I KNOW I posted this before, but cant find it or maybe it was a dream. but im gunna do this again... I have a 72 V8 NO AC and my shroud is broken... i know SOME v8 non ac cars didnt come w/ shrouds... UNTIL i can find one do you think it will be OK to drive w/o overheating??? CHaz.
Only one way to find out. I don't think you will have a problem if the rest of the system is in good shape
I would warn against it. I have never had luck with a V8 Maverick without a shroud. I don't know that ANY ever came without a shroud. I think that is unlikely. Fwiw, the A/C shroud works fine on a non-A/C car. They just don't swap the other direction. Thought I'd throw that out to make your search for a new shroud easier. The A/C shrouds look better anyway IMO. How bad is yours broken? They are super easy to fix if you have the pieces. I have fiberglassed broken ones back together with great results. Easy cheezy.
I do not run a shroud and mine has never over heated. I have a really good coolant system, my motor is mildly built over stock specs. I agree with all the above, only 1 way to find out. But I would recommend a shroud on a stock motor with stock coolant system, specially if its all original. is there anyway to fix your shroud....I have seen many that were pieced together to serve its purpose.
To run without a shroud you need the fan as close to the radiator as possible. Get a spacer that will get your fan as close to the radiator as you can get it and still get the bolts in. Actually for a while I had header bolts as standoffs to get the radiator within about an inch of the fan on the 77 (after installing the fan of course, my hands aren't that small), and never had a problem after that. My new larger fan at the time had eaten my shroud. The only time it ever got very hot was a race day traffic jam a few miles long.
