Rebeldryver's '65 Impala SS Black Betty

[Scott Liggett]

Interesting....I would have done it differently....a clutch fan and shroud should fix it up just fine.

What temp is the switch supposed to switch on at? could be it never got that hot at the place you mounted it? Can you attach it to the upper hose somehow?

I wanted the extra room for the turbos. Ever tried to find a fan shroud for a 65 impala? I spent ten years looking.

The switch was supposed to kick on at 185*. It didnt. I put it exactly where the manufacturer suggested. Yes, I read directions.

[squirrel]

huh, they do exist.... ebay 390385852839. But I only spent 30 seconds looking.

If you can pay attention enough to keep the fan on when it should be, then you're a more attentive driver than I am. And you've seen that the fans do cool well, so it should be fine

[Scott Liggett]

huh, they do exist.... ebay 390385852839. But I only spent 30 seconds looking.

If you can pay attention enough to keep the fan on when it should be, then you're a more attentive driver than I am. And you've seen that the fans do cool well, so it should be fine

$165 + 45.00 for shipping. Egads! I had the original one to my car when I bought. It was in the trunk with the seat belts. I sand blasted it and repainted, but never put it on the car. I ended up losing it during a move. Its why the Caprice has one from a '66 427 car with a four core radiator. It was tbe closest I could find.

Did you see the pics of the collection of parts he had? Wow. I'd like to go there and roam the aisles.

[Scott Liggett]

As a reward for replacing a leaky steering rack on a customer's Fox Mustang, Yannick and I crawled under the car, made some measurements, and came up with a game plan for the custom strut rods. Parts will be ordered Monday.

[Scott Liggett]

I discovered that the flex fan was dragging the engine down 150 rpm at idle. The idle shot up to 1150 from the usual 1000 rpm it had been at for some time. I wonder how much power it was robbing.

I changed out the thermostat and put in fresh antifreeze today as well. I went back down to a 160* in prep for the extra heat caused by the turbos. I also removed the smog item that was left from when this engine was in my '73 Impala, the pcv valve. I stuck another K&N breather in the other valve cover.

[squirrel]

I also removed the smog item that was left from when this engine was in my '73 Impala, the pcv valve. I stuck another K&N breather in the other valve cover.

Some people see it as a smog item, others see it as an engine life increaser.

[Scott Liggett]

It also costs HP. Since this engine is 18 years old, I don't think it will matter at this point.


I forgot to mention the old thermostat was acting wonky. Wouldn't open until 195* and then was fluctuating between 180 and 190 while cruising down the highway.

[Huskinhano]

Originally Posted by Scott Ligget
I also removed the smog item that was left from when this engine was in my '73 Impala, the pcv valve. I stuck another K&N breather in the other valve cover.

Some people see it as a smog item, others see it as an engine life increaser.

I've driven enough cars with road draft tubes as well as being behind cars with road draft tubes. When you get a tired motor spewing all that crap it's pretty nasty breathing that stuff. I realize you're not installing a road draft tube but you're venting it into the atmosphere which is going right into the car. I'd keep the PCV on a tired engine just for the comfort of breating fresh air. I'm sure squirrel can attest to that.

[yellomalibu]

I discovered that the flex fan was dragging the engine down 150 rpm at idle. The idle shot up to 1150 from the usual 1000 rpm it had been at for some time. I wonder how much power it was robbing.

I changed out the thermostat and put in fresh antifreeze today as well. I went back down to a 160* in prep for the extra heat caused by the turbos. I also removed the smog item that was left from when this engine was in my '73 Impala, the pcv valve. I stuck another K&N breather in the other valve cover.

With an automatic, when a load is put on the engine and the rpm's drop (going from park to Drive) it is usually indicative of the carb not being tuned properly. I can't imagine a flex fan being that much of a drag at idle speeds... and since your car is a manual transmission, perhaps the idle settings on the carb were off a bit?

[Scott Liggett]

With an automatic, when a load is put on the engine and the rpm's drop (going from park to Drive) it is usually indicative of the carb not being tuned properly. I can't imagine a flex fan being that much of a drag at idle speeds... and since your car is a manual transmission, perhaps the idle settings on the carb were off a bit?

No. I didn't touch anything. It was an instant change from removing the flex fan.

[Scott Liggett]

You know what happens when you replace the thermostat, flush the radiator, and replace the cap? The radiator springs a leak. Figures.

I was already looking at a performance recore and other upgrades because there were signs this was coming. Today was just bad timing.

My radiator guy has plenty of upgrades. One is interesting, and very pricey, is using a high efficiency core that doubles the amount of tubes in the car that is same physical size. Same cores Ferrari uses.


I had Gregg's Caddy in the driveway, pulling the radiator, and I found a broken starter bolt under the car. It came from the Impala. I'd been driving the car around for a couple days with only one bolt holding the starter in. It's the second time the bolt has broken and I had to dig the broken out of the block. First time was way back when I just put the new front clip on the car. I'm using a scattershield now and the starter doesn't seem to be binding or having issues. Not sure about this.

[squirrel]

can you adapt something like this?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/330625700273

put it in my 55, cools good.

[yellomalibu]

No. I didn't touch anything. It was an instant change from removing the flex fan.

I think my post wasn't worded correctly.

With an automatic, you can put the car in gear to see how much the rpm's drop - then adjust the carburetor to get the least amount of rpm drop when put in gear. With a manual transmission, one cannot do this.
If the carburetor's idle circuits aren't tuned ideally, the minimal drag of a flex fan may cause excessive rpm drop... but how many people ever remove their fans to check such a thing?

I am not criticizing you in any way... just pointing out that without the tuning tool of dropping the car in gear (against the torque converter), it is probably damn near impossible to optimize the idle settings of a carb. ... and for all I know, perhaps what I consider "optimized" isn't necessarily the most efficient setting for the carb, but merely the best setting for use with an automatic. *shrug*

[Scott Liggett]

can you adapt something like this?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/330625700273

put it in my 55, cools good.

No way one that wide would work in my car.

[squirrel]

oh that's right...you don't have cutting/welding stuff do you.