radiator to block clearance question. 94 95 compared to a fox

oldfox

Member
Feb 19, 2009
234
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Hi Guys,
Hey I have a 91 fox with a blower and I would like to move up to a 1994-95.
I plan on keeping the blower and installing it on the newer Mustang.
I would like to know if anyone knows if there is more or less room between
the block and radiator on the 94-95? With the set up I have the blower has
it's own independent belt and it sits so close to the radiator that installing a
fan was a challenge. As long as I stay with the 5.0 engine everything should
bolt up just fine. But I'm wondering about the clearance for the belt.
Thanks
 
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Yes the 94-95 engine is closer to the radiator. Im not sure how much closer, but I think an inch or two. I have read a couple threads where they were talking about how the SC kits from the fox's wouldn't work on the 94-95's without some modifications. What those mods are I couldn't tell you, but im sure someone will pop in here soon and be able to list them off.
 
You'd have to do some serious mods to get it to work. The engine on an SN is 3" shorter than a foxbody, and there is still less distance between the engine and the radiator.

Kurt
 
fwiw, here is the radiator clearance for my engine (a 410) with fox accessories in a '95 ... as you can see, it's pretty tight
pullley_clearance.jpg
 
The front dress and accessories are shorter on the SN95 to gain more clearance. Depending on what blower you have, you may just need to get the SN95 blower bracket to make it fit. I know a Fox and SN95 vortech use the same head unit that has the volute clocked a bit different, only the mounting bracket and discharge pipe is different.
 
The front dress and accessories are shorter on the SN95 to gain more clearance. Depending on what blower you have, you may just need to get the SN95 blower bracket to make it fit. I know a Fox and SN95 vortech use the same head unit that has the volute clocked a bit different, only the mounting bracket and discharge pipe is different.

I'm running a roots type blower it has it's own intake and the belt for the
blower is independent it runs in front of the factory accessories and belt.
I can just leave all the factory stuff right where it's at. That's what I did
when I installed it on the fox body.
 
Ok,, If the radiator is closer then that's going to be a problem.
How much room is there in front of the radiator and condenser core?
And can a factory fan like off a Lincoln be made into a pusher fan?
 
I thought the SN 5.0 engines and heads were basically the same block as the old ones.

The block and heads are the same, but they shortened the engine by running completely different accessories. That's why the AC compressor is down low on the SN, they actually tucked it back under the engine a little bit. The water pump is a totally different design, which allows the engine to be 3" shorter. The accessory brackets are actually a better design on the SN. The only down side is that it makes it hard to get to the front header bolt on the driver's side. I think if you run the fox accessories, you won't have enough room between the radiator and the engine. What kind of roots blower is it? I imagine you would have to change the snout on the blower to a shorter one to make it work with the SN style engine. There are a few guys that have made the fox engine work with a centrifugal blower by modifying the core support. I think you'll be up **** creek with a roots blower though.

Kurt
 
I'm running a 6-71 roots style. The blower snout sticks out past the accessories and stock belt. The stock SN accessories should be able to stay right where they are. Nothing bolts to the front of the engine except the
pulley that bolts to the harmonic balancer on the inside of the stock pulley.
I don't have much concerns about installing the blower on the engine That should all be fine I'm trying to figure out how much room there will be for the
belt and fan. I'm planing on leaving the SN accessories in place and not using the fox brackets.
 
There won't be enough room unless you shorten the snout on your blower.

The fox accessories stick further out toward the front of the motor, plus your blower snout/pulley sticks out even further than that.

I run a Vortech blower and it uses a seperate belt that is located in front of the serpentine belt along with a double type crank pulley. Basically like what yours does. The 8 rib belt/pulley barely clears the back of the cooling fan, maybe only about an inch clearance if that. If running a thicker radiator like a Fluidyne 3 core then the belt/pulley is just about touching the fan housing/motor. This is with the shorter stock SN95 waterpump and front accessories.

That pic that BlacVert posted above is what a fox style waterpump and pulleys will sit and then you have your blower snout/pulley and extended crank pulley. Not enough room.

Also, the SN95 crank pulley is narrower than a fox....it doesn't have the spacer behind it.

