BELLY PAN information

Hi Guys,

I've been searching around and found little information on how the Belly Pans are configured.

The Manual unfortunately does not give any leads either, so I thought I would tap into the V-V's
braintrust...


(overall view, leading edge is along the ground, size is about 3 feet square)


(pan has a slope to it, and sidewalls. Front is at the left in photo)


(an important hunk of metal, supposed to force air into the engine/doghouse for cooling.)

I found the most info looking at Belly Pans on e-bay. Turns out there are two types
with the one above for earlier Econo's (mine's a '61.) I found that the later ones, which
look more rounded in contours, had side duct pieces to go with the main pan.
What I am seeking is information about this earlier pan- Does it have other pieces
like the later 3-piece Belly Pans?

Thanks in advance,
George

also,, 240 radiator is different, so the belly pan is deeper to accommodate. Also,, the belly pan is a BAND AID in my opinion,, it does absolutely NOTHING in stop and go traffic, when you need the air,, when your blasting down the road, yes it will force air into it,, but that's not the problem time,,
Vic

Actually there was a discussion on belly pans at Carlisle. Basically there are 2 styles but in reality there are 7 different versions. Pretty lengthy to describe each but it depends on the year/engine/tranny type of which there are many differnt combos. Most of the 2 basic versions can be made to use on the others. One example of a different pan is the one used on the 170 with 4 speed transmission since it needs extra room for the extra shift rod. Another consideration is the several different auto tranny year/versions needing room for the cooling lines.

Also for the record,the belly pan isnt just there for cooling purposes. It also protects the radiator,fan, and cooling lines from road debris and the master cylinder boot,emergency brake assembly, and undercarriage in general from dirt,road salt/ debris,etc. Even if your vehice cools good,you should use the pan for extra protection.

Hi Old Skool,
Agreed, one bad scenario is a hot day, stuck in traffic, idling...
...my pickup had an electric fan (pusher) that stays on via
switch (P.O. was in Arizona=HOT TIMES.) Seems to stay cool
around here though!

Hi EconoUSAparts,
Wow, 7 versions... ...makes sense, plus Ford engineers of the
time were that meticulous, they would produce that many.

Perhaps I could add to my question, I have ONLY a center pan,
does anyone know if I should have two side panels like I saw on
a '65? (I have a '61, originally 170, 3sp, pickup)

George

My personal experience on the small side pans is that I ve only seen them 3 times actualy installed on a vehicle and each time was on a 64 auto DCW. Not saying thats the only case but its all I ve ever seen and I own a 67 240 auto now and have owned at least 5 other 240 autos that never had them,various years 65 thru 67. Again thats just what I ve run across.

Wow thanks for that info, you obviously are on top of this stuff-
Here's something interesting. When I got my P/U it came with some
extra parts. One is a side panel (about 1' x 1.5') but I can't figure
out how it connects to the main Belly Pan. The P.O. is out of state
and not easy to contact, plus didn't seem to know as much as I
did about Econolines, so no luck there.

Lastly, this is a little O/T (on my own thread, ha) but I acquired an
automatic column (for future conversion,) and am looking for the
clear plastic (PRND12) shift indicator. Looks like one from a Galaxie
might work???

Thanks for your knowledge/experience,
George

Vic,aka Old Skool may have one, if not you can use one from a 2nd gen van.

I ve got a Chevy pan myself. I ve considered grafting the center section into the Ford pan to get more air. Looking at the Ford pan pictured makes me wonder if there werent also pans that didnt have the notch for the sway bar to passs thru. There may even be more than 7 styles.

Both my 62 P/U (144 and 3 speed) and my 64 van (170 and 3 speed) had the side pans. I think the side pans are more for protection than airflow.

Is that Chevy Pan stock? Looks pretty trick. I thought the Belly
Pan diverted cooler air from the front grill, and also prevented the
hot air from the road surface (on hot days,) from rising into the
engine area?

Hey Pickle4k, do you have any pictures of how those side pans are
situated? I've got ONE, but can't figure out which side it goes
on. I should post a pic of the Panel, maybe someone will know
where it goes...

George

Hi Donivan65,

Good pics.

I think the Econo is similar. In the case of the '61 I have a large
center pan, and now I am thinking there might be two side
panels that protect stuff like you describe. I know how the
large center piece fits, the sides probably go outboard (?)
of the center one. Basically the 3 pieces make up on continuous
larger underbody/duct/bashplate.

My pickup came with the large center pan and one side panel in
a box of other stuff, so it appeared as a mystery.

Interesting how other makes like yours have similar engineering.
Clearly the big 3 (or 4) were in tight competition and shared a
lot of ideas, which is helping us figure stuff out now, ha.

The 4-piece tunnel version is interesting, sounds like the center
floorboards must have a large hump or mini-doghouse connecting
to the main DH?

These vans/trucks are good candidates for electric fans. (When they
are at speed they get plenty of moving air, but sitting still when they
really need cooling, they get stagnated.)

Mine has a smaller powered fan in it by the P.O. plus it has the mechanical
fan. It is not on a thermostat, it just runs when the engine runs. My
thinking is a larger, maybe 16" electric pusher tied to a thermostat would
be ideal.

George

That (donivan65) is the way I need to set up my fan. PO had a fan directly in front on the rad on my Econo. Which is about 8 inches away from the dog house. I don't think it did anything except suck hot air. I took it off.
After seeing the above picture, I would like to get a hook up that makes sense like that. Getting more air flow..nice!

