mini cooling fan

[handy andy]

help
can anyone tell me please when the 16 blade metal fan was fitted
my car 1961 may mk1 has this but on checking in one of the mini books
guide to purchase and di y restoration i see that this was fitted from august 1961
does this mean that my car should have the 4 blade fan
the reason for asking is that the present 16 blade fan has been damaged and is now out of balance
according to the book quieter 16 blade fan fitted from august 1961
from chassis no 69834
my car chassis no aa 257-1168 53 a
thanks
andy

[InimiaD]

I found a date of October 1961 when the 16 blade fan was introduced.

[handy andy]

thanks for that
it seems that my car may 1961 should have the 4 bladed fan
have ordered one
the one thats on is damaged anyway when the dynamo pulley broke and pieces from that bent it
andy

[rich@minispares.com]

the one thats on is damaged anyway when the dynamo pulley broke and pieces from that bent it
andy

I bet that made a good noise!

ive had a four blade one break up and go through the rad and it scared the crap out of me - I thought the whole engine had fallen to bits!

[InimiaD]

the one thats on is damaged anyway when the dynamo pulley broke and pieces from that bent it
andy

I bet that made a good noise!

ive had a four blade one break up and go through the rad and it scared the crap out of me - I thought the whole engine had fallen to bits!

You have as much luck as me Rich.
I had an alternator pulley explode on me whilst hooning around Aintree doing a stage event.. Smashed the rad to pieces.
Had a spare fan, and belt but no rad. (drove to the event).
Found a motor factors down the road, part exed the scrap rad for a new one, re-fitted everything, finished the event and drove home. Mad days.

[handy andy]

sounds like fun
have bought a 4 blade fan but i see that its in 2 pieces
just the 4 bolts hold it together
i thought the orig,inals were either riveted or welded to gether
is that right
andy

[Andrew1967]

The 4 blade fan on my Nov 60 is a two piece affair. I think (long time since its been off) that there is a square plate that sits in front of the fan blades so there are actually three pieces to the assembly. Could be wrong there though

They're certainly noiser than the 16 blade fan, sounds not dissimilar to a Morris Minor !

[Ronnie]

The 4 blade fan on my Nov 60 is a two piece affair. I think (long time since its been off) that there is a square plate that sits in front of the fan blades so there are actually three pieces to the assembly. Could be wrong there though

They're certainly noiser than the 16 blade fan, sounds not dissimilar to a Morris Minor !

You are right Andrew

[handy andy]

thanks for that Andrew
you say that there is a plate on the front of the fan
i dont see how this could be fitted as there are 2 profiles in the centre of the fan that match up to 2 similar on the other
there are also pegs between the two
i was thinking of either welding or riveting these blades together for more security or were they not done that way in the first place
any advice much appreciated
Andy
if you look on e bay under mini fans you will see the one i bought

[Tim]

Yes there is a square plate that fits over the two seperate blades. It has the same profile as the blades so it conforms to their shape.

'Borrowed' from the Somerford mini site, part number 2A803


You don't need to use the plate, and I wouldn't bother to weld the two blades together, the 4 bolts hold them together fine, and you risk creating a stress raiser that might propagate cracks (and they do crack around the bolt holes).

Tim

[handy andy]

hi tim
thanks for the info on the extra plate required
have been in touch with somerford minis about this
andy

[handy andy]

hi tim
yes i have bought that plate you mentioned
thanks again
just seen your pics on the cars you have very nice
doesnt the aussie licensing authority make a number plate that fits
andy

[Tim]

Thanks Andy, yes Australian numberplates were traditionally narrower and deeper than UK ones so they don't fit very well onto the holders. On the rear of early Australian built CKD sedans the lower edge of the plate is often slipped under the rear number plate light it, so that it ends up level with the top of the flap. On later sedans the bootlid pressing was changed so our plates fit properly. There's a certain amount of pride in owning the earlier models so the bits of backing that stick out either side of the plates is worn like a badge.

Most states can now get "euro" style plates which would probably fit better, but look too modern. Plates here seem to be more tightly regulated than in the UK, typically they are only available from a couple of contracted manufacturers in each state and are normally issued at the transport office at registration time. Plates don't stay with the car, they remain the property of the state have to be returned if the registration expires or the car moves interstate. That's why my Traveller doesn't have any plates, it changed state a couple of times and has been out of registration for several years.

As a result we don't get excited about correct plates, but if someone is bothered they can just pay to have whatever numbers they want anyway.

Tim

[mk1]

Just to clarify. You will find a lot of cars that "should" have a 4 blade fan fitted which have the later 16 blade metal fan in place. This is because the 16 balde fan was much better in terms of noise & cooling than the early 4 blade fan & often dealers would do the swap when a water pump or dynamo were replaced under warranty.