The official rollpan construction page

[rocket 5979]

Shouldnt be. I mean the stock plate light isnt super powerful anyways. But i am not an electrician or anything but i would say you shouldnt have a problem.

 

[Hartman]

Didn't think so, but I just wanted to make sure.

I got the rollpan actually secured onto the body! Only with one screw though. I know how I'm gonna curve the pan, but unfortunately I can't do it until Monday. I have to work all weekend. I may be able to do a little bit here and there, so I'll keep you posted.

 

[X24]

Looking good so far! I'll be honest, I thought this was gonna take months for you to do. You're moving along fast tho. If I were building one it would take me months. Can't wait to see it finished.

 

[Hartman]

Chris, I sure do appreciate it. I started planning this in late April, so when the rollpan arrived, I was eager to begin. If things go as planned, it should be ready for paint in 7-10 days.

 

[nnnick]

im mighty impressed to hartman, way to be. next time you go to cedar point you better stop by (i am only 2 minutes from there anyway) so i can see it in person. way to be man.

i have a question....i dont know much about fiberglassing so this might be a stupid question but, how hard would it be to make a mold of your pan when your done?? then you could make like 10 or 15 of em...and sell one to me

 

[Hartman]

Welp, I got one of the ends of the rollpan curved. I held it in place with string (kind of hard to explain) while the fiberglass was setting up. It's dry now, and it looks great.

It's hard to get a shot of the curve with my cam, so here's the best I could do:

Tomorrow I should be able to get the other side curved and set up. Soon I'll be fiberglassing the ends of the pan to the curved center portion, but I'm sort of being held up because my Limited splashguards still need to come in the mail.

I'm also having a tough time keeping the screws to stay in the sheetmetal body. I drill a pilot hole in the sheetmetal, screw the screw in, and it appears very solid. But then I have to take the screw back in/out because I have to constantly remove the rollpan for measurements. After a while, the screw just spins in the hole and doesn't "grab" the hole like it's supposed to. To correct this, I'm probably going to have to make "tabs" that extend perpendicularly out the back of the rollpan and attach to the frame using existing holes (just happen to be there ). This will also provide an extra layer of ridigity.

As always, I will report with progress tomorrow.

 

[james t]

can you get to the backside of the hole? if so, then stainless machine screws with a big washer would be the way to go.

 

[Hartman]

Yeah that's what I would do, but I don't have access to the back of the panel.

 

[Hartman]

Well, today I got the curve of the pan done, it looks great now. I also played with the stock wiring harness for the license plate lights, and the light bolts work just fine with the harness.

Plans for tomorrow are to make the tabs that come out of the rear of the rollpan and bolt to the frame. I am also going to start scupting the ends, but again I'm still waiting on the Limited splashguards which is sort of angering me. Whatever the case, there are still things I can do until they arrive.

 

[99exEB1]

Very cool!! Keep up the great work Hartman. I'm eger to see the finished product.

 

[Black Magic]

Hartman, do you plan on trying to have a mold made from yours to sell any duplicates to others here and on ebay? I bet you could make your money back for the time and materials!

 

[Hartman]

I have thought about it, but it would be lots more work to make a mold, then lay the glass down in the mold for each rollpan. It's doable, I just don't know if I AM going to do it right now.

 

[Black Magic]

Whao, Look at this from the Sport Trac site: They have a mold comming for them... Info at mysporttrac.com

 

[Hartman]

Wierd, I didn't know you had a Sport Trac BM!

 

[Black Magic]

Just from the front doors forward.

 

[Hartman]

OK, I got all the mounting points taken care of today. It took longer than I expected because I had to redo one of the frame mounts. I decided to pull her out of the garage and see how everything looked in daylight. Here are some pics:

Now, I'm gonna to take a cruise with my half-rollpan.

 

[nnnick]

damn that looks good, im jealous!

 

[Black Magic]

Hell, you could leave it like that and look cool! Great job!!!

 

[white96x]

good stuff!

 

[Hartman]

I attached the passenger side end onto the rollpan earlier today, the glass is drying now. I've decided to get the end on the rollpan, then do any neccessary molding to it to make it look right. Don't know if this is the way to go, but it seems like the easiest way.

These ends are going to be a *****.