What is the purpose of the air deflector that mounts on the front apron above the radiator? I have the opportunity to get one for my 1956 Crown Victoria - do I need it?

Thanks,

Danny

Dan, my 3 cents worth? i believe it seals the incoming air from going over the top of radiator and thus more of the air then is directed through the radiator. Many cars i have seen have deleted them, i think because it makes it hard to reach over when working on the engine, weather its missing makes a huge difference in most cases seems to be ok. Regards bill.

yyy

  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia

correct on the function.  However, it was only on the '55's and early '56, IIRC.  Was deleted mid-year in 56 because it wasnt necessary.

My 56 was an early production car, and i have the deflector, but never installed it because its jsut another obstruction at tune up time!

Ron Grove

Wauconda, IL

My understanding was that 55 & 56 fords with 4 barrel carbs had the deflector,i took the one off my 56 and havent seen any difference in engine temp.  Carl 

Here in australia, we had customline sedans from 55 to early 59 and the deflector was standard on all of them, they were 272 with 2 bbl carb. regards bill.

yyy

  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia

I have a couple of 56 Customline with 272s and they both have the deflector.One is an early 56 and the other is a late one.

 

Paul,

Boonville,MO

Guys, let me be clear.  It is IMPOSSIBLE that I am wrong on this... (end sarcasm).

It will be interesting to see if someone chimes in with a definitive answer; I always thought that they ditched it mid 56 on 4bbl cars because it didnt do anything, but maybe someone else knows for certain?  Interesting!

I think either way to the OP it certainly doesnt impact performance in any way.  I think if you are worried about the car being 100% correct, then it matters.  I picked one up cheap a few years ago with the intent of putting it on my car until I read/heard somewhere that they werent used after mid year.  I never put it on because of hassles when doing engine work.

Ron Grove

Wauconda, IL

I'm not trying to be argumentative.I just always like to try to keep info correct when possible.Although I am usually wrong!

 

Paul,

Boonville,MO

Its not often i,m right but i,m wrong again!

yyy

  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia

As Bill said all our cars in Oz were fitted with them til the end of the models.

I have run my cars for almost 20 years without it fitted cause they really are a pain to work on the engine, though they do protect the radiator when you are leaning over the front. It is rare here in Oz to see a radiator that isn't dented on the header tank thanks to some heavy handed individual placing their mitt on it.

I make sure that airflow is all through the radiator by inserting a plate in the cutout area in front of the radiator and have fixed some flexible material on the two cutout areas of the radiator support panel. This effectively forces all air that hits the grille area to pass through the radiator, the battery vents and the fresh air vents when open. Whilst travelling at 50 mph you have to hang on with the breeze that comes in through the vents so it definitely works. If you would like photos I will try and post some to explain.

Regards

Rick - West Australia
Do Y Blocks Downunder run upside down? Gravity Sucks!!