BELLY PAN information

Belly Pan? What? Are these required...I ain't got one

The soul purpose of the belly pan was to direct air up into the front of the radiator by creating a tunnel between grill opening and bottom of radiator, to help keep things cool. So if you have one on, it will probably help keep your engine cool while moving. But when stopped in traffic, engines would still over heat somewhat regardless. But for those of us that have upgraded to new radiators and some electric fan systems, boiling over doesn't seem to be a problem anymore. I don't run my belly pan yet, but once I finish closing in my doghouse side panels around that 350, I my need it. As of right now the motor stays cool and around 185ish degrees while idling in the hot sun for over an hour with Taurus electric fan and knew 3 core radiator. So I guess it's a matter of trial and error. If your van is getting hot try the belly pan. If not, then run it the way it is. It's also a lot easier to get to everything under there without it on...lol.

Good info...a Taurus electric fan huh? Is it a pretty easy hook up?

Well that depends on whether or not your running the inline 6 or have a V8...(sorry I can't remember what you have in there). With a V8 you have a little more room up front between rad and water pump. As for wiring it in...that's a breeze. lots of relay kits out there for electric fans. Those that have them will likely add to this. As for mine...I have a chevy 350 with the stock ford 240 rad that was re cored to a 3 core (no trans cooler in this rad), I run external cooler.. Now it seems quite close, but if I need to I can always lean the rad forward a we bit to help the clearance. As of right now it works great right where it sits. If this is something that you want to try, look up all the threads on electric fans, as this has been discussed quite a bit in here.

I will thanks!
Btw, I have the stock 6 inline 170 in there

Here is a picture of a Taurus fan I first posted for everyone about 5 or 6 years ago.  This one was a custom 4 row aluminum radiator that copied the 240 size for a built x flow aluminum head 250. The idea being that the Taurus fan hard to beat for $18 bucks.  Rumored CFM at 4200.  When I first found the link and info I didn't realize an issue that could creep up to do with the alternator. 
  On my V8 conversions I have the stock 3 row 240 radiator bumped up to a 4 row,, I have four of them now done and the cost usually about $350.  One replacing the smaller Champion aluminum four row with their factory fan and shroud which does not blow much air and not as good as the Taurus fan.
  The Taurus fan has a HIGH AMP load when running but even more of a HIGH AMP load on start and it will blow fuses if not wired up correctly for it. I also posted using a VOLVO dual relay setup for high and low speeds that you can buy at the yards for about $10 bucks also. The Volvo fan is about 18" in diameter and fits ours perfectly also??  Have not used one YET,,, but it wants to fly like a helicopter if it was a little lighter in weight,,, LOL....  Plans are to try one here some day and have a shroud made for it,,,,
  Back to the Taurus fan. About 20 years ago, I came up with a remote fan cooled transmission cooler and is now pretty much a standard feature on our late model trucks,,, IT WORKS,,,, the point here that I have been talking about forever is that our doghouse is nothing more than a BIG OVEN and what ever heat load you can take off of the radiator exchange load is a plus. So,, WHY add the heat from the torque converter slipping in stop and go traffic to the doghouse heat?? 
 I also don't run the belly pan as IMO its a band aid and does exactly nothing in stop and go traffic when its so hot you could cook eggs on the roof of your van!!!! 
 My point here is that our alternator was  and is NOT designed for the loads that we now put on our trucks,, amps, stereos, electric fans, so on, so on,, etc.  Even a high output 60 AMP alternator or even the famous one wire 100 AMP Delco alternators do not put out their posted maximums at idle!!!  They have to run at 1500 rpm,,,,  My question being it makes no sense to be stuck in traffic, with the heater running to help get rid of heat, an electric fan for the radiator and my foot on the gas pedal keeping the RPM up in order for the fans to run at their full CFM ratings??????  and then adding more heat because of my foot on the gas pedal,,,,  duh,,,,,
  SO,, I use the 3G alternator as it puts out 90 amps at 600 rpm,,,,, The Taurus fan will eat some juice,, and the reason why I use this alternator.
  A SIDE BENEFIT,, is that it has a piggy back regulator on it and you can ditch our regulator in front of the radiator.  In regards to fan to water pump shaft clearance, that is very easy even with my four row copper raditators..   I use a piece of aluminum channel. The reason for channel is that I can mount bolts on each flange and not squash it by using one bolt all the way through it.  Its easy. Mount it to the stock mounting bracket and move the radiator all the way forward.. In regards to wiring the fans,, I ALWAYS wire the relays HOT ALL THE TIME and have been doing it for over 15 years. IF your batteries are good and your charging rate keeping up with your usage, it will NOT drain your battery after you shut the motor off... it has NEVER happened to me. Ask yourself how many cars do you hear the fan running with no one in the car???  Its a common setup.
  The idea is that the doghouse is an oven, and with no air circulation after you shut the truck off, the gasoline in the carb has nothing to do but cook!!!  So, the reason why I wire it hot all the time. Its a good thing to hear my transmission cooler fan and the radiator fan running when I leave the truck, and then when I come back they are both off.  Wired hot with the thermostat so that it shuts off when cooled down.  Yes, I have heard the point about no fluid movement after shut down also, but heat transfers, and at least with the radiator fan running it is moving some air in the doghouse after you shut the motor off.
  In regards to a V8 and fan clearance,, I gave up on using the long shaft water pumps a gazillion years ago,, LOL,,,  and use the Motorsport standard rotation short nosed water pump just for a ton of room.  If you bump up your standard three core 240 radiator up to a 4 row and move it forward you will still clear the water pump shaft,, AND if you use the 3G alternator its even better with no more voltage regulator trapped in front of the radiator anymore...
 Here are few pictures,,,   LOL,,, its hot and late for working on orders,, gotta run...
Vic