Donivan65,
You've got the cooling dialed-in. Keep air flowing in/out of
doghouse area, and through the radiator is the priority. You
have a delayed-timer which is really trick. I'd like to know more
about that part of your set-up.

Here is that "extra" piece of the Pan that I was given. P.O. didn't
know if it was the right year or even part of my Pickup...

(looks like a dirt clod, but this is possibly a side panel for my Econo.)

Still haven't figured out how this piece connects to the main panel...



(on the right side there is a rubber flap, not sure about function...)

George

Not sure how to post some pics, however doing a couple of conversions at present. One with a 351W in a 67 with a C6, and SHORT TAIL. I make the engine and transmission cross members also. Its been my experience to prefer a SUCKER type fan, and not use a mechanical fan at all, and when using one to for sure use a shroud to make sure all the cooling transfer area is being cooled. By using a SHORT water pump, it opens up all kinds of room.
Also, I have found the high CFM fan and shrouds from a Ford Taurus, (3., for about $18 bucks on half price sale, hard to beat,, they are two speed fans, thin for water pump clearance, and said to be 4500 CFM, AND COME WITH A SHROUD....
BTW,,, for those interested I now have stock Ford 240 throttle cables, custom V8 conversion throttle cables and my shifting cable conversion cables in stock,,,, also C6 and C4 short tail stocks with solid output yokes.

VIC

On my 63 van it goes just under the oil filter, Makes for easy access to change oil. it does bolt to the frame you will see holes. I can't remember which is which but it runs longways paralell with your rig. Does that make scence?

Good luck,
Johnny

donivan65 wrote:There aint no law that says the side panel has to be bolted directly to the bellypan,,,,,,it has to be bolted to the frame or crossmember at least,,,,,and maybe that panel is not for your truck,,,,,,,I have 2 switches that can run my fan,,,,,,I have a fused hot wire running to 1 wire on the motor, and I have the 2 switches to control the ground leg of it. The on/off is on my steering column support with other switches,,,,,,,the timer is under the dash, that yellow knob under my radio,,,,,,,,,

Hey Donivan65,
That is really slick, I want to keep this in my notes. Thanks for sharing it.

Hi Vic,
I have a puller right now and it's workin. P.O. said it worked in 115 deg Arizona heat (??!)
I've been messing with several scenarios for a re-engine, one using a SBF EFI and an electric
water pump (had bit of success with them on my Falcons, no mech. fan) and it gives up a
bit of room.
I can see how a shroud would make greater use of the air, have that in mind too. Thanks.

I already have an automatic steering column set aside, but the plastic indicator is busted up
and gone (PRND12) Thought one from a Galaxie worked (?)

Hi Johnny,
Just like Donivan65 said, I got to think outside the box, the side piece(s) don't have to mate
up to the center Belly Pan. That's the first direct info for location, thanks man. Still not sure
where the one I got should go, but I'll keep trying...

George

I specialize in rebuilding and custom steering columns,, eight in progress right now,, also make and sell the replacement plastic shift indicator plates. In my columns I update the econoline shifter handle to a GENII shifter, as the earlies are usually worn out also. In the columns I also update to my bronze bushing update, and get rid of the stupid plastic bushing. Let me know if you want a shift plate, also, suggest you get rid of the early shift pattern (green dot shift pattern) as everyone prefers the later shift pattern and changing out the shift body in the trans,, easy to do, and have a couple of them here also,, if not,, get one out of a 68 or later, and simply switch em out.
The shift rod conversion cable setup I sell has been selling really good, and gets rid of any shifting problems also.
If you have a 240?? hard to beat the Taurus fan and shroud,, especially for $18 bucks,, little tight on the water pump hub, and need to reposition the radiator. However, almost perfect fit on its shroud to the 240 radiator.
On the two V8 conversions I am doing right now, using the Ford Motorsports short water pump, and a special set of pulleys from Runne Rite engineering, as Ford Motorsport has discontinued making and selling the pulleys. Also, using the Ford 3G high amp alternator,,, 90 amps @ 600 rpm.. killer little single wire setup,,,
vic
vic/ca

Hey Vic, you're the right guy to know! I am on the fence about
what I will specifically do with my Econo Pickup, but I do want
to make my Automatic Steering Column complete. It needs
the Shift Indicator, I will PM you with my info. Got any pics of
the Indicator?

If I convert to Auto, I will be using a 4R70W transmission, it is
a programmable version of the AOD and improvement over the
AODE. This will be turned by a 5.0L HO EFI I have that came out
of a '90 Mustang.

So the shift pattern on the indicator will be "non green dot" and "non
C4" but something that shows OD. (Prolly just settle for D, 2, 1)

I like the idea of cable control and will be using one if I do this conversion.

Thanks,
George

George,, I havent figured out what I am doing wrong trying to post pictures here yet????? need to work on it,, however if you email me off site, and can inundate you with em... LOL... the late yr shift pattern will work just fine with an AOD,, It simply cost too much to also, make the green dot, and didn't make a lot of sense to make them when most wanted to get rig of that shift pattern, anyways...
The GENII shift plate is CLOSE, but not a winner when put in our columns, and I was a stickler for like original.. so I copied the 67,, The GENII is a little different in spacing, as well as the lettering facing different,... Really surprised at how well the shift conversion is selling also?????? originally just one for myself,, and taking off very well,, it solves all the BS with our setups..
Vic,,
email off site, much easier....
vlafountaine@socal.rr.com