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Texas Kooler Fan Availability?

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Sorry if I have caused confusion. Steveg kindly looked up the price from DW and one comparable (via Amazon.com). Using those prices, it hardly makes sense to buy from BMW. I poked around a bit more and found prices for the fan as low as $31 plus shipping. Or it would likely be $41 directly from BMW. So that is somewhat cheaper than DW, but it still leaves the question of the round metal plate that DW appears to include with the fan. So you are saving a little money, but will need to do some of your own manufacturing to match the item sold by DW. The purpose of that plate is clearly to stiffen where the fan interfaces with the existing fan bolts. Keoke addressed his solution to this problem above, though he was discussing the Texas Cooler.

So just to be clear, you may save a little money if you buy the fan from BMW (or BMW parts vendor), but you will have to figure out how the ensure the interface between the fan and the Healey engine is adequately strong. Clearly DW concluded that more reinforcement was necessary, so when you buy from them, you take advantage of their expertise.
 
The DW adapter may not be just a stiffener. The bolt pattern is likely at least slightly different on the Healey water pump and the center hole may need to be machined larger on the fan itself. DW has done all this engineering at minimal cost.
 
Thanks for all the awesome input. If I locate a 2002 blade cheap locally I might embark on the machining exercise. But in the absence of finding the proverbial needle in the haystack, it is down to A) the DW modified plastic blade or B) the stainless Texas Kooler blade. Both will end up being about $100 shipped to Canada. What's your vote, A or B?

welch blade.jpgfan blade.jpg
 
I hope others weigh in on the plastic vs. flex fan dialogue. I am still trying to decide this myself.

Where is that flex fan from? Do you own it already? The photo may have fooled me into thinking it has already arrived at your house.

There is some concern with the flex fans which only have three rivets attaching each blade. A better option is the Derale 19115 stainless flex fan which has 4 rivets per blade. Here is the link: https://derale.com/products/belt-dr...shroud-kit2013-10-18-11-52-51954575230-detail
It seems to sell for $40 USD. Ebay canada has them listed for $50 Canadian with shipping included.
 
I believe B is the stainless fan discontinued by Moss (PN 231-708). They had some failures. Therefore my vote goes for A. However, I've been running the Derale fan for 10 years without any problems. It's noisy. I believe I got it from BCS.
 
steveg said:
The DW adapter may not be just a stiffener. The bolt pattern is likely at least slightly different on the Healey water pump and the center hole may need to be machined larger on the fan itself. DW has done all this engineering at minimal cost.
Click to expand...

Steveg is correct. I think I mentioned this earlier, but you can use the 3-D viewer on the Denis Welch website to see that the bolt pattern on the DW adapter is different from the original holes in the plastic fan. If you rotate the fan to look at it from the back, the smaller holes were the ones originally manufactured into the fan. The larger holes are the new ones DW had to engineer, along with the spacer, to get it to work for our cars.

I learned about this BMW fan via the thread linked below (see photo in post 22). You can see how one person decided to mount it to their Triumph. I do not endorse their engineering, but I want to try to save others the time I have spent learning about all this.
https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf/showthread.php?60634-TR3-4-Electric-Fan-Conversion/page3
 
What's your vote, A or B?

Well my only concern here is with Item B simply because it has an even numder of blades which causes it aerodynamically to be noisy.
 
Hi Shortsguy1,

Thank you for the clarification. It was appreciated.

I presently use a Texas Cooler but, since it maintains a constant blade angle, is very loud when driving and does put a drag on the engine. I was interested in a flex fan but changed my mind after learning of the potential for blade fatigue and braking.

Yesterday, I again participated in our town's Memorial Day parade and survived at slow or no progression for around 2 hours in sunny 90 degree heat and with 4 growing grandchildren squeezed into the car and throwing candy to the on-looking children. During the parade, the temperature gauge rose slowly to around 195 or so degrees with only me ready to overheat. At this point I am again considering putting my original anemic 4-blade back to see how it will perform. However, at this point I hesitate to disturb my Texas cooler as it has performed flawlessly.

Again, thanks for the clarification,

Ray (64BJ8P1)
 
Has anyone ever put a fan on that uses a thermostat clutch? Get's rid of the noise when the blade clutch is disengaged. If noise is the problem, why not take the water pump fan off and add a variable electric fan?(spal)
 
Wow, I just purchased the rebranded Texas Kooler from Moss a couple of months ago. I was surprised that it went away. The fan is installed and so far functioning well in the Georgia heat. I also have a fresh 3 core radiator and the side air deflectors in place so I am sure that helps as well.
 
For anyone who has experienced excessive noise with some of the aftermarket alternatives, could you clarify if the bothersome noise is at idle, during city driving, or at freeway speeds?

Personally, if the only change to the sound of the vehicle was at idle, it might not bother me. But if it changed the sound of the vehicle while underway at reasonable speeds, that definitely would be disappointing. Thank you.
 
shortsguy1 said:
For anyone who has experienced excessive noise with some of the aftermarket alternatives, could you clarify if the bothersome noise is at idle, during city driving, or at freeway speeds?

Personally, if the only change to the sound of the vehicle was at idle, it might not bother me. But if it changed the sound of the vehicle while underway at reasonable speeds, that definitely would be disappointing. Thank you.
Click to expand...

If you know what an original Datsun 240Z sounds like, the main sound you're aware of is that of the whirring fan. I would say my Derale 6-blader changes the sound of the Healey at non-freeway speeds to add a similar loud whirring sound. My Monza exhaust is so loud, the whirring just adds to the din.

They pull a lot of air, though, and that's a good thing.
 
FWIW, I can tell you that I don't hear the sound of the BMW fan while my 2002 is running. And it's quieter than my Healey.
 
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