How to Install a Roll Pan on a Blazer

The Chevrolet S-10 Blazer has been popular since it came out in the early 1980s. But when the new body style came out in 1994, there was one problem: It came with a different rear end than an S-10. That meant the back of the truck couldn't have a roll pan installed without some extra effort. Fortunately, this is something that can be worked around. For this project, the vehicle is a two-door 2000 S-10 Blazer.

Things You'll Need

• 1994 to 2004 S-10 pickup bed
• Air saw
• 4 1/2-inch grinder with cutting wheel
• 3/8-inch ratchet and socket set
• Angle grinder with sanding disc attachment
• Permanent marker
• MIG welder
• S-10 pickup roll pan

Instructions

1. Find an S-10 bed from a junkyard or online. The bed can be damaged; the only part you're concerned with is the lower half of the rocker, where the roll pan would mount on the truck.

2. Cut out the rear quarters of the bed using an air saw or grinder. You want to cut about 1 foot back from the rearmost portion of the bed, and from the lower body line down to the bottom. This will give you a patch panel to weld onto your Blazer. Do this on both sides.

3. Remove the factory bumper on the Blazer using the 3/8-inch ratchet and sockets. Remove all of the bumper, including any side trim.

4. Align the truck quarter panels on each side. Hide the area you're going to weld; the easiest way to do that is to do it in the seam of the body line.

5. Trim the truck quarters with the angle grinder and air saw so that the horizontal cut on the upper portion of the quarter panel is in the gutter of the body line. At the same time, make sure the other cut is as vertical as possible and fairly straight.

6. Hold up the S-10 quarter panel to the Blazer quarter panel, and align them so that the back end and body lines match up. Then mark around the truck panel onto the Blazer panel using the permanent marker.

7. Cut out the marked area on the Blazer quarter panel. When done, grind all the paint off the edges using the angle grinder.

8. Align the truck quarters onto the Blazer panels. If you need to trim, do so now. Once it's lined up, tack weld the panel into place in four spots using the MIG welder. A tack weld is a temporary weld that can be removed at any time. Do a short, quick weld on the sheet metal, joining the two pieces.

9. Hold up the roll pan to the rear of the Blazer. Make sure it's the same distance from the tailgate on both sides, and make sure it fits the new quarter panels.

10. Tack weld the roll pan into the quarter panels in six areas, trying to space out the welds.

11. Tack weld the quarter panels by doing four tack welds in one area, then moving around on the panel and doing another few. The more you weld on the panel, the higher the likelihood that the sheet metal will warp. You want to weld it such that you're not building up too much heat; so take your time and do it slowly.

12. Tack weld the roll pan to the quarter panels in the same manner as above.

13. Grind the welds down smooth using the angle grinder. Once again, move around the panel a lot so as not to build up heat.