so I hear ya about saving little tid-bits such as that starter drive story. I've had that one saved in my computer for years --just in case like you said, websites are sometimes hard to find, etc.
I did stuff like that for a living, because back in the '80s for example, Fords were much like they are today, and you needed to save and be privy to many "little fixes", which weren't readily published or widely known.

Anywho......I didn't mean to divert from your thread .....

Glad to hear there are other guys 'out there' striving to keep folks out of rabbit holes, way to go !

Norm
 
#13 ·
The clutch part number might. Especially if you measured the distance between the pump flange and the radiator for us. So we knew if it’s the same as the 63.5/64

Some AC 64s got shrouds too. As I understand it they were dealer installed parts. Reproductions are made, but at a hefty cost. If I were going to shell out that money I would buy a nice electric setup.
 
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