I have a 1967 E-type coupe that I have owned since 1970.

It has always had an overheating problem until about three months ago.

I bought an electric fan from a late model Ford Taurus at the local Pic-in-Pull for $40.00.

I bought a new two-stage relay for about $100.00. All I had to do to the fan was trim about a half inch off the plastic housing in order to mount it to the radiator.

The relay kicks on just past the 3/4 celsius mark (how come that isn't noted as 180 degrees fahrenheit?!) and in about three minutes pulls the temp back down to the 70 degree celsius mark, and shuts off about 160F. And this is while idleling!

I don't know what the CFM rating is for the Taurus fan, but it is about 400% better than the stock Lucas fan that came on the car.

That Lucas fan couldn't pull enough air to blow out the candles on a two-year old's birthday cake!
Since installing the fan, the ol' cat has been all over northern California in 100+ degree weather, and has not had an overheating event in heavy traffic or running at 80mph* on I-5.

The best part is getting waves and positive comments from some of the other drivers out there.
I heartily recommend using these fans for solving a heating problem, provided you have a decent radiator.

 

Nice simple solution - another product of the Prince of Darkness bites the bin!

 

and a whole lot simpler (and cheaper) than installing a new alum radiator...dont we all wish we got the overheating problem nailed in the first year of ownership?!

 

Nice fix, thanks for posting

 

I have a 72 XKE V-12 and I'm wondering if a similar replacement solution like what you did with the Taurus fan has been done to a 72 V-12? I'm having to replace both fan relays and have always wondered if there is a less expensive , more efficient way to go in replacing fans, even radiator with a newer model from whatever that works opefully more efficiently?
Andrés
72 XKE V-12

 

1964 Jaguar E-Type Roadster - SFGate

---------- why not write an article for the san Francisco ca Chronicle ? i'd certainly like to see it !

Big

 

Hey E-flogger; great solution and greetings from down under ....

I can't speak to the S2 or S3; but after more than 30 years with our beloved S1; I have to commend the final comment in your post.

" ... provided you have a decent radiator."

First, best mod I ever made was an immediate radiator core replacement with a high performance 7-coreway copper unit, and improved header tank. Whether in Sydney city traffic or in our home stomping grounds of the Sunset Desert country on the western NSW / Victoria / South Australian border (Summer temps regularly above 40C; highest recorded 52.6C - so read Arizona desert climate and then some).

Compared to big bucks elsewhere, this mod didn't cost a bomb; it was virtually undetectable from stock (core was about one quarter inch thicker); it increased water flow through the rad by about 50% over a new stock core, albeit with a new water pump; and provided us with a lifetime of absolutely no engine overheating issues. As I said, I can't speak to later E's, but for the 4.2 S1, this could be the most overlooked, under-utilized, and best value mod when operating in hot climates.

None of this takes away from your excellent initiative, but for all those other tired and rusty, half blocked 50 year old radiators out there .... price a high performance re-core ... you may be pleasantly surprised.
.

 

Owned two XKE 6 with factory air. went through a lot of misery cooling these cars Denver being mile high added to the problem. The final solution was a racing oil cooler. The engine is a thermosyphone design and there for receives cooling from the 12 quarts ??? of oil.
I am going back 20 some odd years and recalling what I did. I know it was a true racing cooler. about 12 inches square. I had difficulties mounting it in front of the radiator so I put it behind the condenser. That made it number three in line for frontal air. One end of the cooler was attached to the steel filter case by braising a fitting and drilling a hole. I cannot remember where the other line went. I also remember that the Jag6 pumps a lot of oil, about 30 gallons a minute. So a racing type cooler is imperative with large fittings and strong supply lines.
I was able to drive around Denver with A/C in the summer with a cool engine

Sorry for the "I don't remember" but at age 85 the second thing that goes is the mind!
Afterburner1

 

Do you know why the English drink warm beer?

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Lucus (the God of Darkness) makes their refigerators

 

Great post! I want to do this too. Three questions for you:

1) Roughly, what's the model year range for the Taurus fan? I want to be sure to get the right one.

