I know these trucks are bad at that. Has any body made a Body Pan Car Aerodynamics 101 or other mods for aerodynamics?

 

I haven't, but it would be kinda cool to come up with a removable underbody pan for the front (between the front bumper and front crossmember). I was also thinking of a tailgate spoiler (like the new F-150 or Ram), would be pretty cool.

 

Yes, a tailgate spoiler would be sort-of cool, but not practical.

For our trucks to be aerodynamic, they need to be streamlined. The use of a tailgate spoiler actually creates MORE drag on the vehicle than it does to help reduce the drag on the vehicle.

A streamlined body would be the shape of a tear-drop. Getting our trucks to be a tear-drop shape would require an entire body re-modeling... and is impractical.

What we could improve on though would be the front, and edges of the vehicle. If there were some way to make an arrow-head on the front of the vehicle, it may actually decrease the drag on the vehicle. An arrowhead on the front of our vehicles however isn't practical again cause our trucks are already so long. That, and it adds on to our safety risks because we now have a 6000 pound arrow, capable of piercing something at even slow speeds...

The edges of the vehicle, if rounded out more, could make the vehicle more aerodynamic... but it's not likely...

The whole problem with our vehicle is the flat front. That's what kills it all...

 

Wanna make these bricks more aerodynamic?

1. Reduce the frontal area by lowering it. If ya wanna get extreme, chop the roof and lay back the windshield. Think **Corvette** = small frontal area and it is shaped like a doorstop.
2. Prevent air from entering underneath by installing an air dam (sorta addresses the "belly pan" idea)... a belly pan would perform that much better.
3. Close off the unused parts of the grill and only expose the radiator opening. Then block off as much of the opening as possible so that the temp averages around 210F.
4. Tighten up/seal all the seams facing the oncoming air.
5. Remove everything "hanging out" and causing drag (or at least make them slick): door handles, antenna, roof rails, mirrors, wipers, gas cap.
6. Pancake the hood.
7. Fill in the "dent". EEGADS!!!
8. Vent the hood so whatever air in there can escape more easily.
9. There is no advantage to removing the tailgate because at-speed a bubble/pocket of air is trapped within the bed and the oncoming air goes over and around it.

Take a look at the early 70s NASCAR race cars... they had some tricks. Also, Smokey Yunick's 66/67 chevelle had some really forward thinking mods like a small duck bill along the rear of the roof.

 

there is a truck on here with the dent filled in... it looks like a dodge powerwagon

 

[QUOTE=73f250highboy;10429647]there is a truck on here with the dent filled in... it looks like a dodge powerwagon


aaaaaaaaaaaahahhhhhhahhahahahaha
Sounds like a horror movie
Doesn't look so bad though

 

take a look for your self i put a picture in

 

Yup
I had to eat my words and did a quick edit
It looks alot better than I thought it would

 

You could do all the aformentioned stuff and gain what, maybe 1-2 more mpg? Or you could just buy a newer truck where they have incorporated all these things into the design......... Seriously though, these trucks are 50s-70s technology, they aint never gonna get good mileage no matter what ya do.

 

not true. a guy over at fsb got 22 mpg out of a bronco with a cummins and a c6
EDIT this guy has 35 inch tires on it too

 

Agreed
If you're looking for mileage it's the wrong vehicle.
I just want screamin power and big enough tires to role over all the Prius' in my neck of the woods

 

Myth Buster's did an episode on just this subject. and the best ways for getting better mileage, were a fiberglass Tonneau cover, or just removing the tailgate was a mild improvement. Sealing off the grill area will work if and only if you have a sloped or raked grill, but with a 50-70's ford truck, it is too flat to have any effect, and the cooling effect is much more warranted anyway. The truth of it is, you can spend a large sum to get better mileage, but the percent of the gain is so nominal, that you might as well save the bucks, and spend it on the gas. if your gearing is rather low... put taller tires on... or do a ring and pinion swap!

 

Well ok, I'd have to see it to believe it but I'm a doubting Thomas anyways lol. I'm talking with the original FE or the 335 series engines though, thats what most come here wanting to improve upon. You cant make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. If you want mileage out of one of these trucks, I think the 300-six/manual trans is your best bet, and keep it under 65 mph.

 

I have recently built my 352, with a bore and stroke, and quite a few mods , aka Torque cam, all roller valve train with mileage, reliability and torque in mind. I won't bore you with the list of details, but with the 4:10 rear end and a T18 trans 1:1 final drive, I have been averaging 14.8 around town, and on a recent trip to the desert to go riding I averaged 19 mpg.... Now that is with only about 2400 miles on the engine. After the build it dynoed at 348 bhp at the crank. My point is if it is running well, and dialed in right, the FE is not that bad on mileage. There are a few tricks with the Dizzy that can make a world of difference, for only a few bucks.. such as lighter weight advance springs, recurving the dizzy, and using an adjustable vacuum advance pot. Springs $4.25 from Summit, Adjustable Vac Adv. Pot $9.00 at Autozone... so for about $15 bucks you can make a nice difference in the mileage, and get a little more torque and BHP out of the old girl.. Another big mileage saver is using an Electric fan, and it frees up more bhp, than headers, or bigger carb, and in turn improves mileage. I put a 2800 CFM pusher fan on the front of the radiator with an electronically adjustable Thermostatic fan control.. the whole match cost about $100 bucks, and now I can dial in the temp that I want to run at with a screwdriver. in most cases losing the flex fan and going electric, frees up 20-35 BHP dependent upon the engine. Redesigning the body loses that Old School look that we all love, so why do it!

 

True...There's theory and then there's application. The OP asked and he got my purely objective response.

There is always a cost-benefit relationship to everything we do..... In my opinion, it's easier to improve MPG with an overdrive tranny. At 10 MPG and $4 per gallon, that's a whopping 40 cents per mile! Assuming the OD tranny swap costs around $2,200, the payback takes about 5500 miles.