Belly pan repair

I got a belly pan from gotavan a few months ago and like so many of our vans someone hacked something out of it. In my case someone cut out a louver out of the belly pan for some reason. By no way I'm any kind of metal worker, but I thought of a way to bend one to get as much air up there as possible.

Heres what I started with.



I first got some sheet metal stock. A little thinner, but easier to bend with the tools I have.

Great Job! Like ya said , if ya cant find it ,build it. Now I'm wondering if ya got those 2 li'l
sidewings that go up to the rear of the wheel wells. Either that or that was all that was left of mine ! I made some progress on my stainless battery box ,but am waiting for a bud of mine to get his metal brake. got the straps done okay ,but the tray is a bit heavier material than I think i needed.

[b][i]Primed the belly pan and the louver I made. This is for people that don't know that paint will not stick well to galvanized stock I had. You have to use a special primer for it.






I sprayed the pan with a por's like product first then primed.

Good work G-man!
B.W.

does this go from the front to the radiator ?

If this is the panel between the grill and the radiator, it may answer my quetsion....Mine isn't louvered, it's flat metal and moves funnels lots of air directly to the doghouse. HMMM

Nice work there on replacing that louver. Speaking of self etching primers, I heard years ago that the only difference between regular spray can spray paint and the higher priced engine enamels are that the engine paints are self etching. Thats why I generally use engine enamels for painting misc parts that need refreshing.

robw wrote:If this is the panel between the grill and the radiator, it may answer my quetsion....Mine isn't louvered, it's flat metal and moves funnels lots of air directly to the doghouse. HMMM

Nice work there on replacing that louver. Speaking of self etching primers, I heard years ago that the only difference between regular spray can spray paint and the higher priced engine enamels are that the engine paints are self etching. Thats why I generally use engine enamels for painting misc parts that need refreshing.

"engine" enamels are almost always ceramic for higher heat tolerance. enamel is a top coat made to be applied over a primer. self etching primer is a base coat primer designed to go over bare steel and seal it up completely, followed by surfacer primer and then your top coat. any welded stripped etc. metal project should recieve a heavy coat of self etching primer if you want it to last without rust.

What if my van doesnt have this belly pan? will this afect ist performance?
Is this part really hard to find. Do you guys have a pic of this part mounted?

I did the metal grating and electric booster fan on mine. It automaticlly turns on at 190 degrees.

it will affect the perrformance, especially in Mexico. The belly pan directs air toward the radiator, instead of it passing below it and the engine. You will have overheating problems.

I bet a belly pan would turn up in California or Arizona, and not be too expensive to get to you. good luck.

How would I now what is the correct belly pan for my van?

changuitoprecioso wrote:What if my van doesnt have this belly pan? will this afect ist performance?
Is this part really hard to find. Do you guys have a pic of this part mounted?

Changuitoprecioso,
It's purpose is dual. 1. To protect your radiator from road debris and 2. Direct air upward to help with cooling. If everything else is working fine and your cooling system is performing well it will cool just fine without a belly pan. At least until something pops up and put a hole into your radiator and then you just plain screwed....