Triumph Repair: Radiator Fan, triumph spitfire, radiator fan

Question
I have a 1971 Triumph Spitfire and my question is as follows. Whenever I drive my car on the weekends for a couple of hours the car is running on hot. I wanted to know if its because I have an electric fan rather than the one connected to the water pump pulley?
Thanks

Answer
Hi Luis,
If it overheats above 35 MPH it has nothing to do with what kind of fan as above 35 MPH the fan is useless. If it overheats only below 35 MPH then the fan can be the cause if it is not big enough or fast enough. I found most electric fans are better than engine fans. So unless it is not close enough to the radiator or is too weak or too small the fan is not the problem.
You need to test several things first. The thermostat could be failing or the impeller on the water pump could be loose or broken or the most common is a leaking head gasket. You can test this by getting the dye from an auto parts store to test for CO in the radiator. Many things can cause over heating, like a collapsed lower hose, a stopped up radiator, incorrect ignition timing or carbs set too lean.
Howard