Thanks. I've been given the floor pan idea alot of thought, I'd love to make those as well as other parts once I get my tools finished up and get some practice in with them. I'm thinking of selling this set of cargo side panels and doors (pretty cheap) just want to recoup my cost for the materials. I basically started building them as a practice project.
I should be getting my Crater Maker dimple dies this week. going to use them for the mounting holes for the side panels, I think it would give it a cool finished look with the flanged button head allen bolts I'm going to use.

 

That is cool Ed!

 

Nice little die set up you made and it looks great.

 

I dig it! But shipping sheet metal panels is going to be a nightmare.

 

Love the tools you have bought/made/modified so far. And I think your panels and doors are a fantastic idea. I'm looking forward to what you do with the doors.

 

Thanks Robb!

Thanks Terry, I'm liking it, it has already come in handy!

Thanks! I've never tried shipping anything even close to that size before, trying to get them shipped without getting bent might prove to be to much of a challenge...I'll have to look into it further.

Thanks! I hope to start on the doors soon!

 

Worked on the driver side panel a little more today, since I was using the electric shears anyway decided to cut out the tailgate cover/panel. Don't know if the sheet metal will work good for the tailgate, climbing in out might dent it? I plan on running beads lengthwise to further stiffen it up and for asthetics.



^^^my helper for the day, he wanted to try out my new electric shears, he did a good job and cut right on the line! The sun was in his eyes, lol.


^^^made a cardboard template

 

Nice..... Nice..

 

Coming along nicely Ed. The finish hardware definitely tops it off and good choice on the latches for the cargo doors

 

I'm digging your interior panels Ed!

 

Thank you!
Thanks Tony. I hope I got the right size flanged button head Allen bolts and the fit correctly with the impression left by the Crater Maker dies, guess I'll find out! I was really impressed by the latches I bought. As you turn them, they automatically click into place, almost feels like a magnet, it does this when turning in either direction. There is enough resistance that it should prevent vibrations from causing the latch from loosening and the door for opening accidently. I really want to get a flat dimple die that leaves a recessed area and mount the latches in the recessed area left by the die, but I'm out of funds for now, so will probably just flush mount them for now. Here's the dimple die I want:

I'm wondering if I could make one out of a piece of tubing and maybe an old socket that fits the inside diameter of the tubing, I might try that tomorrow...

Thanks CamTom!

 

So I decided to try an make a recessed flat dimple die before going to work today. I basically welded a nut to the bottom of a square peice of plate steel. Then I welded a peice of tubing to the other side. Then threaded the bolt up though. I just happened to have the right size flat washers, so I used them as spacers and stacked them up inside the tubing until I got the depth I wanted
The 1" socket fits the inside diameter of the tubing
first try went a little to deep, almost worked as a hole punch
çut halfway around, I also forgot to trace the socket with a sharpie so it wasnt centered with the hole

second try, i went a little shallower, but I got it centered good this time

 

wow that looks great Ed. I've broken both of those plastic doors in the rear panels, what would you charge me to make me some fancy metal ones like that?

 

cut the vents in it and itll prolly give it some nice stiffness once the lips are rolled. those look fantastic!!!

 

I'd be interested in a set of doors too, plus those will be easier to ship!

 

Ed, looking good man, I think you'd have some paying customers for just the doors. Excellent fab skills.

 

Looks great!

 

Fantastic. Making that homemade die worked nicely. A little bit of thought goes a long way and saves a bunch of money. Im interested in buying the RustEd tools for my shop. When do they go on the market?

 

Under that sheet are another metal sheet and some stiffened bracing. How about some well-placed standoffs on that bracing to support your new panel?

Fine detailed work, Ed!

 

Thanks for the compliments buddy!....PM sent.

Thanks! That's a good idea, the vents would help drop a little weight as well....more on that at the bottom of this post.
Thanks for your interest, I might have to refine the design a bit first, see more explanation below.
Thanks alot Cory!
Thanks you!
Thanks Tony. I think I'm going to grind or file down the inside edge of tubing/die and round it off a bit, then I might be able to make the dimple in the sheetmeetal a little deeper without it trying to cut through. Thanks for the compliments on the tools, that die looks kind of crappy, I didn't spend very much time on it, but like you said if it works, plus saved me almost $60!
^^^That's a good idea, thanks Ray!

Thanks everybody for all your compliments and encouragement I really appreciate it! When I started this project it was more for practice to try out my beadroller and my press brake and get a feel for how they work. I probably should have used 20 gauge, maybe thinner since when I put the raised bead(s) in the panel it's going good to stiffen them up alot. I'd really like to make the doors for those of you that are interested, but I hadn't planned ahead for that. I think the 18 gauge I'm currently using is going to be to heavy to make doors out of for those who want to use them with their stock plastic side panels. I weighed my door and it came in at 2lbs, (the factory plastic door weighs about 10oz). If I made the vents like Spacejunk suggested I could shave a little weight off, but I'm afraid they may still be to heavy. My concern is that the extra weight in the middle of your plastic side panel might cause more vibration and possibly Crack your already fragile 30+ year old side panels.
I'm thinking I'll need to go with a thinner gauge sheet metal or if cost effective maybe aluminum. What do you guys think? I haven't ever priced aluminium sheeting, but I have a feeling it will be expensive. I'm going to continue working on this project and look forward to some input from you guys on how I should proceed, thanks again!

Ed.