Hey- I am building a 406 to put into my 86 camaro sport coupe previously a 2.8 litre. I was wondering if the stock radiator from the v-6 would be enough to cool the 406 at all... im not too worried if it runs a little bit hot because i wont be driving for long periods of time and i live out in the boonies so its pretty much wide open roads. I plan on using the stock electric fan setup as well. Im getting a new water pump and i have the stock air dam on the front of the car. What do you guys think will it run too hot or not? The 406 will be pushing around 380-400 HP with cast heads.

 

No. 400's are known to run hot due to their small cylinder walls. Youll need to have your cooling system very much up to par with one of them. Youll be MUCH better off with a Griffin or something along the lines of that.

 

The V6 rads won't work since the outlet/inlets are in wrong places. However the stock hd V8 one will be sufficient to cool the 406 down. Works excellent for me.

 

Neither the V6 radiator nor the electic fan will keep your 400 cool.
Get the V8 cooling,(radiator clutch fan assembly ,enginepulleys fan belts,complete fan shroud) from a 86 carburated 305 camaro. Add a good transmission cooler.
Do not use a aftermarket fan or a griffin rad. A factory V8 or direct
replacement radiator is all you need. The wreckers are full of these parts cars. Don't even think about using an electric fan on
a 400.

 

Why do you say no electric fan fbird 88? I hear they give you a little bit of power and cool better.... I really wanted to use an electric fan with a griffin radiator if i had to, but if i can just use a stock v-8 radiator that would be nice, and i wont need a tranny cooler ive got a manual.

 

Electric fan will be fine with the Griffin radiator. I had one in an S-10, and I hardly ever had to turn the fan on in traffic.

 

All but the most expensive and highest flow and certainly not your V6 fan, are not capable of moving enough air volume to keep your 400 cool. There is no free lunch. The power that drives the fan comes from the alternator which is driven off the motor.
As long as there is a current draw, the alternator takes power to turn. The factory clutch fan with the factory shroud is very efficient
because of the Thermal-clutch. The clutch free wheels when there is enough air flow past and when the motor is cool, yet locks up and spins when the motor is hot when traveling down the road.
The stock motors that use a electric fan do not make that much power and make a lot less heat than a 400.

The parts you need to convert over to the V8 belt driven fan
are readily available in the wreckers at bargain prices.
Consider buying a new factory type replacemant radiator
as all the ones in the wreckers will be old and a new one costs less than a decent electric fan.
This is one area that needs to be done right to have a successfull 400sb swap.
If you really want to improve on the factory system, buy a good oil cooler and fan kit. This makes a big difference not only in cooling
the motor but extending the lubrication and viscosity life of the oil.
There is lots of room infront of the radiator in the nose of a camaro to mount this kit.

http://www.perma-cool.com/
http://www.haydenauto.com/
http://www.radiatorinfo.com/

 

Well how about this F-bird~ Say i get a new V-8 factory replacement radiator... and get a good set of fans maybe a dual setup.. do you think that would do it for me? If i were to go this way what year would i get the replacement radiator for? My car is an 86 i dont think it would really matter since our cars are pretty much all the same from 82-92. right?

 

My 400 has stayed quite happy for about 12 years now with the stock 83 L69 fan and a stock radiator. It lived in Memphis TN for most of that time, where the A/C ran non-stop for 7 months of the year.

 

The stock radiator, a 160* thermostat and a decent fan are all you need. I used a Wieind aluminum high flow water pump, stock 6 blade clutch fan and stock rad on my 87. It ran so cool on 65* and cooler days that I ended up gutting out the t-stat due to normal operating temp being 155*. It never saw the high side of 170* during the hottest summer months when temps were in the mid to upper 90's. If you decide to run an electric fan(s) just get an adjustable thermostatic switch to turn it on at whatever temp you choose.

 

"Well how about this F-bird~ Say i get a new V-8 factory replacement radiator... and get a good set of fans maybe a dual setup.. do you think that would do it for me?"

No, .. even expensive dual electric fans don't move enough air.

Get The clutch fan and hardware and do it right the first time.
Get the one that comes on the 85 or 86 305 carbed cars.
It has a ribbed belt like a serpentine system and a normal rotation water pump.

 

the 84 L69 Z28's were mechanical fan setup and VERY common to find cars, the 83 Z28 LG4 were mechancial also. and also VERy common to find too



good luck

 

I would like to add that the '90 up radiators used with the v8 and v6 cars (3.1) are the same, same part number.

Eric

 

One thing to remember is that 400's dont run that much hotter if the heads have the steam holes drilled like they are supposed to. The rumor of 400's running so hot came about from people putting heads on that werent origionally from 400's and not drilling the steam holes. I wouldnt see why you couldnt get away with a dual fan setup but dont have any direct experience so dont just go on my word. I know that with my 350 I only need to use one of the 2 fans, and could get away without it on the highway most likely.

Ben

 

I'm sorry I gotta call BS on this one...


400's DO NOT RUN HOT unless something is not right. Yes, there are NO cooling passages between cylinders like other small blocks, that's what the steam holes in the block and heads are for. I've built more than my share of 400's and the ONLY time they have run any hotter than other small blocks is when the previous owner / builder forget to drill the steam holes when replacing the heads, or the cooling system needed work anyway.


And clutch fan's are no free lunch either....the HD's especially eat a good bit of HP.

That being said, use a replacement 3rd gen Alum radiator ( more efficient than brass / copper, even though it's only a single core rad ) and a dual fan setup. You shouldn't have ANY problems.


I built a 408 that now resides in a 87 Regal GN look-a-like. When the owner installed the engine, he used a F-Body radiator, and adapted a dual fan setup. That was over 5 years ago, and I've ridden in that car with the AC pumping, stereo on, and idling in 100 degree weather in bumper to bumper traffic and it never went beyond 200 with the fans running......


Clutch fans are not bad, but I wouldn't go out of my way to swap to one.

In fact, I know several people with 400's in G-Body's that grabbed electric fans from W-Body V-6 FWD cars from the junkyard and used that SINGLE fan w/ a good radiator and have no problems.



HTH

 

i would have to say did-o. the 400s run just as cool as any other motor if set up rite. i think the ele. fans will work just fine WITH a good radiator(if its used have it cleaned). the only time you might have trouble would be climbing a mile long hill going 25 miles an hour, and that would be questionable. but clutch fan will pull more air and seem to be more reliable.

 

If you can get a 3 row replacement radiator for a 3rd gen camaro and the stock electric fan, You will be fine. I don't have a 400, but if what these other guys say is true about drilling the steam holes, then you shouldn't have any problems. I have a 180 thermostat in my car with the above mentioned radiator and electric fan with a stock water pump and my car never reaches 180 degrees. Even sitting in boston traffic for about a half hour. And if anyone has ever been to boston, they know that the traffic is rediculous.

 

right now i have a sbc 400 with a stock v8 rad, stock replacement water pump, and 160 thermostat and the car never gets above 190-200. i have the fan running constantly due to the fact that i broke the switch in the block and the plug on the wire broke. but it does not over heat at all.

 

Both of my 3rd gens have a 4th gen dual fan setup on them. For $75 a peice used, you cannot beat them.

 

I dont belive the 84 L69 fans were mechanical. Mine is a single electric and it keeps the temps cool. the fan is stock

 

L69 fans are electric.