I have a 67 bird with a 400 engine.

I tried to install the stock fan shroud on the radiator, and I ended up puncturing the old one. Long story, bought a new radiator, and got the shroud lined up and the fan was hitting the shroud in a couple of places.

There wasn't really any give to move the shroud around. I'm guessing it was the motor mounts that are shimmed and it's off by a bit.

So I said to hell with the fan shroud, Ill just go without it. Is that a bad idea? A friend figures with a brand new radiator it should be fine. Or should I pick up one of those universal ones?

a universal shroud probably won't work, as the Pontiac engine is off center. You do want to use a shroud for maximum cooling, especially with a 400. There are a lot of posts in the archives about heat issues with this engine.

Angus,I put a new rad in mine and then the shroud would not fit, i'm pretty sure the rad shop modded my rad somehow,not sure what they put in but the shroud did the same thing with my fan whereas it did not before so... i ended up running it without the shroud(which i did not want to do) without any cooling issues but i'm up in Canada, although it gets hot and humid it may be a different story if you are in the desert! I plan on getting a "proper" rad when this one goes or i win the lottery and then putting the shroud back on for both cooling and safety issues.
P.S. Your wiper part is on its way

David

What about the small bolt on electric fans? I was thinking about losing the shroud in mine-'68 convertible with a 455

I have a Be Cool 16" puller fan on my 400 and it works great and looks very clean. You DONT want to go without a fan though.

455fbird, you say it hit the shroud in a couple of places....all around? or where? probably in a couple of places close together on one side? if so , try moving the shroud...
I recently fixed my problem w a broken shroud ,the fan had hit it on right lower side...former owner had installed new engine...
my problem was because engine was off , not the 1" to the right Vikki is talking about but engine tilted down on pass side,i checked brackets and they were fine, I had to shim engine mount up and trim off 1/4" off battery tray to be able to move radiator over 1/8" and then center shroud...and YES you DO need the shroud....unless you go electric...
if you go electric, make sure to get 'puller' fan(s) in rear of , not 'pusher'fan fan(s) in front of radiator...main problem with electric fans in my mind is the constant noise = "whishing sound"....

Correction to Bjorn's post.....get PULLER fans NOT Pushers. You mount the puller in the engine compartment and they pull air thru the radiator.....MUCH more efficient than pushers which would mount between radiator and bumper.

look into getting an electric fan from a lincon mark VIII or a taurus, they are much cheaper then the becool one and have a shroud built in, message me if you want more info

No idea what you`re talking about Drew?? thats not what it says...


Yes ,Drew is right, I corrected my post , must not have had my morning coffee yet....I typed the opposite of what I thought...but well meant...

Bjorn is correct about the noise however, it is a bit loud. If you are going the electric route get a curved blade fan. They don’t flow as much CFM as straight blade fans but they are a lot quieter. I initially bought a straight blade fan and it was way to loud. Got the curved blade one and you can barely hear it over the engine rumble.

Don’t worry Bjorn, I am like that with or without my morning coffee!

"What , me worry?"
Bjorn E Neuman LOL

(Alfred)

i dont think i will have to worry about fans being too loud.

The glasspacks on my car are loud as sin!

thanks for the tips guys

My glasspaks are loud too, but I could hear the electric "helper fan" *, the former owner had installed, especially driving in town (not freeway)...I took it off and fixed 'hot running' problems other ways....X fillers, rubberized (masticated) fillers ,waterpump mod etc...plus new temp gauge (was 15 F off)

* may tell you how loud the electric fan is...