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TR2/3/3A TR3A Fan Blade Conversion

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Tropical TR

Jedi Hopeful
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Hello,

Am doing a frame off rebuild and intend to replace the original cooling fan. I purchased an early TR6 8-blade (blue) copy of the original yellow blade from a UK vendor last year. Probably the same source as the British Victoria item.

Has anyone installed such a fan, blue or yellow, using the original hub extension? I know Moss has the kit with a shorter extension but would prefer to use the original if there is enough clearance with the radiator. That being said, if you have used the Moss kit, would like to know how well that has worked.

On the other hand, TRF is ramping up to reintroduce the yellow fan blade but still lists an adapter kit for the yellow blade which does NOT use a shorter extension (just the bolts, bushings and tabs from what I can see). Has anyone used that kit?

Also, will be replacing the radiator with a Moss (no hole) version. My original has had it. Thanks.

Regards,

Walter
 
I installed a yellow TR6 fan that I had in my parts bin. In order to make it fit, you need to mount it backwards and do a small amount of shimming to get the clearances that you need. Notice that the airfoil of the fan blades is now backwards which reduces the efficiency of the assembly. This is why the shorter extension piece is being made.

Although this setup is less efficient than the full modification, it is still light years ahead of the original design and is more than adequate to do the job. Either way you go, you will be immensely improving air flow through your radiator. Just make sure you include the shroud in front of the radiator to get the full benefit.

Joe

CIMG0796m.jpg
 
Hello Walter,
I did as you are planning - replaced the original fan with a blue fan.
Btw you can't really see the fan after all is reassembled, so color is really just your preference.
Some things to consider:
Are you planning to switch to an alternator? Are you planning to switch to a narrow belt?
Sounds like you want to use the blue belt driven fan and avoid a radiator mounted electric fan. This will mean replacing the pulleys.
You can source a replacement crank pulley (set) - no harmonic balancer - and use the shortened fan extension.
Be sure your alternator comes with a narrow pulley.
Re-coreing the radiator without the hole is another option.

SWC_1203_resize.jpg P1010723 crop resize.jpg SWC_1204 crop resize.jpg

The setup is working well. My only failure was the bellows thermostat - solder failure. Replaced and all is well.
Motor is running cool in 25-35C (80-95F) heat.
I hope this helps,
Steve
 
Thank you, Joe. That answers the question of why the shorter extension would be needed and it is also interesting that mounting backwards works as well. And yes, I will install a new shroud.

Steve, I am not planning to switch to an alternator at this point. I have this weird "dance" I am doing between originality and pragmatic solutions. But I have purchased a narrow belt conversion kit (non-harmonic) from British Parts NW. I want to avoid the electric fan route altogether. Do I understand correctly that the short hub extension requires the conversion pulley, or is it just an option you are indicating? Did you use the Moss short extension kit?

Thanks again to both of you, gentlemen!

Regards,

Walter
 
Walter,
I use the yellow fan on two TR4s and feel that they really do a wonderful job. The only downside that I have seen is that they push so much air that if you drive over dirt or gravel roads they tend to throw a lot of dust up into the engine compartment. I am now building a TR3 and intend to use a yellow fan on that car as well.
Charley
 
Hello Charley,

Have you used the Moss adapter kits or is there enough clearance on the TR4 between radiator and hub extension? How are you mounting on your TR3? Thanks

Walter
 
Walter, 9 years ago I bought the TRF yellow fan and the TRF mounting kit. Flipped the fan direction and it's a direct bolt in. Everything else is original. (Positive ground, too!) It's a little close to the cross bar, but works fine.

Just for fun, I'm going to go look at the Macy's Garage part.

Good luck!
 
Hi Folks,

Mark Macy`s fan looks really int. My TR3 really gets up to high temps quickly while idleing for a relatively short period of time. I`ve been considering & told that the $100.00 bellows thermostat would solve that problem. But, I`ve also heard / read about the various failures such as solder failure etc. What would the "Life Expectency" of the "Bellows" Thermostat be?

I`d be more inclined to purchase Marks Fan for $130.00 vs the Bellows Thermostat.

Mark, If your reading this; Please comment.

Thanx, Russ
 
toysrrus said:
Hi Folks,

What would the "Life Expectency" of the "Bellows" Thermostat be?

I`d be more inclined to purchase Marks Fan for $130.00 vs the Bellows Thermostat.
.

