The official rollpan construction page

[X24]

It doesnt look like you need to build up the middle. It looks like you need to take in the ends.

 

[Hartman]

Yeah basically. I'm gonna try some stuff out tomorrow and see if I can get it to flex a little. I just need to bend it a little bit to match the curvature.

 

[james t]

make your relief cuts as so and you will be surprised at how much more flexy it will get. most of the strength/rigidity is at the lip at the top.

cuts exaggerated for effect-

 

[Black Magic]

Hartman, that is looking very good so far!

 

[rocket 5979]

James that is exactly what i meant. You were quicker on the diagram than i was. hehe. It should flex all you want if you make those cuts like that. Great thing about fiberglass is its flexibility.

 

[rocket 5979]

Hartmann. Just make sure if you do it the way James and i are saying that you space the reflief cuts closer together in going towards the center because you will need more flex in the center being that it is where the hump is in your hatch.

 

[Hartman]

That might work but I will have to make relief cuts on the bottom as well because it rolls at the bottom, it doesn't go straight down. I have my doubts that it'll work, but I'll give it a shot.

 

[Black Magic]

I understand Hartmans concern. And agree that bending it might be difficult.

 

[Black Magic]

I really wish some of the Mother-Fer's that have already done this would get on and show how it was done! That would make this alot easier for us.

 

[Hartman]

Most of the others had a shop do it for them.

 

[Hartman]

I worked on the pan this morning for a few hours. First thing I did was put the center portion of the pan on along with the one end that I have roughly cut. I pulled it out of the garage and see how I liked it. One thing I hated about it was the way that the lower edge below the license plate box sloped down lower than the bottom of the rest of the pan. So I cut a straight line across the bottom, and it looks much better. I shouldn't have to do much more shortening at the moment.

I didn't make any relief cuts to try to match the curvature of the hatch, but I do plan on doing that tomorrow. It's not going to take much bending to match the curve, or at least it doesn't seem like it. I do think that it is going to take quite a few relief cuts to make it bend even a little. We'll see how it goes.

Things left to do as of now are:
1. Take care of the curve.
2. Roughly cut the passenger side end.

I'm almost to the point where I can joint the center portion of the pan and the two ends together, and then make other modifications to the whole pan. Things are going smoothly right now, and as soon as I solve the curvature issue, I think it'll be smooth sailing from then on.

BTW thanks for all the support.

 

[Black Magic]

Hartman, how are you going to address the chrome splash, stock part to the pan? Are you going to mold them together and paint all to match or just have it come up to it like the bumper did?

 

[Hartman]

I have splashguards off a Limited on order. They are the "flat" kind that are painted to match the body. As you see in the pic below, they have a horizontal line going thru them, which I plan on filling in to make it totally smooth. I'm not sure if I'm going to mold the rollpan into them or not.

 

[Black Magic]

I would Mold it all together. Clean look, very smooth.

 

[X~FACTOR]

I don't think molding them together is a good idea. The area where you mold them together would crack right away because the roll pan would flex if you go over uneven road.

 

[Hartman]

I could make the joint pretty solid. If you layer fiberglass the right way, it'll be almost as hard as metal.

The only problem with molding it all in would be getting it back off for paint. If you've ever tried to remove the splashguards without breaking them, you'll understand what I mean.

 

[Black Magic]

The only reason I say that is that all those loosers with roll pans are all molded together and they look pretty good.

 

[Hartman]

Well, I made some relief cuts, and it is allowing me to bend the ends of the rollpan. Problem: securing the bent ends so I can fiberglass them in the new, bent position. Not sure how I'm gonna do this.

Securing the rollpan to the body is turning out to be more difficult than expected (surprise surprise). The "lip" of the rollpan that secures to the body of the truck just below the weather stripping doesn't go out far enough, so I had to cut it off and move it back, and re-fiberglass it. The 'glass is drying now.

I also had to cut off my brand new exhaust tip to make room for the pan, which doesn't make me very happy. I'm going to have to redo that once the pan is done.

Not a very uplifting day, but work continues none-the-less. :thumbdwn:

 

[rocket 5979]

What you can do Hartmann. Is since you probably cannot fiberglass the piece in place. You can fit it with the help of two other friends and then get a piece of cardboard to trace the outline. Then cut that out and trcace that onto a piece of plywood and cut two or three pieces just like the first one. Kind of like making a mobile molding jig made from the curve of the back of your car. I am sure i will think of a few other helpful ways to go about this. But this idea was the quickest best one i could come up with. Hope it at least gives you some ideas if you were stumped or anything. Keep up the good work and it will pay off alot when looking at a strong great looking custom finished project.

 

[Hartman]

Rocket, thanks for the tips. I think I might have an idea on how to do it.

I might be getting ahead of myself here:

I got those license plate bolts with lights in them, made by DEI. Of course, they are 12V, but my question is, would it be OK just to splice them into the stock license plate light wires? Or is that too much juice for them?