Guys,
I've started calling around looking for someone who can repair my floorpans (if I don't do it myself). The 1st guy I talked to said that I might consider using fiberglass for the repairs. It would be much easier to maintain the existing shape of the floor. Most of the floor is pretty solid considering I've been hitting it with a small sledge to remove the tar. Here's a few pics.

Driver's front...


Driver's back...


Passenger front...


Passenger back...


Cat hump area...

had a similar issue and used some fiberglass, so far no issues. The POR-15 really strengthens it

Id be concerned that if the rust is that bad where I've discovered it, where else is it.

Jim

My honest opinion, you just putting a Band-Aid on it and not really fixing anything besides seeing not seeing the ground. Someone has welded some metal plates in my boards and that was even a hap hazard job with poor welds, double layers not sealed ect.. Cut out old metal and put in new is the best way. Im sure there is a welding or body shop near you that would take it on if you have it already stripped down for them. You can get replacement floor boards so there really isn't a reason to do it correct. With that said I have seen a lot of Band-Aid jobs to get by and even some old MG's that used plywood for the floors. But its your car and you have to fits whats in your time, budget and if you plan on keeping it.

I hear ya, had the front repaired, by the time I found the one in the back it was winter

Yep. I'll get a few quotes and we'll see what various people say. I'm thinking some hard to get at curved areas could be fixed with fiberglass. The bigger flatter sections could be fixed with metal. I just don't want to blow the budget on the floor alone and then find I need a lot of mechanical things fixed (eg. brakes which I haven't even looked at yet).

fiberglass gets a bad rap from many restorers. their objection is its not metal like the original. As we call all attest, metal, particularly Fiat metal, has a shelf life. If your metal edges for bonding the fiberglass is properly prepared and the fiberglass is layed down well, fiberglass fixes can be strong, light, very durable and can be expected to outlast much of the already rusted steel. It is a very easy and inexpensive solution. For floorboards that are exposed to lots of moisture and don't require a exterior paint quality finish, it may be a better solution than metal.

4uall wrote:had a similar issue and used some fiberglass, so far no issues. The POR-15 really strengthens it

Jay,
Just curious how you fixed the area where your fuels lines exited out the back of the floorpan area. I just remember a picture where that area looked pretty bad as well.

Also when do you POR-15 things? When everything is down or before you apply a patch (metal or fiberglass) to an area. I've heard that the fibreglass resin won't still well to POR-15.

It looked worse then it was I replaced the rubber grommets and then POR'd the area after replacing the lines


As far as the POR-15 application, clean, etch, prep then apply POR-15 with patch then reapply POR-15

http://forum.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtop ... &hilit=por

you can patch it up,just keep it neat.and do the bottom side as well
you should get a set of floor pans and rivet them in until you can get them welded

I wouldn't be afraid to use fiberglass. The most important thing is to remove all the rust that is possible, treat the area with metal ready and paint it really good with Master Series or POR 15. Don't neglect the crossmembers and floor braces, the inside is hard to deal with, but I think they came as bare metal. Eastwood sells a corrosion inhibitor with a flexible tube you can use for enclosed areas. There rust encapsulater paint is pretty good, too and is available in a spray can which can be handy. Like was said before, don't forget the bottom.
I welded mine, but welding has it's own issues. If you don't butt weld then it will rust in between the two pieces of metal and it must be smoothed out and painted top and bottom.

1st quote I got for the body work was to...
- replace driver front and rear pans (at my cost for materials)
- patch other floorpan areas on passenger side
- labour about 20-25 hours at $57/hr
- prep floor so ready for me to POR-15 the surface

Does this sound reasonable? At that price I'm leaning towards buying the $160 Mig welder, welding some sections and using fiberglass on the others.

rjkoop wrote:1st quote I got for the body work was to...
- replace driver front and rear pans (at my cost for materials)
- patch other floorpan areas on passenger side
- labour about 20-25 hours at $57/hr
- prep floor so ready for me to POR-15 the surface

Does this sound reasonable? At that price I'm leaning towards buying the $160 Mig welder, welding some sections and using fiberglass on the others.

Hell no, unless they are super slow. If you take the interior out for them it shouldn't take a good body guy over 10-12 hours for that job and that's the high end. Id see if there is a good body guy on craigslist that is looking for work or take it to a regular welding shop.

3 solid days of work seems a little excessive I would call around or as you say, make the investment

Yep. Seemed excessive for me as well. I thought about a days work for a professional. I'm going to get about 4 quotes and then decide.