Toocool

I needed a fan shroud for my 67 Vista Cruiser, I finally found a new repro one, they are hard to find (at least for me) and paid big $$$ for it. When I received it I couldn't believe the poor quality plus the fact that it barely covered any of the radiator. Even if I could figure a way to mount it, no way could it be effective. After sending it back I happened to be at a local car show and saw a 69 Cutlass that had a very nice shroud so I ordered one when I got home. This thing is really nice, its made of the factory style plastic (not fiberglass) and covers the entire radiator (aftermarket aluminum). I had to rework the mount to the top radiator plate and make the lower brackets but now that it is in it is very nice. Hopefully this will keep everything cool.

BangScreech4-4-2

So, for those of us who might need a fan shroud at some point, who is the vendor to avoid and who had the good shroud?

oldcutlass

Post some pictures of your setup when you get a chance.

Toocool

I bought the first shroud for a 67 Cutlass from OPGI, paper thin fiberglass, no mounting points and very small, only covered a very small part of the radiator. Sorry, no pics of it.
I bought the second one from OPGI also, it is for a 69 Cutlass, abs plastic just like the factory part, it covers almost the entire radiator. I'm very happy with this one. A couple pics of the good one.

oldcutlass

That may work for you, but its very deep. The 67 fan shroud was shallow so the fan would be 1/2 in and 1/2 out.

Toocool

Yeah I know ideally the fan should be half in and half out but the 67 shroud only covered the middle part of the radiator, it just wasn't a good part. This isn't correct or anywhere near perfect but I think it will work fine. Ill find out next week. Got a short trip planned this week.

BangScreech4-4-2

Best of luck. Post back here and let us know how it works out.

66-3X2 442

The 66/67 OEM fan shrouds only covered a portion of the radiator,just the way it was.

Toocool

Since I added the a/c I felt like I needed all the help I can get.

66-3X2 442

My 66 442 3X2 has factory A/C with the OEM shroud with absolutely no cooling issues. Have you ever thought that the smaller the shroud is the more air it helps move?. As previously posted,the correct fan/shroud alignment is the fan is half in & half out of the shroud. They paid those GM engineers good to design good cars. Just look @ the electric fans on the late model cars,the shroud/case is barely larger than the fan. Not knocking what you did,just giving another perspective.

cjsdad

That's not quite the way it works. The fan will pull the same amount of air no matter the size of the shroud. You will probably have higher air velocity through a smaller portion of the radiator with the smaller shroud but still the same volume of air. The shroud only helps at lower vehicle speeds anyway, once you reach a high enough speed the air is forced through the radiator because you are basically running into it. The water pump moves the liquid through the engine. The liquid transfers the heat out of the engine. The airflow through the radiator transfers the heat out of the liquid. The thermostat controls the flow rate. It is that simple. Any over heating issues are because one of those is not working right.
The OP's fan is in the barrel of his shroud enough that it will work. To get the "correct alignment" all he needs to do is trim the barrel of his shroud shorter. Not a necessity, the fan is not obstructed so it will still pull enough air through the radiator. All other things working correctly, it will cool.

cbartonbrown

I just got off the phone with Joe at The Parts Place. He is the owner. Their 66-67 fan shroud they sold me (for my 67 Supreme convert) is almost 3/4" too short (top to bottom measurement). So, the bolts to secure the shroud from the top aren't long enough to reach the towers at the top of the shroud. I told him I would send him photographic evidence that the part was too short but he doesn't want quantifiable information about the inadequacy of the part. Probably because he needs to continue to sell his remaining substandard inventory.

It is very sad he has this attitude. I thought he was a valued member of the Oldsmobile community but he chooses not to be.

I requested that he investigate this question and post information about the part on his website but he showed no inclination to do that. Again, for the likely reason so that he can sell his sunk cost inventory.

66-3X2 442

Sounds just like the ***** cranium he is.

Toocool

Update on my shroud issues.
I have been driving in traffic and on the highway several times with the a/c on. Its been in the 90s here and the car cools well, even in traffic on a 90 degree day the car hasn't been over 190*. The 69 shroud works perfect on my car, no its not correct but this car is a driver, I plan to drive it across the country later this year and don't want any issues. The aftermarket a/c cools great, my wife says its too cold but the temp is adjustable. Pretty happy with the car now.
Thanks to the guys that have helped me through my issues.

Tiberian Fiend

The Parts Place has the lowest prices for reproduction Cutlass parts most of the time, but you get what you pay for. I had problems with two orders in a row and had to get replacements both times, first because they sent me 4-4-2 tail light bezels when I ordered regular, and second because they shipped back-up lenses in a ziploc bag full of metal emblems and scripts with nothing to pad them, so the pins broke off of the lenses.