Radiator & Cooling Fans

Needing some odd jobs to do I thought I'd fit the cooling fans to the radiator - bit out of sequence but what the hell!. The Pacet fans come with through the rad fixings - however it is advised not to use these as they can knacker the rad capillaries if not frequently checked and adjusted. So as suggested by Craig at GD I decided to mount them on frames.

I used some 20x4 mild steel strip and cut four length the same as the overall height of the radiator and painted satin black. For the fan fixings I drilled 7mm holes for an M5 rivet nut, the holes were countersunk on the back so there would be no protrusions facing the radiator. The Pacet mounting blocks were reamed out from 6mm to 7mm to take the body of the rivet nut. This way the rivet nut forms a lug for the fan to sit on. The blocks were then secured t0 the frames with an M5x12 bolt, washer and spring washer. Below you can see the completed frames prior to fixing to the radiator:Following a similar method to that of GD the frames were riveted to the radiator frame. Instead of using 1 4mm rivet I used 2 1/8 (or 3.2mm) rivets. It's a bit nervy drilling into the radiator but trust me - there are no elements hidden behind! I know the frame looks too long and the rivets appear too high - but the picture was taken slightly upwards and doesn't show the curved edge to the radiator frame. The following picture shows the fans in place: The paint to the radiator on the front had been damaged by packing it when wet!! So seeing as it was a sunny day I rubbed down the frame and sprayed it - and here we have the finished article:The engine build starts week after next so in a little over 2 weeks it should be here. I've been compiling a list of the various bits and pieces I'll need to complete the install but I'm not going to order them until the engine is here - just so I can double check first!

Still haven't filled the diff with oil because I've been too lazy to go and get a flexible funnel!