308 Lucas radiator fans, and why they need to go away!

You are correct, BUSHINGS, not bearings. If the cheap Brits had spent money on actual bearings, then maybe they would not seize up as fast when hot, or maybe it would make no difference. Whatever lubricant you choose to use, the goal is to prevent enough heat from friction to keep the metal shaft from expanding inside the case until it no longer spins. The end adjuster on the case allows for axial play, but even with so much play that the brushes can be damaged, it is still going to lock up. My own car finally even melted the brush holder plate. Nothing is going to prevent the worn out shafts in your photos from seizing under extreme conditions like hours of gridlock traffic in California. If your car is driven very little or not at all, then leave the old fans in there. I spent 30 years watching my temperature needle go into the red zone in Monterey Car Week traffic, and after trying many times to keep the Lucas fans working, changed to SPAL pancake fans. Now, the temperature gauge still moves a little bit, but never far into the zone past vertical. I fooled around with the Lucas fans for so long, because I would have the car become stinking hot, but the last part of the drive home opened up and the fans cooled down and were working again by the time that I checked them at home, and I kept thinking that something else was wrong with my car. It was only when I stopped along the road in the worst traffic and reached up under the grille to try to turn the Lucas fan blades, that I found them seized.

If the look of the pancake fans bothers you, then the SPAL swap for original style canister fans gives you fans that will not seize, and the same four blade setup, but with more CFM due to an improvement in blade shape. The diameter of these SPAL fans is actually 1/4" shorter on each blade, and no problem with clearance, and they fit into the stock holders with no modifications.

 

Here in Capitola, Santa Cruz, walking distance to the ocean, I don't have heat problems either, but it was 115 degrees on a run east of Monterey two years ago. In a different car, we just finished the California Mille, plus 355 miles to drive to the Hollywood starting point in LA traffic, and my 1957 Alfa only has the old metal fan behind the radiator. The temperature gauges work perfectly and I was worried, but that car never went into the red and doesn't need any SPAL help, and so I will leave it alone. If a future event goes through Death Valley in the summer, we will go to plan "B"!
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Hello 85QVEuro from John McCoy. Please compare the SPAL A48-12S fans that we sell to your own and feel free to ask any questions, but it may be the exact same unit. If you send more photos of your mounting and the dead fan, then I can help investigate. We only sell pairs from the store with at least five pair available today, but are in the process of ordering soon for delivery in April 2024, and could ask for a single fan.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/175351792804

 

Hello Joe. Self taping mounting screws are correct, and I buy them in bags of 100 on Amazon. I will measure the spacing. Meanwhile, can you please look for a model number on your dead fan and send some other closeup side view photos of the electric motor portion? Thanks!

 

80mm spacing between mounting screws.
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Hi Joe. If the overall depth of your fan housing is 61-67mm, depending upon where you measure, then we should try it. I can create a new public listing of single fans for Mondial in the near future, but contact me directly at [email protected] for immediate shipping of one fan at half the pair price. Your photo showing the coil windings through a ventilation hole makes it easy to understand why the original motor burned up! The new versions are sealed.
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