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MG TD TF 1500 - Fan : plastic or steel ?

Gentleman, my steel cooling fan is shot and I am thinking of getting a yellow plastic fan I have seen those mounted on various cars here on the board.

What are the pros and cons apart from being original .
Secondly If I decide for a plastic fan what is the Moss part-number and will I be able to mount it WITHOUT any modification ?

Thanks for your answer in advance,

Gerard
Gerard Hengeveld

Gerard - I don't know which P/N to use, but the thing that made me switch to the plastic fan was the thought of a steal fan blade breaking loose at speed and coming through the bonnet. I painted ours black so it is not quite so obvious. Cheers - Dave
Daved DuBois

Dave : flying through the hood is one of my concerns also. Had that happen with one of my A's.Maybe somebody chime in for the part no,
Sincerely, Gerard.
Gerard Hengeveld

I use a 7 blade yellow MGB fan with brass insertsin the
four mounting holes. No idea about the p/n though.
I had a fan blade break on a Fiat 1100 in the early seventies, it cut straight through the bonnet and disappeared. Minutes before that I was leaning over the engine bay tinkering with the dual weber while my brother was inside revving the engine. Scary!
Jan Kristoffersen

Ps ; bought my fan from Brown and Gammons
Jan Kristoffersen

More fun with centrifugal force:

Back in my hot rod days I missed a shift and went to some unknown RPM (SBC). When I came to a stop I heard an unusual noise so shut down to see how much it was going to cost. I found all of the alternator cooling fan blades had straightened and a couple were missing.

The engine survived and I simply removed the alternator fan.
J E Carroll

There's a lot of plastic fan info in the archives,,seems like an "MGB" plastic fan fits, and even though the mounting holes are a bit different, spacers are not needed,,,,

SPW
STEVE WINCZE

MGB Plastic Fan. Moss 434-332.




Paul sr

Dave DuBois,
What paint did you use?
Thanks,
Mort
Mort (50 TD "Mobius")

Mort, I'm sure Dave will get back on his paint choice, but there is a paint in a rattle can specifically designed to stick to plastic. I don't know the brand or brands that carry it, but it's supposed to work well. Have no idea how durable it will be on a spinning fan. PJ
Paul sr

I have used Krylon Fusion (specially formulated for plastic) with great results.
-David
D. Sander

Thanks Guy's I know now what to do.

Gerard
Gerard Hengeveld

Gerard, the bolt holes in the plastic fan are slightly larger than the diameter of the stock TD fan bolts. I used some small aluminum bushings that had the same OD as in the plastic fan. I drilled out the bushing ID to conform to the TD bolts to eliminate any movement. I also installed some larger flat washers under the bolt head to keep the bushings and fan securely in place.
I used black flexible bumper spray paint to cover the yellow and the convversion is hardly noticeable. The paint was purchased at a local auto parts store.
The cooling advantage is mostly gained at low speeds when there is not much cooling air flowing through the radiator. At higher speeds, the forward motion on the car may produce a little more drag from the fan which I consider meaningless.


Jim Merz

I painted my B fan black, using Duplicolor bumper paint...So far, so good.
Edward


E.B. Wesson

The black paint looks good! I agree, that yellow color just doesn't cut it. My TF has the original fan, in good shape, but because of it's age, I'm leery of it breaking. Seeing how this car isn't concourse, I think I'll go with the B fan also. PJ
Paul sr

Jim Mertz,
What supercharger is that?
Mort
Mort (50 TD "Mobius")

Mort, the blower is a Marshall-Nordec J-75 that was a basket case from Texas. I run it with the pulleys that produce a lower pressure ratio.
Jim Merz

Jim,
It looks good but I think you'll get more boost if you tighten up the belt!
Mort ;))
Mort (50 TD "Mobius")

It may be an urban legend but I've also heard that a benefit of the plastic fan is, due to its greater flexibility, it flattens out at higher speed when movement of the car produces sufficient air through the radiator for cooling and, bing flatter (less blade pitch) reduces the load on the engine caused by spinning it. I suspect this is a myth but I've heard it more than once.
Jud
J K Chapin

There are metal flex fan that do exactly what you describe that are made for some application, but the MGB plastic fan won't.

http://automotive.flex-a-lite.com/belt-driven-fans/12-inch-flex-fan.html

I doubt anyone makes one small enough to fit a TD. Or would a 12" do it? Dunno....
Rob Edwards

Jud & Rob,
Ben der/dun dat.
I agree with you Jud, that the influence of a tiny bit of air pressure will not bend the fan blade to any measurable amount.
And Rob, I cut down a 17" or 18" fan for our TD.
New thread started with details
"Fan- 6 blade stainless... cheap, too."
JIM
JIM NORTHRUP SR

Go with one of the paints that the others have posted - I'm sure I used what ever I was using on my restored fuel pumps at the time. Had a member of our local Register who was a retired Air Force pilot who drove the C17s (I think that is the correct designation) and he took a page from the Air Force book and left a half 1 inch wide strip bare on each blade. When the car was running the stripe on the fan blades made a circle of yellow as a warning to keep you hands away. Cheers - Dave
Daved DuBois

Moss offers this "texas cooler" which sounds useful. The slots look as if it can be fitted to other patterns than Healeys which it is originally designed for.
www.mossmotors.com/Shop/ViewProducts.aspx?PlateIndexID=72267
Needs a different shade of color though and quite expensive...
Anyone used the 6 blade MGA fan on a T?

