belly pan for '62

hey guys i need a belly pan for my '62. that new 200 is nice but i have big heat problems now. this is kind of urgent as i have been stranded at least four times in a week and once in rush hour like city traffic. i cant keep it cool. any one got a pan???

Hi Steve,

I don't think a belly pan will help your problem much. If you are overheating in stop and go traffic it's more likely you have an air flow problem. A belly pan will only help at highway speeds. It will keep the grill air going towards the radiator instead of it taking the easy way and bypassing under the truck. At a stop you don't have this forced air comming in the grill. It's up to the fan to pull the air in. A five or six blade fan, A fan shroud, and a good water pump it what it will take to cool it down.

You may even need a bigger radiator. A 200 builds more heat than a 170 or 144. Power equals heat, more power, more heat. A friend has a 66 van that came factory with a 200. It had a 240 size radiator in it from the factory. Ford thought it needed more. A good shroud will do more than anything. Factory shrouds are almost impossible to find. You may have to build your own. It's not too hard. You have to watch the water pump too. Most of the rebuilt pumps available today have a cheap sheet metal impeller that won't pump water very well. Look for a pump with a nice cast impeller. They work better. Get a better fan that the stock four blade. The electric fans are nice but you have to have a good charging system to keep up with them. They pull some juice. Another thought is to check your radiator to make sure it's clean. Running without a belly pan can allow a lot of mud and trash to get in the fins and stop one up.

Duane in Tennessee.

Duane is right. The belly will not help at all in stop and go traffic. I always recommend a four core aluminum radiator with a good electric fan with at least 2800cfm, preferably 3000cfm. here is a good fan like the one I will be using on my 61 with a Clifford 240 6=8:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160618469932&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT There are others like zirgo etc. that cost more and don't do the job. My 200 never gets hot and I have never had to use the electric fan . I do have a four core aluminum radiator in it though and it gets up to 118 here. I also do not use a belly pan on any of my econos..

I was just talking to my neighbor about replacing my radiator and adding a strong fan for cooling. I was watching the temp gauge on a little ride the other day. Everytime I stopped it the needle would rise. As soon as I started moving the temp would go back down. I need something to keep the air flowing while stopped and my old radiator has seen better days. The fan vanishingbreed posted seems pretty good and the price isnt bad either.

I use a Champion Radiator in my Econos. I get them on ebay and always get a four core. Griffins are better but the last one I bought 6 years ago was over $600.00. The Champions are guaranteed for life, no questions asked.

Go for the champion radiator, i got mine for like 220 with a fan. It doesnt even get close to hot anymore.

thanks for the ideas guys, i have a champion four core in there and i use water wetter in the system. i'll fab up a shroud for now and see about an electric fan. i'll let you know what works

Heres a belly pad if your still looking
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/pts/2529001891.html

i wound up being given an eight blade electric fan at a rod show by a friend of mine. its doing a good job of keeping the van at a resonable temp. thanks guys

Good choice