VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1933-1936 1936 pickup and truck tech advisor

Who can tell me who he/she is. I'm curious whether he/she would like a photo of a factory accessory fan shroud installed on a '36 PU. I've owned this PU since 1965 and the shroud on it is the only one I've ever seen installed. It runs so cold now that I'll have to get a winterfront even for summer driving.

Ray W

Ray, a thermostat will keep your vehicle running at the right temps and will warm up fast on startup. Running cold is not good for the engine. The shroud will help in mid summer or the Death Vally in California.

Hi J. Franklin.

I've owned this '36 PU since 1965 and I've always run a thermostat. The thermostat is 160* and prior to installing the shroud it ran between 160 and 180. With the shroud it hovers around 160 except going up a steep grade on a hot day. I was just kidding about needing a winterfront.

This PU has never had an overheating problem. The only reason I put the shroud on is for the "cool" factor (pun intended) in having such a rare accessory. It took over 40 years of searching to find the shroud upper 1/2.

There are modifications to this '36 that the authenticity stuffed shirts would gag on like the 3.55 rear gear conversion:

https://vccachat.org/ubbthreads.php/topics/334876/1936_Chevy_3.55_rear_gear_conv

If you look at the May 2009 G & D you'll see an article describing some of the other modifications I've made on this PU. Despite these alterations is won Class T2 (1929-36 trucks) at the 1976 VCCA National Meet in Colorado Springs. The so called "expert" judges failed to recognize any of these non-original items. Interesting, huh?

I didn't take it to any more shows after that one. Driving it is way more fun than sitting around all day in a lawn chair at a show. In fact, my wife and I drove it today to a local park for a picnic lunch.

It's much safer and more pleasant to drive with these mods. Another recent one is a tandem MC conversion. That's described on the 1936 Chevy Owners Forum.

Ray W

Hey Ray; This is jay. you sent me the info for 3.55 conversion. I'm still trying to get my 34 db up and running. Hit a few health snags, but all is good now. Back to work on it. Give a yell if so inclined. Thanks jay

Good morning Jay.

I think you might like seeing photos of the 1934-36 truck fan shroud installed. In 50+ years of owning my '36 and having an intense interest in trucks of that era this is the ONLY one of these fan shrouds I have ever seen. It must have been an unpopular accessory because there seem to be almost no survivors. It took 40+ years of looking to find the upper 1/2. It was a guy on the 1936 Chevy Owners forum who had one hanging up in his shop for longer than he could remember. His recollection was that he took it off a '34 truck long ago and he gave it to me.

If you give me your email address I'll send you a photo.

If you're still in the restoration process I just listed a bunch of parts in the "for sale" section. These are the premium items that I saved when I finished my restoration 40+ years ago thinking I may need them some day. All I ever used for maintenance was one set of generator brushes and a little bit of Raybestos grease impregnated asbestos water pump packing.

Ray W

Evening Ray; My e-mail is ratt1969@hotmail.com. Yes I would like to see your truck fan shroud. Thanks Jay

I sent the pictures Jay. Let me know what you think.

Ray

Please send any '34 DB pictures to infomet@embarqmail.com
Thanks!
Wilson

Good morning Wilson.

I sent you photos of the fan shroud. What do you think? Is there a '34-'36 truck tech adviser? If so he/she has shown no interest in this.

In 50+ years of owning this '36 PU this is the only complete fan shroud I've seen.

Ray w

Can you post pic of this shroud directly to this thread?
I'd like to see it.

Good morning Mark.

The management of this forum only allows VCCA members to post pictures, so I can't.

If you give me your email address I can send it that way. It's unlike modern shrouds but it does seem to improve air flow through the radiator. My '36 PU has never had an overheating problem but I wanted to install this rare accessory just because it is so rare. It took me about 40 years to find the upper 1/2. A guy on the 1936 Chevy Owners forum had one hanging up in his shop rafters for decades and he gave it to me late last year. Pretty nice of him, huh?

The 1936 Chevy Owner's forum also has an illustrated how-to on the tandem master cylinder conversion I did on my '36. Here's an article on the 3.55 rear gear conversion on the same '36:

https://vccachat.org/ubbthreads.php/topics/334876/1936_Chevy_3.55_rear_gear_conv

Thanks to '36 Chevy pickup restorer Richard Brown in San Diego, California I now know more about the fan shroud I recently installed on my '36 pickup. Richard sent me page 103 of the 1936 Engineering Features. It documents that in late 1935 the fan shroud was offered as an option on pickups and 1 1/2 ton trucks.

Thanks Richard!

This again affirms what I have long believed, that grease under the nails restorers like Richard have vastly more information at hand than the self proclaimed "experts".

