May seem ridiculous but which way should the fan mount. Not sure how the fins should face

Facing the front of the engine, the fan turns clockwise.

So, in order to pull air thru the radiator, the leading edge(right side, looking at the top blade from the front of engine) of the blades must be towards the radiator.

You can easily see this by looking at the blades of the fan in this Ebay pic.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1969-1972-PONTIAC-GTO-TRANS-AM-RADIATOR-FAN-A-C-7-BLADE-400-455-9796134/152917664167?epid=1511281575&hash=item239a9a61a7:g:mcQAAOSwju9ajd9Z:rk:10:pf:0

Haven't figured out why Ebay links will work on all the other Pontiac forums, and Facebook pages, but will not work on this one particular site. Anybody know why, how to fix it, & why it hasn't already been fixed ? It's quite annoying.

OK, try this pic. It's a flex fan. You can see that the leading edges are flat with the mounting surface, and the blades are curved back towards the engine, so that, when turning clockwise, it will cut thru the air and direct it back towards the engine.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...le-_-shopping-_-srese1-_-derale-cooling-
products&gclid=Cj0KCQiAzePjBRCRARIsAGkrSm57N9-qASoCoGlyyxH7rMD9ve5cwtuoBbGTeVyy3Zf96f_1lx_2floaAiGPEALw_wcB

Now check this out. Here is a reverse rotation fan. It's made to turn counterclockwise.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/der-17618/overview/

Was just curious as to what engines turned counterclockwise. Seems that some pre-2000 Honda 4-cyl engines did, as well as the Corvair engine, and some marine engines. Even says that Smokey Yunick made some of his circle track engines run counterclockwise, to gain an advantage.

https://itstillruns.com/car-engines-rotate-anticlockwise-7516028.html

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/clockwise-crankshaft-rotation-is-this-a-standard.35824/

My OEM fan has "FRONT" stamped on the center section.

Here is how you do it...

edit your post
click on USE FULL EDITOR
copy link statement into your clipboard
click on insert link button
Paste your clipboard
Click Ok
Paste your clipboard
Click Ok

Most all links post just fine, except those from Ebay. Don't understand what the difference is.


"...edit your post
click on USE FULL EDITOR..."

Just clicked on Edit. There is no Use Full Editor block. The 3 blocks are: Change Post, Preview Changes, & Delete Post.

The only place I see the Use Full Editor block is under the Quick Reply box.

ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1969-1972-...39a9a61a7:g:mcQAAOSwju9ajd9Z:rk:10:pf:0

You are in "FULL EDITOR" mode already.

Well Hello First Gen Brothers and Sisters. I am in the process of a load of DIY projects for my '68 350 V8 2bbl Coupe and have come to see that the previous owner had a Champion aluminum electric (single fan) radiator installed. Hiccup right now is that the fan shroud/ is not the rite size for this new radiator. Looking over, under, and around I have found that 1) the top locking bolt was attempted in x3 drill holes before locked down to one; 2) the bottom of the shroud is held "tight" with a tension spring that is held in place by a long screw that was drilled into the lower end of the body and clamped to the bottom of shroud to create the tension.

This fubar attempt by the installer has resulted in the fan slapping the shroud when accelerating at take off. Started the motor, revved to get engine going, heard the screech, heard the knock knock, opened hood, saw what was happening, turned off the car, commenced to speak in less than stellar dialect.

So after all that, my question is that since the new radiator has a fan built into it, is there a "need" for the shroud or $$$ for an aluminum one that will secure/ fit properly. Looking for a second opinion from fellow actual Bird owners after I spoke with a local radiator specialist (high ranked on Yelp) who said the original engine fan is not really a need nor is the shroud since there is a fan already installed in the new radiator.

Thanks for the feed back on this. About to put it up on jacks and start on the u-joints, control arm upper and lower bushings (as opposed to replacing entire control arms at $$$ a piece) along with ball joints, alignment shims, trans and oil pan gaskets & filters, along with brake fluid and power steering fluid flush/ replacement. All listed to do items came after I took it in for an alignment/ balance/ inspection and the shop gave me a $3,768.38 quote to do these repairs.

If you do intend on redoing the engine pan gasket you would be well off just pulling the engine and Trans from the car. You will at that time be able to get to all the other repairs more easily as well. The pan gasket is next to impossible with the engine still installed. Be aware though that many a seemingly simple repair such as these results in a multi year project in which money seems to disappear like it does when taking your wife on vacation.
Just sayin.

Thanks for the heads up Robert. Definitely take that into account in this process. The upper was re-built a couple of years ago along with a list of other items replaced/ repaired and overall, it is in great condition. Once I get it up on stands, I'm going to do a clean up and let it sit overnight with cardboard underneath to see exactly where and how much of this leak there is. Just want to be sure for the sake of being sure and not creating work when I could be cruising instead.

Another question I have is on the average, how often do ya'll change out gaskets and seals if putting 7k or less a year on the road at moderate speeds?

Thanks and Have a good one.

Welcome,

IMO, I would install stock copper rad, fan, shroud and A/C filler panels. Stock parts work and don't change the original sound of your car. If you enjoy the sound of a big block Pontiac stick with stock. I have an electric fan on my 455 in my motor home. All you can here is that bloody fan. It's huge as well. A properly designed aluminum rad with fan and shroud will work but you need one that fits your car's engine. And again, you stuck with noisy electric fan.

What do one of those sound like?

It's a Canadian thing. 60's Pontiacs sold in Canada were built in Canada. Exception: 1st gen Firebirds were not built in Canada.
The Canadian cars were badged differently. For example, a Pontiac Catalina in the US was a Pontiac Laurentian in Canada.
The Canadian Pontiac's came with Chev engines on chev chassis's.

We called the orange blocks "small block" Pontiac's and the blue blocks "big block" Pontiac's.

Thanks for the recommendation. You wouldn’t happen to have part numbers would you? Have a great day.

Acenho, your ’bird is beautiful.