fan shroud

[mcditalia]

Is the fan shroud on 327 small blocks for 66 supposed to be removed in one piece? Mine is one piece, bonded together and cracked. I took the radiator out today with much swearing and sweat no thanks to the shroud which refused to come out. It seems the only way it would come out is to remove the fan clutch and fan assembly otherwise there is no clearance to take it out. Paragon has a three piece assembly that looks to be bolted together and would make assembly and disassembly very easy.

TIM doesn't mention anything about a three piece design. If it's meant to be removed in one piece, any suggestions?:confused

 

[JohnZ]

'66-'67 small-blocks use the same 3-piece bonded-together fiberglass fan shroud, and removing the fan and clutch greatly simplifies its removal.

The Paragon shroud is also 3-piece, bonded together; the bolts you see in their illustration are for attachment of the separate shroud extension ring which was only used on A/C cars.

The new '66 JG edition (due out around the end of the year) will describe the shroud correctly.

 

[mcditalia]

Thanks John,

Chilton manual is useless at describing the fan assembly removal as it merely states "remove fan assembly" duh. I enclosed two pics of the type of fan clutch that I have. I removed the small rectangular metal plate on the clutch but not sure how it gets removed from here since I never done this before. Any help?

 

[Tom Bryant]

Look at your second picture. Remove the 4 nuts that hold the water pump pulley to the water pump (not the ones on the back of the fan). The complete fan and clutch assembly will pop off the water pump and you can lift it out of the way.

Tom

 

[JohnZ]

Put that rectangular bi-metallic plate back on the clutch (carefully); that's what operates the flow valve inside the clutch, and it's not intended to be removed.

 

[brrrdman]

If you take the fan off, the shroud is easy to get off. The fan is not that hard to remove.

Is the fan shroud on 327 small blocks for 66 supposed to be removed in one piece? Mine is one piece, bonded together and cracked. I took the radiator out today with much swearing and sweat no thanks to the shroud which refused to come out. It seems the only way it would come out is to remove the fan clutch and fan assembly otherwise there is no clearance to take it out. Paragon has a three piece assembly that looks to be bolted together and would make assembly and disassembly very easy.

TIM doesn't mention anything about a three piece design. If it's meant to be removed in one piece, any suggestions?:confused

 

[mcditalia]

I'm going to paint the shroud but unsure what type of paint to use. I had a guy from NAPA tell me to prime it and use high temp engine paint. I was told to stay away from the plastic type paints. Anyone have any experience with this? Thanks.

I also familiarized myself with the fan clutch. Someone painted the back black. I was going to chemically strip it being careful not to have anything leak into the bearing as the lubricant and fluid in the assemply are vital in proper operation, but I am unsure if this is a good idea.

 

[JohnZ]

I'm going to paint the shroud but unsure what type of paint to use. I had a guy from NAPA tell me to prime it and use high temp engine paint. I was told to stay away from the plastic type paints. Anyone have any experience with this?

The '66-'67 small-block shroud was never painted - it was natural unpainted dark gray fiberglass, with visible fiber strands. Only the big-block shroud was painted.

Tape off the area on the back of the clutch where the shaft enters the housing to keep stripper off the seal, and you should be OK.

 

[ricks327]

Here is a picture of my original 67 fan shroud small block (L-79) and as John mentions you can clearly see the fiberglass strands.
Rick

 

[mcditalia]

Thanks for the responses and pic. I don't doubt that the shroud was left unpainted, but in my judging guide 4th edition, page 104 it describes small block shrouds as "fiberglass and painted semi-gloss black", is that a mistake anyone caught? I enclosed a pic of my shroud, where I started to pick at the paint, the glass underneath is a very light gray with visible strands. I've never seen any this color.

 

[JohnZ]

I don't have a '66 JG handy (the new edition will be out around Christmas, I believe), but '66-'67 small-blocks both used exactly the same shroud, and the '67 JG has always called it out as unpainted natural fiberglass. You might check with Bill Calorico, the new '66 National Judging Team Leader - his contact info is on the inside cover of the NCRS "Restorer" magazine.

 

[mcditalia]

I'm taking the paint off my shroud. Anyone know why it looks like this? Bare bones fiberglass is a very light grey.

 

[JohnZ]

Might be a reproduction or later service replacement.