If you could get a shorter snout for your blower or have yours shortened would probably be the best/easiest route to go
 
There won't be enough room unless you shorten the snout on your blower.

The fox accessories stick further out toward the front of the motor, plus your blower snout/pulley sticks out even further than that.

I run a Vortech blower and it uses a seperate belt that is located in front of the serpentine belt along with a double type crank pulley. Basically like what yours does. The 8 rib belt/pulley barely clears the back of the cooling fan, maybe only about an inch clearance if that. If running a thicker radiator like a Fluidyne 3 core then the belt/pulley is just about touching the fan housing/motor. This is with the shorter stock SN95 waterpump and front accessories.

That pic that BlacVert posted above is what a fox style waterpump and pulleys will sit and then you have your blower snout/pulley and extended crank pulley. Not enough room.

Also, the SN95 crank pulley is narrower than a fox....it doesn't have the spacer behind it.

If you could get a shorter snout for your blower or have yours shortened would probably be the best/easiest route to go

I'm not using a spacer behind the pulley with the set up I'm using. The
pulley and spacer go on the front of the factory pulley. The bolts that hold the blower pulley on are long they are also holding on the factory pulley and a small spacer behind the blower pulley
 
The fox accessory pulleys stick out further forward toward the radiator than the SN95's. If you put that on a SN95 motor the blower belt would have a good 1-2" additional space between it and the serpentine belt then what's in the pic you posted. The reason the SN95 motors have the short waterpump and accessory pulleys is because of the lower profile of the front end.

Removing the stock cooling fan and running a pusher fan will probably give you the clearance, but the blower belt and pulleys will still be sticking quite a ways in front of the other pulleys and belt. Ideally the snout and shaft/bearing should be shortened on the blower. That's a pretty wide cogged belt on that thing too...lol

Here's what the vortech crank/blower pulleys look like for a fox...

img-52-0-xlarge.jpg


Here's what they look like for a SN95...

v4fg018-031.jpg


Notice how much shorter the SN95 crank pulley is than the Fox....because the SN95 pulleys are located closer to the engine
 
If it makes things any easier, it is 10.5" from the center of the distributor hole to the electric cooling fan housing/shroud (the fan motor is a couple inches closer to the engine, but is located between the waterpump and crank so that will deffinetly have clearance issues). The cooling fan housing/shroud is 3.5" thick to the radiator, so from the center of the distributor to the radiator you have a total of 14"
 
There's not a farts chance in a windstorm of that fitting in an SN. If you really have your heart set on keeping that antique on top of your engine, stick with the foxbody.

Kurt
 
There's not a farts chance in a windstorm of that fitting in an SN. If you really have your heart set on keeping that antique on top of your engine, stick with the foxbody.

Kurt
--No chance of that fitting--
Yea I have heard that before when I was getting ready to install it on my fox
I wanted to keep the power steering and air conditioning. I called BDS Dyers
and most of the big blower places and they told me "It cant be done."

And as far being an antique,, Maybe ,,But it's a blast to have and drive.
When I take my car to one of the cruise ins I have a crowd around my
car soon as I pull in. When I stop to get fuel about 1/2 of the time someone
will ask if it is OK to take pictures of the car. An I run this car long distance
with no problems. It's not a race car it's more of a car to have fun in.
It's stock 5.0 and 12-14 lbs boost nothing fancy. I even get the thumbs
up from the Chevy guys on the expressway all the time.
I get 21.4 MPG running 80ish with the air on the expressway.
And it's fun car to play in. Just took it on a 650mi trip this week

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya_MLSeMbp0&feature=player_detailpage
 
If it makes things any easier, it is 10.5" from the center of the distributor hole to the electric cooling fan housing/shroud (the fan motor is a couple inches closer to the engine, but is located between the waterpump and crank so that will deffinetly have clearance issues). The cooling fan housing/shroud is 3.5" thick to the radiator, so from the center of the distributor to the radiator you have a total of 14"

Thanks that's the kind of information I'm looking for. 14" from the center of the distributor to the radiator"
Is that to back side of the radiator or the fan side? 1" could mean a lot

And another question where does the thermostat housing set in a SN-95?
I would like to reuse the intake I have now.

overkill006.jpg