I just picked up a '72 coupe that was near the house. The drivetrain and interior looked in really good shape. I crawled underneath and saw there were a couple of holes under the rear seat. No big deal. So I bought the car and am trying to get it roadworthy for everyday use during the summer. I pulled back the carpet and what did I find. The floor is rusted through on several areas above the frame. Heck there was a body bushing that popped up through the floor after removing the carpet. graemlins/sad.gif Alright here is my question. Can the Floor board be replaced with the body on the frame? I realize the body bolts screw into the floor. Also who makes the best floorboards? For an everyday driver this is turning into another project.

Thanks

C.C.

i have a 67 that i planned to be my daily driver.. i replaced my front and middle floor braces. then patched my rusty floor without seperating the car from the frame.. just make sure everything is alligned before you weld

also.. if the bushing popped thrugh the floor it sounds to me like you need the floor braces as well..

With the braces gone was there any sag in the floor? Is it better to do a butt weld or is it easier to lap weld the edge? Thanks

the middle floor brace was so badly rusted i had to cut the floor about 10 inches wide.all the way across it sagged when i stepped on it but other then that i didnt have any problems. i dropped the brace in from the top, clamped it to the rockers, and welded it to the inside rocker. next i lap welded the floor patch in. i made my patches out of an old honda hood.. for the front brace the floor wasn't too bad. i cut the brace in half and slid it in thrugh the holes in the floor. i put the holes right over where the bushings go. i also made a hole in the middle of the trans tunnel to weld the brace back together. i dont have any pictures but i will try to get some to show you where i made the holes. this made the instalation much easier.. i couldnt think of a different way of doing this without seperating from the frame.. the only things i had to do was drop the exhaust and drive shaft.

i found a picture of a chevelle floor and outlined where i made my cuts.. i dont know how to post pics here but if you give me your email adress i could email them to you in school tomorrow morning.

it always start out as a little rust.then the deeper you get involved the more rust you will find. and then more rust and more rust. unless this was a car that you realy realy want to spend lotz of time on. i would find me a better daily driver.thats my humble opinion. like you i started with hey thats not to bad to oh crap, now i have to much money invested to stop. good luck with your hobby. (remember there is a fine line between a hobby and mental illness ) as i have been told graemlins/beers.gif

i think im at the point where it is graemlins/clonk.gif an illness.. lol

Rad my email address is: camnick@att.net . I appreciate it. Boy I think I passed that fine line long time ago. I keep on telling myself this is going to be just a driver. Just like everyone else I'm ready to just tear it down.I'm trying to stay focused.