Rebuilding a Fan Clutch

[Dale C.]

As long as we are asking about where to. How about rebuilding an origional 68 BB fan clutch, as they are kind of hard to find? Can you and where? I'm in the Houston area. Nevermind, I looked it up on old threads and found http://www.gate.net/~foliva/ vintage automotive in Fl.
Dale (33147)

[Bob R.]

Re: Rebuilding a Fan Clutch

Fred Oliva is the only person that rebuilds them that I am aware of. But I believe you will wait the better part of a year to get it done. If you need a fan clutch right away you might have to get one from the auto parts places to use while you wait.

[Pat K.]

Re: Rebuilding a Fan Clutch

Dale,

It it took Fred about 1.5 years to rebuild mine. I had to send it back twice due to problems. He seems to be distracted with other things. I can't complain about the finished product, just the BS to get there.

Pat

[Dave S.]

Re: Rebuilding a Fan Clutch

Fred Oliva is the only person that rebuilds them that I am aware of. But I believe you will wait the better part of a year to get it done. If you need a fan clutch right away you might have to get one from the auto parts places to use while you wait.

Up until about a year ago Fred Oliva was the only source for a fan clutch rebuild. His turn around time has gotten out of hand as mentioned. There is an NCRS member, Vinnie Catalano, in Rhode Island who also does them. I have had Fred do them for me in the past but I thought I'd give Vinnie a try. He claims to do it different than Fred in that he re-crimps the cover (as original) where he claims Fred screws it and fills the heads. He also claims to use a better bearing than Fred. I really can't confirm the serviceablity of either but I will say Vinnie's clutch looks as good or better than Fred's. Turn around time was 30 days about a year ago but it may be more now. Also a bit less expensive. Nice fellow to deal with too. My next clutch fan restoration will go to Vinnie.

[Greg T.]

Re: Rebuilding a Fan Clutch

I had excellent results with Vinnie.

[Pat K.]

Re: Rebuilding a Fan Clutch

Thanks on the Vinnie info, will go with him forward.

[Dale C.]

Re: Rebuilding a Fan Clutch

How do you get in touch with Vinnie? Found him in the Driveline.
Dale

[Joe L.]

Re: Rebuilding a Fan Clutch

All------


I'll repeat something here I've said many times before:

I have the utmost respect for Fred Oliva and the quality of his work. I have no doubt that the other fellow mentioned here does excellent work, too. However, I would never use a rebuilt fan clutch for a regularly driven car. They are fine for "trailer queen" type cars, fine for cars that are rarely driven and, then, only for short distances like parades, local car shows, etc, and fine for temporary use on a car for judging purposes only. That's it.

Otherwise, I recommend the GM #3916141 OR the Eaton-manufactured identical unit available from the partsladi. By the way, I understand that the GM #3916141 MAY have changed recently and MAY no longer be manufactured by Eaton. I have not confirmed this, though. The one available from the partsladi is an Eaton-manufactured piece, though.

[Mark F.]

Re: Rebuilding a Fan Clutch

All------


I'll repeat something here I've said many times before:

I have the utmost respect for Fred Oliva and the quality of his work. I have no doubt that the other fellow mentioned here does excellent work, too. However, I would never use a rebuilt fan clutch for a regularly driven car. They are fine for "trailer queen" type cars, fine for cars that are rarely driven and, then, only for short distances like parades, local car shows, etc, and fine for temporary use on a car for judging purposes only. That's it.

Otherwise, I recommend the GM #3916141 OR the Eaton-manufactured identical unit available from the partsladi. By the way, I understand that the GM #3916141 MAY have changed recently and MAY no longer be manufactured by Eaton. I have not confirmed this, though. The one available from the partsladi is an Eaton-manufactured piece, though.

Joe, what are the issues that concern you about rebuilt fan clutches? Do they come apart or do they just stop functioning properly? I have two that Fred rebuilt and the one that is on my fuel car has over 1000 miles on it and still has great action. BTW, I took Fred 14 months to get them done!

[Jack H.]

Re: Rebuilding a Fan Clutch

Joe has his viewpoint and I respect that. But, each time he makes this comment, I feel obligated to respond with my experience...

Fred rebuilt the fan clutch on my Mark of Excellence '65 and YES it's a trailer queen seeing little use. But, he also rebuilt the fan clutch on my '71 that I drive/use frequently (have done Founders Award five times on the National Road Tour) and I've now clocked +65K miles on 'er without a hiccup from the rebuilt fan clutch...

[Joe L.]

Re: Rebuilding a Fan Clutch

Joe, what are the issues that concern you about rebuilt fan clutches? Do they come apart or do they just stop functioning properly? I have two that Fred rebuilt and the one that is on my fuel car has over 1000 miles on it and still has great action. BTW, I took Fred 14 months to get them done!

Mark-----


Did you ever see what occurs when a fan or fan clutch fails catastrophically? Believe me, you don't want that to happen. Will a rebuilt fan clutch always result in a catastrophic failure? Absolutely not. However, in my opinion, the RISK of such a failure is much higher with a rebuilt unit than with a NEW, factory-manufactured unit. Keep in mind that these things were never designed to be rebuilt.

I also question whether a rebuilt clutch will perform to the same standards as a new unit. These 60-70 fan clutches were always and remain marginal with respect to cooling performance. To properly cool a regularly driven Corvette one needs all of the cooling related components to be PERFECT.