2) Did you use the shroud from the Taurus as well? Is that what you had to trim to fit?

3) That two-stage relay: I'm assuming that it's an XKE-specific part. If not, can you provide a link for that relay?

Again, nice post.

 

The Pick-N-Pull I usually do business with generally has cars that are no younger than five or six years old, so the fan I used was most likely from a late 80's or early 90's Taurus. It has a "built-in" shroud, that in order to fit my particular car ('67 E-Type coupe), had to have about a 1/4 inch trimed off the perimeter in order to clear the steering rack. The "Lincoln MkVIII- Taurus Fan Relay A/C kit" that I used came from The Hollister Road Co. www.thehollisterroadcompany.com .Summit Racing has a selection of relays, but Hollister's ad for the specific Taurus fan I had swayed me to them.
I had tried using a single stage relay, but that kept blowing the fuse. Also you will need to weld in two bungs on the header tank for the sensors. The fan was the least expensive part of the whole deal, but all in all I have about $200.00 in the whole conversion. Part of the expense was for the welding on the header tank. It was worth the cost, for me, just to be able sit in slow moving traffic on a 100+ day and not have the old cat puking her coolant all over the ground!
I hope this info helps.

 

Hi Guys,
I put this together a bunch of years ago. This fan 'n shroud was made for the stock rad, later, I placed it on a Ron Davis aluminum. "Knock on wood", I've never had an over heating problem.

 

Very nice. You had the shroud custom made?

 

It wasn't really difficult with a few metal working tools. I started with a piece of sheet tin and bending pliers from Home Depot. Then had at it!
As you might can tell, I made it first for my OEM rad. The Ron Davis aluminum rad is so closely follows the OEM, that I don't think I had to make any corrections.

 

Going back to 1980ish my XKE6 had a large fan installed in a shroud in the hood, but did not solve the problem at 5280 feet. As I indicated in my earlier post the oil cooler solve my problem without enlarging the radiator capacity. If I remember correctly the oil take off was from the base of the filter and returned through the case of the filter. I do remember it was a simple fix and in 1980 dollars about $50.00 for parts. It's a must that you get a racing cooler and not a transmission type. The six pumps 30 gallons of oil per minute and that flow must be preserved.

 

some guy is selling e-type aluminum rads on e-bay for $153. these are excellent and are much more efficient than the heavy originals! if you put a new 16" after market halcon,
puller fan it most 4.2s will run too cool ! I have this combo and it is the cheapest and the best buuuut not original.

 

I've been running this setup for 10 years, or so. Works like a champ! It's a high quality aluminum (Ron Davis) with my own fan arrangement.

 

Series 3 E Type V 12 overheating had become a chronic problem until we did the following:

1. Replaced the factory original radiator core with an aluminum radiator from Wizard Cooling. Radiator shop will do an inspection on the original core.
2. Replaced the original fans with new higher volume electric fans (retaining the original shroud)
3. Sealed the top of the shroud across the bonnet - blocking shroud bypasses to the original air intake snorkels (raising the air pressure forward of the radiator/ increasing air flow)
4. Ducted the port and starboard fresh air intakes directly into the air cleaners (will add some photos)

Now it runs normal/subnormal temp even hard running.

 

Such a zombie thread, but I'll play along. I just had the water pump fail on my '67. With the original, the car ran at about 90 deg C on warm to hot days. With the new one, even in the high 90s, it runs at about 76 deg C. Not a cheap option, but I was surprised at the change.

 

I must be an exception because I've never had an overheating problem on my '73 E roadster, even when running the A/C. I've owned my car for almost 40 years and been religious about flushing and replacing the coolant every 2-3 years. In addition about 15 years ago I had the original radiator rodded and boiled just to be sure it was clean inside and out. The original cooling system, at least on the V12, is actually very adequate but I suspect there isn't much margin. If your car was ever neglected, and let's face it most were at one time before we owned them, then that's likely what is at the root of your overheating problem. Even with a new and improved radiator proper maintenance is still a very important part of keeping your cooling system working right.