Explorer modification ( roll pan )

[rhexplorer]

Hello, this is my first post so if I'm in the wrong spot please let me know. Let me start off by saying I'm a 15 year old kid and I have a 2001 ford explorer sport that is white.I have been doing some research on modification to the gray bumpers that I have and I'm pretty sure that they are just stock.

Anyways, what I'm trying to get to is that I am looking on a way to modify my explorer like this guy did his
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=154726
( How did he change the color of the front bumper like that?)
I went to http://www.candospecialties.com/ and after searching for explorers they only come up with 91-97 explorer roll pans. Is there anywhere else i can look into it?

Anyways thank you in advance

 

[Fifty150]

Why ask us? Ask him.

 

[chezoom]

he hasnt posted in 2 years

 

[Joe Dirt]

Exactly. And it's a discussion forum.

First- welcome to the forum! :wavey:

Second- the 2001 Sport has textured trim, so it would be hard to paint yours to match that truck. There are some sports and sport trac's (same front bumper and trim) that have smooth finished paint, which is what you would probably want to start with...

Not sure on the rear roll pan, but there are some current users that are running rollpans, like Tim (vroomzoomboom)

CLICK HERE

 

[rhexplorer]

Thanks!
So I would probably have to go to a junkyard and look for a sport / sport trac that has a smooth textured finish rather then the grainy plasticy texture?

 

[drothgeb]

Yeah, I'd check the j/y for the front bumper, but when it comes to rollpans, you're going to most likely have to make your own..Even the ones on cando have to be bondo'ed and played with a lot to make it seem like it's more than just slapped on there.

 

[drothgeb]

Plus for a rollpan you're going to have to cut your frame in the back some

 

[rhexplorer]

Do the side skirt things and the back bumper also fit if they came from a sport trac?

 

[SuRrEaLNJ]

2 roll pans i can think of of the top of my head belong to explorersport77 and vroomzoomboom.

both of them were completely custom jobs, but a search for them or just rollpan on this site will give you a point to start your reading

Edit: Joedirt, just noticed you already linked Tim's

 

[Joe Dirt]

You can also get them for around $200 shipped form eBay. Might take some saving, but it depends on how involved or how much of your money you want to spend on that...

Everything except for the front fascia will be different. Unfortunately, I think you're looking at a decent amount of fabrication and money to do what you're looking to do...

 

[rhexplorer]

So painting the plastic white is most likely my best way to go about this?

 

[Joe Dirt]

If you can't find a smooth cover and don't want to or can't spend the money for a new cover, yes. I think some have sanded (or tried to) and they never come out right... Plus, if there is any issue with adhesion, the paint will pop off, rock chips will pop it, and then you'll have the old trim color showing through, and it will look terrible.

Realistically, how bad is it or are you looking just for a color change? If it's chalky, etc., have you tried something like Meguiar's Ultimate Protectant? It can do amazing stuff to make trim look really, really good... CLICK ME

The truck you were looking at also had a fabricated roll pan as well, but Tim's (vroomzoomboom) pan looks a lot better, IMHO after you look at the pics on the cardomain of the truck you were eyeballing. CLICK ME

 

[vroomzoomboom]

thanks guys for giving him my link. its not to hard to make, just look at the thread i made and the steps i took to do it. if you can cut card board, and tape it together, you should be able to do it, except the card board is metal, and the tape is weld. or what you can do is cut everything, take it to a welding shop and get them to weld it, then a body shop to finish it. the ones that you order online are sheet metal (prob 20 gauge) that will offer no protection if you are rear ended, or back into something.

also, i like this pic because it shows both trucks together (and no it was not photo shopped). i drove 26 hours to a car show this summer to meet some of the people on here, SuRrEaLNJ (jay) was one of them, and explorersport77 (tara) was also one of them, and thank them for there help when i did my truck (evil)

 

[rhexplorer]

Realistically, how bad is it or are you looking just for a color change?

I think that the gray bumpers look bad so I'm trying to get them to match the white body the car has, because I'd like to put some chrome rims on the car and I don't think the gray will go very good with it

By the way.. those cars look sick:biggthump

Edit: I was looking on eBay motors and it looks like they have some bumpers and stuff that are unpainted I think?? Something like this
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Bump...|Model:Explorer|Year:2001&hash=item1e5f6ced4c
will this be able to be painted in any color? It says its unopened or unused or whatever so I wondered

 

[vroomzoomboom]

you can paint the textured bumpers, but its like joe said, you run the risk of it flaking or chipping off. on my truck, i painted the lower valence, and it has pealed in both corners at the top near the bumper and i used a red scotch brite pad on it. four of them to be exact. i must have spent about 30 mins scrubbing that thing, and its a easy panel to do because there are no crevices to get into. your best bet is if you cant see it with your own two eyes to determine if it is smooth or textured, dont buy it.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Or ask the seller. Other thing you can do is go to a local body shop and have them look up a cover on the Hollander Interchange manual- there is one floating around here somewhere, I can't find the link, but I have a copy on my computer at home.

The other issue is, even if you find one for the front, you won't find anything for the rocker panel trim, which will take a savage beating from rocks, and that will for sure chip off...

 

[rhexplorer]

So I'm pretty much SOL for changing the colors.. bummer :|