Belly pan soon

[White118]

I don't think a X would work, because it's not flat under there and he X would bend out of shape trying to bolt it to the frame. I was thinking about bolting the front to get started and let it hang then start moving under the car from front to rear using a rubber mallet and taping the belly pan into shape with the under belly of the car. I know this would not be flat under it but it would have smooth lines and fit the shape of the car not allowing and air to get trapped. Because I don't go over 50 with 90% of my driving the slight curves would not bother anything. I don't plan on racing this little beast anytime soon.

-Matt

[aerohead]

You might want to crawl under a Corvette or Trans Am Firebird to see how GM engineered those cooling systems( which have closed noses).
If you can do an inlet duct that deep you should have no cooling issues.
If you can't,you might consider opening the nose a bit while closing off the bottom,air-tight.
Also,the forward part of the belly pan is the most important part.That's where you want to spend your sweat.

[White118]

10-4

[AeroModder]

I used black 4-mil coroplast sheets for my undertray. It was easy to work with, light as a feather, and easy to trim. I have three panels in place (one in front and two under the cabin on each side of the exhaust), and I'm working on a design for the rear. Calculations show an overall 5 MPG gain in combined city/highway over the stock underbody.

Just be careful about making a front undertray. If you don't allow proper ventillation from the engine compartment, you'll run hotter in the city, especially at red lights.

[ECONORAM]

Originally Posted by White118

I don't think a X would work, because it's not flat under there and he X would bend out of shape trying to bolt it to the frame. I was thinking about bolting the front to get started and let it hang then start moving under the car from front to rear using a rubber mallet and taping the belly pan into shape with the under belly of the car. I know this would not be flat under it but it would have smooth lines and fit the shape of the car not allowing and air to get trapped. Because I don't go over 50 with 90% of my driving the slight curves would not bother anything. I don't plan on racing this little beast anytime soon.

-Matt

I am talking about putting some creases in like you would see in heating duct panels. The X is not very prominent, but it is enough of a change in the material to stiffen it up a bit. That might keep it from doing the kettle drum noise...

[ChillyBear]

Originally Posted by aerohead

You might want to crawl under a Corvette or Trans Am Firebird to see how GM engineered those cooling systems( which have closed noses).
If you can do an inlet duct that deep you should have no cooling issues.
If you can't,you might consider opening the nose a bit while closing off the bottom,air-tight.
Also,the forward part of the belly pan is the most important part.That's where you want to spend your sweat.

I had an oldsmobile with a closed front. It had an air dam with a steep angle about a foor behind the bumper that would force air onto the radiator. O HATED THIS. My car had alot of nose lift (VISIBLE over 100mph) but that could have just been caused by the round shape of the car. Another thing to consider for you-keep the belly pan flat (or no scoop at least) and if you have an electric fan make a "cold air intake" for it that routes to your wheel well, so when the engine is hot, it pulls air from a aerodynamically dirty area anyways.

[White118]

Well I'm back in the country now spent some time in Afgan and other places. I now have some time to get this belly pan on get some good numbers. I'm getting around 48-51 MPG now. The sheet of metal is aluminum not steel and weight is much closer to 10 with out the cut out areas so this should bring the weight to maybe 8 or 9. I'll keep you guys posted with pictures and more mods. Rear wheel covers coming soon.

-Matt

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by White118

I was able to pull the back off a shelve at work today that they where getting rid of because they say its junk I say It has potential. So what i found was a 6'x8' 20 ga sheet of stainless steel. It has some small holes in it where it was bolted the shelve but I could cover them with duck tape or caulked them close. I will try they bell pan this weekend due to the honey do list is long.
I'm also thinking about making a small scoop under the car so to pull air in to the radiator because I have the front damed off. If I open the front the air will have know where to leave the engine bay due to the belly pan. So a small scoop maybe sticking down an inch buy 3 inhes wide like a small wedge would push air right on the radiator. Any thoughts?

-Matt

Matt,call your local Chevy dealers and see if any have a Corvette in the showroom ( it's plenty hot outside!).If so,get over there when handy,and crawl underneath for a long hard look.
See how they did their radiator inlet,and also take a look at their bellypan while your at it.

[White118]

I'll check it out next time in town, and get some pictures. Thanks.

-Matt

[White118]

So I have the belly pan on it runs 3/4 the lenght of the car so need to track down some more free sheeting to finish the rest. I left everything closed on the bottom and have not had any issues and it been 105-109 a few days this week so I'm going to rock it the way it is for right now. I just filled up the day before I put it on so it will be a while before I can post MPG gains. When I bought the car with no mods I ran 3 tanks at 39,40 and 40 MPG. I did the head light covers and grill cover and get 48-52 average MPG so will see if I can do better than that for 2 tanks and I'll call it gains.

-Matt