Fan Shroud

[BadBird]

I finished making my fan shroud and thought I would post how I did it and what it looks like. Since I don't know how to post pictures with words attached I will post a few attachments to this.

First picture shows the framework that I wrapped the fleece around. As you can see, I added about an inch to the lower panel. I screwed up the first shroud because I made it too small and the fan would touch. The fan I have is a 17" so I made the circular board 18" diameter. The shroud is 2 1/2" deep.

Second picture is the aluminum foil applied to the frame. Fiberglas resin won't stick to that. Forget the foil and it will never come off.

Third pic is me stapling the fleece to the frame.

Fourth shows the fleece stapled. You have to pull the fleece down tight to form to the frame mold.

Last pic is the resin and hardener. Bought them at Lowes. About half the price of an auto shop store.

[BadBird]

Having trouble posting more pics and descriptions. Getting a message saying the site is having problems. I will add more later today. Larry

[Luva65wagon]

Ooh! Can't wait to see this. Gonna wanna do the same thing when I put my V8 in! Hope you can post the pictures.

[BadBird]

Trying again for the next set.

Picture one is just showing that I mixed up 8 ounces of resin at a time. Any more and it will start to get too tacky. For 8 ozs. you are supposed to put in 80 drops of hardener, but I use a little more to make sure it sets up in our cool/damp weather, which explains why it gets tacky quicker.

2nd pic. I am putting a liberal coating of resin on the fleece. Put enough to soak it.

3rd pic. after the resin is dry on the fleece.

4th pic. I am sanding with 36 grit so the next resin and matting process will stick. The resin can seperate at layers if you don't sand it.

5th pic. shows that I have applied 2 layers of fiberglas matting. You can buy all this at Lowes. I use matting when I am dealing with curves. The cloth works well on flat surfaces but is harder to get it to lay in the curves.

More to come.

[BadBird]

More.........

First Picture I have cut off the excess and sanded the outside to get a closer shape to what I want.

2nd Pic. I removed the screws holding the wood parts together and popped out the round part. Then removed the flat section of frame. It comes apart easily.

3rd Pic. Now I applied 2 layers of fiberglas cloth to the inside of the shroud. Used cloth on the straight areas and matting in the corners. Be sure to check your part after it dries to make sure it hasn't warped too much. During the curing process it gets hot and can move around. If it does warp too much you can apply a hot mix of resin (using more hardener) and hold it into a better position as it dries.

4th Pic. I put a coating of body filler on the shroud and before it set up completely I rough cut it with my cheese grater tool to get off most of the excess.

5th Pic. I continued to sand the shroud, added more body filler as needed and sanded and sanded. Then painted it with primer.

You need to plan as you go along to decide how you are going to attach the shroud to the radiator. I added 7" long brackets to each side of the radiator and then put two bolts through the sides of the shroud through those brackets. But each project may need different attachment solutions.

First shroud that I made, I attached 4 small clips the the sides of the shroud with pop rivets then covered the clips on the shroud with fiberglas cloth to give it more strength. But, as I mentioned it was too small and hit the fan. So the clip idea wouldn't work the 2nd time around.

[BadBird]

Last shroud update.

This picture shows the shroud painted with semi-gloss engine paint and installed in the car. Test run was good.

I solved three things with this shroud.

1. I have been troubled by the thought that someone could stick their hands in the fan with the engine running. The fan is invisible when turning.

2. It is supposed to keep the engine cooler. We'll see.

3. I like the looks.

Hope this helps and if you need any questions answered let me know. Larry

[Jeff W]

I would love to make a make a visor for the wagon someday... like the Aussies have. Looks like fiberglass may be the way to go. I'll ask for help when it moves up on my list.