Thanx, Russ
Click to expand...

Russ- I may not be the norm, but I bought one of the bellows thermostats that are being sold these days, not an original one - and it lasted a year. I was lucky to catch the failure by glancing at the temp guage and seeing that it was heading to boil over before it did. When I checked the thermostat, the bellows had cracked, it was not a problem with solder. I've since gone with a non-bellows thermostat and partially plugged the bypass loop and things seem to be fine. Mark's fan setup does look nice.

Randy
 
I believe that the short fan mount can be used on the original pulley. I did use the Moss extension kit.

I'm on my second bellows thermostat. Can someone tell where I can get a blanking sleeve for use with a modern thermostat - just in case or when #2 fails.

Dang! I wish that the Macy's fan had been available when I did my rebuild. Looks good and keeps the harmonic balanced pulley.
What-are-you-gonna-do.
 
Tropical TR said:
Hello Charley,

Have you used the Moss adapter kits or is there enough clearance on the TR4 between radiator and hub extension? How are you mounting on your TR3? Thanks

Walter
Click to expand...


Walter,
I used the mounting kit from TRF and mounted the fan in the normal position ( not backwards). BUT I modified the bottom radiator mounting by moving it forward about three inches. The top mounting still uses the regular rods and the hoses do not appear to be stretched abnormally. The modified bottom mounting was done by making up a couple of plates that allowed me to bolt the new plate to the original mounting position and then extended forward to give me a new forward hole to mount the radiator. No fancy welding or permanent changes.
My TR3 project is a work in progress and I am some time before I get to the engine and radiator. So I do not know how it will fit. But I did see the article in TRA about Mark Macy's new fan and it looks good. I am wondering if Mark's new fan is the same diameter as the "yellow" fan the picture makes it look smaller.
Charley
 
Well, thanks to all of you gentlemen, I have all the information I need to proceed with my fan upgrade. Although I have one of the blue TR6 fans, learning about the Macy development came at the right time. I have been in contact with Mark and gotten more in that regard. There are also lots of interesting discussions about the thermostat. The bellows solution would be fine for me if there wasn't the question of cost vs. lingering concerns about dependability. Thanks again!

Regards,

Walter
 
Walter,
Just when you think that you had it all figured out here is one more item of input. This is regarding the bellows thermostat. I am sure you understand the use of the bellows thermostat, so I will not repeat it here. A fellow by the name of Bob Schaller from Texas had another idea in place of the bellows thermostat. This was to block off the bypass hose with a plug, which is what the bellows shuts off. I decided to try his idea with a more simple twist. Instead of tapping threads and putting in a metal plug, I took the hose loose and placed a rubber plug ( just slightly smaller than the hose into the rubber hose. This had the advantage of shutting off the water flow once the engine was creating pressure in the system and it also let some water or any air go by so as to not create an air pocket in the system. So I just use a regular thermostat of the degree that suits me. With this sytem I have not had any over heating problems in our local area where the temperatures get up to 115 degrees. And yes, I have driven on one of those 115 degree days with NO overheating problems with the TR3 with a stock fan and radiator.
Charley
 
Was originally looking to use the TR6 fan - which I already have - with minimum mods (not reversing and not using the shorter hub). Then based on much of the input, the TR6 fan with the Moss kit seemed to be the solution for me; like Steve's setup. Your timely mention of the Macy fan has pretty much decided me on that solution. Don't want this to sound like an advertisement but Mark has put 500 miles on the prototype with his car and he states that it pulls 3 times the air of the stock fan. So it pulls volumes like the TR6 blade and bolts on with no mods, leaving ample clearance front and rear. Using the photo on his site and judging the fan's relationship to the crossbar, it appears to be roughly the same diameter as the TR6 fan; maybe a tad smaller.

Again, I couldn't have arrived at this without all of the input from you guys. Thanks for that.

Will certainly post pictures when the time comes but right now the car and engine, etc. is in completely in pieces. I'm in Florida and it is in Virginia.

I'm still thinking about Charley's last description of Bob Schaller's and his solution for the thermostat issue....

Regards,

Walter
 
Sorry, meant to add that if anyone is interested in the information Mark Macy sent me, would be happy to provide it in a private mail. Regards,

Walter
 
Croz,
Moss sells a blanking sleeve for the MGA thermostat. I have them on my MGA's. I will check and see if the housings are about the same so maybe it will fit the TR 3.

John
 
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