Fellow Econoliners, bear with me during my 2 cents worth here. I am new to the econoline ranks and quite frankly ignorant to some of the challenges and learnings ahead. I do not claim to know much about the GM or Dodge offerings either. However as a long time race car and race truck builder, I have learn a bit about the efficentcies of effective cooling. Disclaimer! just because I did it this way, doesn't make it the end all be all solution, you may find a variation on this that will serve you well.

The process of the problem is simple air comes in cool and leaves hot. Efficient ducting ahead of the rad=as much unobstructed air flow as possible. Behind the rad create a vacuum with a fan shroud that completely covers the rear of the rad. I know space can be limited but the longer the tunnel of the shroud and placing the fan[for now I am speaking only of an engine driven fan]about 1/2 way in to it works well. Yes an electric fan placed the same position will work as well. I has been my experience that when an electric fan is placed either side of the rad it in a sense become a restriction its self, I am not saying don't use one. When using an electric fan to cool after shut down, keep in mind there is no flow through the cooling system, just the rad. The engine is just a big heater. Side note back in the day when travelling racing and sleeping in the trailer, we would run the race car for a bit before we slept to keep us warm for the night.
I understand the concept of the belly pan for protecting underside components, we use them on our highway trucks in the winter to keep them warm, but they will restrict the out flow of air for cooling somewhat.

Cool the rad/engine, get rid of the heat is the goal. We have had instances where our drivers footwear has melted to the floor due to temperature extremes in the engine compartment and near exhaust under the floor, we found a gold self adhesive product at your local performance shop that is no thicker than kitchen foil that we put in the effected areas, problem solved, maybe line the complete inside of the doghouse.
Wrapping headers and fuel lines can't hurt, lots of cost effective products/solutions available out there. Some times changing heat in an area is as simple as a creatively fashioned aluminum heat shield between headers and a fuel pump.
Fans, not unlike those used on marine applications or like run in race cars to cool drivers and brakes could to help draw out heat, but a fan bolted in this application is only as effective as the air able to get to it and remove it.
Quality system yields quality results, talk to the local late models racers and see what they do to cool their equipment. Quality coolant, correct thermostat and the right rad, duct and fan combination will take a little home work, creativity and imagination. As a fabricator, I build a lots of odd ball one off things, don't be scared of a challenge, it doesn't have to come out of a catalog to be effective, effort =reward.
Something else some racers use is called water wetter, this product claims to change the boiling temperature, do your research on that.
Once I figure out the photo posting thing I will share some photos

Old Skool wrote:

That is a sweet looking 200. Wish I could score on of those aussie heads