Floorpan restore using fiberglass

[azruss]

you've got a lot of rust in difficult places. I don't think the number of hours is out of line. It takes time to do it right

[rjkoop]

Got another quote from a guy here in Ottawa. He dropped by, looked at the car, says everything is strong with the car (ie. shock towers, trunk area, wheel wells, etc...)

So his quote was...
- he'd provide 18 gauge sheet metal for new pans where required (ie. don't need to buy floorpans from Wolf metal)
- we wants me to buy outer rocker panel for passenger side (needs to be replaced) - tough for him to form so best to buy

So $1200 for the floorpan and rocker panel replacement. Seemed to know exactly what to do. Only thing he mentioned was to use the goop that's used to seal windshields to fill the weld seems. Does that seem weird? I think normally people get proper seam weld.

Hoping to get a few more quotes today. Considering I only paid $2500 for the car I'm not too upset with $1200 in body work to get it driveable.

[4uall]

Pretty much the same quote as the previous If these guys are mobile welders, I would try to bring it in someplace to get a different quote. I remember a significant difference in quotes from mobile to fixed address quotes. That being said I paid about $600 just to have my spring perch repaired


Drivers side lower coil spring perch......................uh oh by itzebtze, on Flickr

[124JOE]

at the ford dealership theres a repair using epoxie on a rear axle they say it makes it stronger than metal
i seen him smear the epoxie on the part and the axle then clamping it on to cure

however if he uses his stuff on your car it may seal it from water leaks as well
some panels need drain holes and some dont

so if he says he'll stand by his work and the price is right then let him do it

[rjkoop]

After getting 3 quotes on the floor with questions from these guys like 'How much do you want to spend on fixing the floor?' - ummm... nothing!

...and $1000+ ranges in the repair I've decided to tackle the floor repair myself. So I'm going to get a used flux core welder. Everything seems fairly straightforward I just had a question about butt-welding vs. overlap.

In both cases I'll cutout the old rusted metal and patch in a new piece. People say that if you overlap metal you will get rust in between. I just think I'd feel better welding an overlap piece rather than butt-weld. If I clean properly and seam seal afterwards is that ok? And how much overlap? I guess enough to weld to but I thought about 1/2" would be good. And of course POR-15 afterwards. Also is 18 gauge steel good for patches or is 20 gauge enough?

[azruss]

I would go with 18 gage. I would also go with a gas mig rather than flux core. much cleaner, non-porous weld with far less spatter beads to grind off. I would go with an overlap because of how easy it is to burn holes doing a butt seam. you might even think about drilling a hole is one piece and doing a "spot weld" type weld. with a butt seam, you can put a copper plate behind your work as a heat sink and also use to match the seams. Also use the heat sink paste. It goes a long way keeping panels from warping.

[rjkoop]

I would go with 18 gage. I would also go with a gas mig rather than flux core. much cleaner, non-porous weld with far less spatter beads to grind off. I would go with an overlap because of how easy it is to burn holes doing a butt seam. you might even think about drilling a hole is one piece and doing a "spot weld" type weld. with a butt seam, you can put a copper plate behind your work as a heat sink and also use to match the seams. Also use the heat sink paste. It goes a long way keeping panels from warping.

Yep 18 gauge is what I thought. The used welder I'm going to get only has flux-core but gas can be added in the future. Initially I'm just going to do flux-core and deal with the messiness. I like the idea of drilling a hole in the metal to get a good weld.

[4uall]

best of luck with it all

[rjkoop]

Thanks Jay.

I think it's one of these things that you've just got to get the b*lls to do it, it will take time but I think it's pretty straightforward. And it will be a skill I've always wanted to acquire.

There will be lots of pics and questions for sure! Once again, without these forums I wouldn't even consider it.

My goal is to still get this car ready for Spring (ie. May) driving.

Any thoughts on cold rolled vs hot rolled for floor pans? Does it matter? I was recommended to get cold for the purity but wonder if it's overkill.

[rjkoop]

Going buy the sheet metal tomorrow. I think I'll cut, prefit and screw in the metal (even pre-drill holes for 'spot' weld)... Essentially get 100% ready for welding. I can rent a welder for $40 for the day and get 'er done in 1 day. I think that's the way to go.

[rjkoop]

Floor repair going well. Cut out bad metal and cut new sections from 18 gauage steel 4'x4' sheet. Essentially cut piece using cardboard template, curved as best I could and then banging into shape in place. Going to drain fuel tank and fix the area where the fuel lines are going out the back of the driver's area. Once I cut piece I think I'll use steel screws to hold in place, weld and then remove steel screws. Bent the steel using my old Black and Decker workbench. Works great.

A few pics...






Only thing I found difficult to do was bend the steel to fit the trannie hump curve (near the bottom where it meets the floorpan) and have a 90 degree angle as well.



I found the best was curving the metal to fit the curve and then trying to bang into the 90 degree angle afterwards. Is there a better way?

[fiater]

I've used fiberglass on the floors of both of my Fiats, and it worked well and that was apx. 15 and 20yrs. ago. I think that it definately is better to replace the floor pans, but that's a big job, but that's still my future plan.

[rjkoop]

I'm going to use welded steel for most areas. There are just some areas that are tough to get into (eg. between the cat hump and the inner rocker panel) where I may use fiberglass instead. But even there I'm going to try to weld in an angle bracket for support.

[deftone]

Looking at your "before" pictures they are almost identical to mine, Im glad to see your repair going well, it gives me the inspiration to get out there and do mine (if I wasnt in Kazakhstan right now )

[rjkoop]

Looking at your "before" pictures they are almost identical to mine, Im glad to see your repair going well, it gives me the inspiration to get out there and do mine (if I wasnt in Kazakhstan right now )

Tomorrow should have time to cut more metal, use sheet metal screws and try to prep for welding. Still too cold for POR-15 (about +5c here) though.

I'll take a few pics at it progresses. Let me know if you start your work as well. Like to compare the progress and share tips.