<VV> Corvair Fan

[JVHRoberts at aol.com]

Given that ALL turbo Corvairs overheat if you keep your foot into it long  
enough, AC Corvairs seem to struggle in hot weather, and 140 HP Corvairs run  
better cold than hot, I'd say it's inadequate, and Chevy opted for a one size  
fits all solution that only works on the lowest HP models. The more powerful  
engines simply need better cooling than Chevy gave them. And regardless of your 
 reverse logic, the market demand for air conditioning and more power was 
clearly  there. No need for water cooling, just a better fan. 
Parts cost over the counter will ALWAYS be a LOT higher than the  
manufacturing costs. By a BUNCH. The revision to the 1961 cooling system was  done to 
accomodate the Direct Air heater, a cost savings over the gasoline fired  unit. 
So, why is the stock cooling system marginal on the high output and AC  
engines? Simple, Chevy never designed the right cooling system parts for these  
engines. 
 
In a message dated 7/10/2005 4:41:23 PM Eastern Standard Time,  
crawfordrose at msn.com writes:

I recall  that Chevrolet stated that the fan redesign was to eliminate belt 
retention  problems arising from heavy steel fans only, not to enhance cooling. 
I am not  aware of any publication that claims that the fan was redesigned to 
improve  cooling only to reduce inertia on changes of engine speed. The 
design of the  original fan was conventional to the Porsche and VW fans in use at 
that time.  Therefore, the supposition that the fan as designed (or even as 
redesigned) is  inadequate is not a well founded premise.  Is it not more correct 
to  state that burdensome air conditioning condensers, turbochargers and 
large  valve heads are inadequate for the small Corvair engine? Why fuss with  
designing a new fan when a "better" cooling system of air and water jackets  for 
liquid cooling could easily be designed but then, it is no longer the  Corvair 
cooling system. I never had a problem with my 64 Spyder's cooling  system 
which worked as designed, at speeds of up to 90 mph, for 124,000  miles.

Finally, what was so cheap about the cooling system? The total  cost of all 
shrouds, seals, parts, and fan (itself $6.25 when minimum wage was  less than 
$1.00) was $85.56 in 1960. The engine in a crate was 450.00. The  cooling 
system was simplified thereafter to include bilateral thermostats  damper doors, 
probably for no significant cost  savings.