Exploding fan saga

[Hal Taylor <taylor@CritPath.Org>]

Thanks to all those who offered advice to me.  It's really great to get
so much assistance at a time of real need.

I got the radiator repaired for $35.  Not pretty, but it doesn't leak,
and I only lost one row.  Fan's on the way from Centerline.

A couple of questions.  My manual ('86 spider) says I should refill
coolant by a multi-step procedure, involving use of two bleed screws: a
lower one on the top of the waterpump, and an upper one somewhere around
the thermostat housing.  Well, maybe it wasn't bright enough by the time
I got to that part, but I was unable to FIND this upper bleed screw (no
problem finding the lower one).  The only thing that seemed to be in
about the right spot was a mounting screw for the thermostat housing.
The illustration in the manual is not all that clear.  Am I looking in
the wrong place, or is this something that doesn't occur on all cars?
If I don't have one, is there an alternative way to properly bleed the
cooling system?

Also, there hasn't been an A/C belt on the car since I've owned it.
Seems like this might be a good time to install one, and see if there's
anything left of the A/C system.  Do I remember a thread a while back
about the complexity and general hassle of installing/tensioning this
belt?  (maybe this is why there was none when I bought the car?)  Any
help here?

A couple of people suggested that I consider an electric fan, but I
believe the consenus is that there's no room to install one on an A/C
car.  There is, however, what appears to be a push-type fan in front of
the a/c condenser.  Could this be wired to a thermostat and used for
engine cooling?  The car never gets hot, except in traffic (and when the
fan puts a whole in the radiator, of course...).

And why couldn't somebody design an electric fan with a belt, so the
motor wouldn't have to sit in the tight spot (between water pump and
radiator)?  Any thoughts.

Thanks again for everybody's help.

Ciao tutti!


Hal Taylor
'86 spider veloce "Strega"