David Wilson (Carlisle alum!) asked me to post this question on his behalf:
I checked my parts book and it seems to be part # 1859 578 for the 318 engine. Not completely sure though since the picture isn’t the best one in the book and I don’t have AC in my car.
Ron
If anyone knows if the spacer from a '57 is the same, I have a '57 Fury here with factory A/C, and I would be happy to measure it. —John
we have a member who has a factory a/c 318 car.. our man in Wisconsin..he has been of help to me. Hopefully he will stand up and be recognised…
(john Zastrow)
Hi David - My red 59 SF came with factory air but it is not installed right now, will be when I finish the restoration. It has the 318 engine. The spacer in there now is 1-3/4" thick. It has a six blade fan which I installed, the front edge of the fan is 1" from the radiator. I had the radiator changed from a 2 core to a 3 core. Hope this helps.
As a side my green 59 has no air conditioning, a 361 CI engine, it has a four blade fan. The spacer is 1/2" thick and the edge of the blade is 1/2" from the radiator fins. Just enough to get a belt on. Go Figure!!!
Dick.
Hey Roger, I’m here; not very often, but here. I went out and checked my AC 318 car. As Dick said, the spacer is 1 3/4" but the distance from my fan blade to radiator is 5/8". I just also measured the spacer on my 4-dr non AC car and that too is 1 3/4" but spacing from blade to radiator is just a hair short of 1". Hope this helps David. ps: When David said his fan blade was too close to radiator, how close is close?
On my Sport Fury with the 413 engine with a three row radiator core, the spacer was too thick, so put in on my lathe and cut it off to the thickness I wanted. These are cast aluminum and cut quite easily on a wood lathe with a wood chisel. Take it down to almost off then take it off the lathe and finish the cut with a hack saw. File off the final cut and you have your piece.
Tom
I would like to thank evrybody that responded to my Question about the A/C fan spacer. It appears the standard 1 3/4" spacer on the 318 engine was also used for 318 cars equipped with A/C. At least I now know I have the right spacer. I am also sure the fan is an original 6 bladed unit. My clearance problem is due to the tips of the blades contacting the upper rear edge of the bottom radiator tank. There is actually plenty of clearance between the face of the blades and the core of the radiator. The only conclusion I can make is that maybe the blades are slightly bent. I had originally removed the fan from a 59 plymouth that had been in a front end collision. I will go back and re-examine everything again.
Dave
and then the question arises..are you using the correct radiator? Could someone have altered the bottom tank? good luck
Dave - When I got my SF with the 318 & AC setup it had a four blade fan, I later changed to a 6 blade I got on ebay. It will not hurt anything to take 1/2" off your spacer.
Dick.
Opps! Make sure fan belts won’t rub on any thing. My SF with the 361 has the belts so close you maybe could get a sheet of paper between them.
Dick
Opps! Make sure fan belts won’t rub on any thing. My SF with the 361 has the belts so close you maybe could get a sheet of paper between them.
Dick
Problem solved. As I suspected the fan had two blades slightly out of wack. They were not obviously bent, however, after attching the spacer and setting the fan on a flat surface I could see two blades tips were noticably forward of the others. A rubber mallet and a block of wood coaxed them back into place. It didn’t take much. I now have about 1/2" to 5/8" between the face of the blades and the core so installing belts shouldn’t be a problem. There is no interference at the bottom tank now either. I would have never looked to the fan if I didn’t know the spacer was correct so, thanks everybody for checking your spacers for me.
Dave
Well I’ll get September started. My 59 SF with the 318 engine originally had AC which I plan to reinstall in the car using a Sanden compressor. I know cold air was discharged thru the two vents on the dash and the vent under the dash onto the floor, If anyone can help, my question is: Did the factory install a under dash unit? Any other tips about reinstalling the AC would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Dick.
Hi Dick, to my knowledge, the factory installed just the dash mounted A/C units. Dealer air had the under dash units, and at most shows, these are considered a ‘correct’ item. —John
Thanks John - Thats what I thought, there is a guy on e-bay with an under dash unit that he took out of a 59 Plymouth, must have been dealer installed. He is parting out a 59 4dr. hardtop Fury.
Dick.
Dick, if it is the same one I had seen from a seller in Colorado, it appears to be an aftermarket unit from the '70’s. The Mopar units were more square, with three large round registers in the front. —John
Big M John is correct..the factory only installed the in-dash units. If you have the 1959 Mopar Parts Book, there are “exploded” views of the various dealer-installed under-dash units. I’ll send you a picture of the page if you want, Dick.
Hi Roger - I found the exploded view of the dealer installed under dash unit, its ugly, glad I have the factory unit.
Thanks,
Dick.