The one remaining mystery is why this option is so rare. In owning my '36 PU since 1965 and looking at countless others the only complete fan shroud I have ever seen is the one on my PU.

It's rare because it was not needed, therefore rarely installed.

Hi; Ray could you call me 816-465-0003. I can't find my pictures on the radiator shroud on your 36. My name is Jay. Thanks

Good morning Jay. I resent you pictures of the fan shroud via email. Please let me know if you have any trouble viewing them.

"It's rare because it was not needed, therefore rarely installed."

Giladad, what is this statement based on? One of the things that constantly amuses me about these automotive forums is the abundance of statements and opinions presented with no reference to a source or other backup.

The GM service bulletin concerning the fan shroud specifically addresses the need for extra cooling in some applications. Fan shrouds undeniably increase cooling effectiveness over the same system without a shroud. Anyone who's removed one or added one will confirm that. My own most recent experience with that is on my '32 Ford roadster street rod. It was having overheating and vapor lock problems in gridlocked and very slow moving traffic. Making a fan shroud for it from a cookie sheet solved the problems.

This antique Chevy accessory may be rare because it is time consuming to install because the fan, water pump and generator have to be removed to allow the lower 1/2 of the shroud to be shoehorned into place, and it is a very tight squeez even then.

Ray W

Hi Ray; This is Jay. I received your shroud (rad.) pics. Many thanks. By your help I also found the lower half, but not the upper. Still looking. Thanks again. Jay

"By your help I also found the lower half, but not the upper. Still looking"

That's great Jay. Can you tell us how you found it? It took me 40+ years of looking to find the upper 1/2. If someone in your area has one you could use it as a mold to make a fiberglass copy.

Ray W

Ray; this is Jay. I was luckey to find it on e-bay, about 1 year ago. I do not know any one that does fiberglass. but I can try to find someone. Thanks Jay

"I do not know any one that does fiberglass. but I can try to find someone."

Jay,

What I was suggesting is finding someone geographically near you who may have the upper 1/2 of the shroud that you are lacking. You could then use it to make a fiberglass replica by overlaying the fiberglass over the original piece. Fiberglass is very easy to work with.

I think the lower 1/2 is more commonly available because the upper 1/2 is very easy to install so some people may have installed the upper 1/2 only. The lower 1/2 is much more challenging to install. I found that even after removing the fan, water pump pulley, water pump and generator the lower 1/2 was still a really tight squeeze to install.

Also my lower 1/2 came to me without the angle brackets required to install it. Did you get those? To make angle brackets that accurately placed the lower 1/2 concentric with the fan I put duct tape on the radiator core, marked the circumference of the fan position on the duct tape then removed the radiator to make angle brackets that gave a correct position of the lower 1/2. The clearance between the outer edges of the fan blade and the shroud lower 1/2 is only about 3/16" so precision in making those angle brackets was essential.

Look at all the "views" this topic has had. Way more than any other on the page. There must be a huge interest in these trucks! What do you think guys?

Ray W

Ray; this is Jay. No the main reason I want To have it is my MAIN BUCKET is to honestly touring the U S A in my 1934 (DB) CHEVROLET. I plan on mountains and mainly route 66 ( desert ).Thanks Jay

"No the main reason I want To have it is my MAIN BUCKET is to honestly touring the U S A in my 1934 (DB) CHEVROLET. I plan on mountains and mainly route 66 ( desert )."

Wow Jay, that's a very cool thing to plan. I did something similar in 1976. I had just finished restoring my '36 PU and my wife and I drove it from Southern California to the VCCA National Meet in Colorado Springs, a distance of about 1300 miles each way. We camped all the way, no motels and no restaurants, crossing the deserts of California, Nevada, and Utah and crossing 12,000 foot passes in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. From having done that I can share a few recollections with you.

Your '34 is totally up to the task because once upon a time it was 1934 and those vehicles did it no sweat. That's an uncommon concept in VCCA where most of the vehicles are trailer queens and driving to a local restaurant or park is considered a "tour" but a few of us like doing what you are planning and do it without incident.

Travel is very slow with the 4.11 rear axle ratio, about 45 MPH tops. Decades after I drove to Colorado Springs I changed my gear ratio to 3.55 as described in this article: https://vccachat.org/ubbthreads.php/topics/334876/1936_Chevy_3.55_rear_gear_conv

The same thing could probably be done to your '34 by putting mechanical brakes on a '37 Chevy car rear end. That modification is visually undetectable unless someone crawls under your '34 and recognizes the hypoid axle.

It is hot crossing the deserts in the summer months. But a fan shroud is irrelevant at normal road speeds. It may prove useful in the mountains as there is often road maintenance going on and very slow moving traffic.

Ray W