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Old 10-30-2012, 02:07 PM   #650 (permalink)
Sven7
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Warren, MI
Posts: 2,456

Boo Radley - '65 Ford F100
90 day: 13.28 mpg (US)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by christofoo View Post
I expect a belly pan would help prevent rust (and bits like that eventually falling off the car) but more especially if the belly pan were added earlier in the car's life.

Any mistakes you think you might have made on your belly pan the rest of us might do well to avoid?
Yeah, the rust ship has sailed. I'm somewhat afraid of how much the frame is rotting.

Things to improve upon:

-Make SURE the structure is super duper strong as well as supported somewhere in the middle. Not "strong enough", but rock solid. I used two thin C-channel aluminum bars as the main support structure and it wasn't enough. I'd like to use ABS plastic next time for the skin.

-Seal it up on the sides. If you don't know how you're going to do this, don't do it at all yet.

-Make provisions for wheel strakes, boat tail attachment (got that one) and whatever other additions you'd like to make. This means reinforcing it or building it heavier in critical areas.

-Any parts that you'll regularly take off- under the oil drain plug and oil filter, for instance- should be attached using clips, hinges or a combination. Zip tying it up every 6 months is not fun.

-Don't off-road it (oops). Anything you build, short of plate steel, will be of no consequence to a rock.
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