Mike
Mike Fritsch

Some years ago I had half of one fan blade brake off and went straight down and out onto the road. Looking at the part that was left, the outer two sides were rusty. I replaced with a black plastic four blade off a Chevette.Looks and run great. I think I had to drill a couple of holes.

George
George A Merson

George, can you post a photo of your Chevette blade installation? One to preserve on Bud's website.
Jim Merz

My TD Mark II still has the original steel fan. I have had a yellow MGB fan for a couple years sitting on the shelf. Can it be installed without pulling the radiator? Are longer bolts needed? Sounds like a good winter project.
John Masters

John, scroll up to my earlier posting with the picture. I installed mine using the original fan mounting bolts but used the bushings I modified. The change can be made without pulling the rad but a piece of thin cardboard against the rad core is highly recommended as a anti-knucle scraper. Not much room to work in but a pain in the back over a long period of time in bending over the fender. One problem you might encounter is the original bolt threads might be rusted and susceptible to breaking if not removed slowly (back and forth motion)and with care. Penetrating oil might be applied the day before the start of the project but hard to get access. The job is not difficult, just takes time.
Jim Merz

Dave;

Probably a C-131 jock (turboprop), the C-17 i a jet so the "propellers" are inside the engine and hard to see.

Jud, USAF, Long ago
J K Chapin

Jud - Thank you for the correction - I think that you are right, I can never keep them straight - I was Navy. Cheers - Dave
Daved DuBois

Revisited '
===============

As advised by your gentleman I ordered the Plastic fan( when I asked for the P/N number ) turned a few bushings so far so good and who turned out perfect.
When I wanted to mount the fan to my shocking experience I found that the bolt holes from the fan will not fit my water pump flange and or spacer
Bolt pattern way of DUH !!!.
Did I got the wrong P/N advised or did Moss send me the wrong fan .The fan number involved and ordered 434-332

Thanks

Gerard
Gerard Hengeveld

Must be the wrong fan, assuming the original steel ones came off the car unmodified.
Willem vd Veer

Gerard,
Here are the details of the fan I bought. No spacers. No problems. Been in the car about 1-1/2 years.
Mort


Mort (50 TD "Mobius")

Deeply sorry if I gave the wrong part number for the MGB fan. I was told only an adjustment had to be made in the hole size for the bolts as none were a direct fit. ?? PJ
Paul sr

My "B" fan fit without modification...You either have the wrong pump, or the wrong fan....Probably the wrong fan.
Moss # 434-340....
Edward
E.B. Wesson

Ive got rid of the yellow plastic fan on the donor engine,and fitted an earlier metal one.
Pilkie

plastic.


Pilkie

metal


Pilkie

Pilkie, I see that your fanbelt is toothed. Is that a TF feature, personal preference, an improvement or something else. The one on my TD (surely not original) is smooth on the inside.
Thanks. Jud
J K Chapin

Hi Jud.

You do know that my TF's engine is from a 1974 MG midget 1500tc!
I converted to a dynamo for more period looks,and the belt was a new one I had in stock that happened to fit perfectly.
A toothed belt supposedly gives better grip,less slip,more flexible round the pulleys,and therefore should last longer!

Cheers Dave
Pilkie

I didn't know (probably should have from prior posts but wasn't sufficiently observant). Although I think I'm learning I really don't know how different an XPEG is from an XPAG (increased bore from 66.5 to 72mm, increased bhp to 63 - just due to increased bore? result of other changes?)so I'm really at a loss on the "B" plant (bore increased to 80.3 but stroke shortened to 88.9, compression ratio increased to 8.8, bhp increased to 98) but I bet it zooms!
Jud
J K Chapin

Hi Jud.
Its not a B plant,its the same as the Triumph Spitfire 1500 engine,and the layout of dynamo,dizzy,carbs is the same as the XPAG/XPEG,so it looks the part in the engine bay.
Only about 70bhp,so hopefully it should perform well!
Pilkie

Oops! You said "Midget." I don't know why I read B. I've got to get these trifocals checked. I think the 1500 cc threw me off. To quote Jnathan Wood, "The last [MG] Midget, from 1975 powered by the 1.5 litre Tiumph engine shared with the Spitfire, was built in December 1979." Jud
J K Chapin

Jud,
Quite a while ago there was an excellent post about fan belts referring to types and tension. I believe it was Dave DuBois who posted it. It explained the merits of the segmented belt and keeping the tension loose.

http://homepages.donobi.net/sufuelpumps/othertecharticles.html

Look for "Keep your belts loose".

I am using a Gates Greenstripe II Belt 15A0995 on my TD.
Mort
Mort (50 TD "Mobius")

Great stuff and a whole lot more.

Thanks. Jud
J K Chapin

This thread was discussed between 11/01/2013 and 21/01/2013

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