I am working on installing my floors. The new floors and original braces don't line up worth a darn. I am thinking that what I'll have to do is either, use a mapp gas torch, heat the brace up, and beat them into place, or what I could do is, cut out the braces (in sections, and fit each section, and then weld them back up once they're all fit..

Any thoughts?

Thx,
Todd

Hmm, when you say don't fit, what exactly do you mean? Do you have new braces and the left and right floor pan? Can you post pictures?

We had to put a jack supporting a 2x4 under both the front and middle brace so that the left and right pan were lifted to the correct (eyeball) height then secured with vice-grips to the inner rocker panel lip and bolted down in the front brace to the frame.

Then use several self-tapping screws to secure each floor pan to the brace. If you removed the floor by drilling out the spot welds on top of the inner rockers, you can adjust the floor sideways to make the gap smaller at the tunnel.

Or you can get the floors to fit along the doors and kickpanel and use a 1-2" metal strip to span the gap in the tunnel. No one will ever see that strip.

Check out my buddies 65 that not only needed floors and braces (scroll down), but part of each side's inner rocker panel. Maybe that's your problem where the braces welded to the inner rockers, is it rusted out?

http://www.chevelles.net/tristate/members/paul.htm

Yeah, what he said. That's exactly what I had to do, had the same problem you have.

Since your braces are original they are likely in the correct location. Try to get your repro pans to fit the braces.

Well, the braces are original, they don't fit the contour of the pan's. The pans were put in to match the sheetmetal, not the braces, because when the braces fit, the pan was 1-2" off...

Here is a picture of the "Mis-Fit", and where I was proposing to cut, fit and reweld..

http://xs68.xs.to/pics/06076/S4300039.JPG

http://xs68.xs.to/pics/06076/braces.JPG

Nope, did you happen to notice the original's when you cut them out? They looked pretty much the same, just the factory spotwelder pinched them together whem spotwelded. That fit does'nt look too bad, use some sheetmetal screw's and git er done. Mine was worse, have someone stand in there, and use your floor jack, and a hunk of 2x4. It's never going to fit perfect.

On my website theres a illustration on how to reshape a trunk pan, I would think you could do the same thing with the floor.

The guy that taught me how to do it is about fifty years old, boby work all his life, not trying to brag him up, but he's really good.

I had four or five ribs on the back end of the trunk pans, they were way off, there on the money now, and it's fast after you get into it.

As a suggestion, get a couple pieces of wood the thickness of that gap, set your pan over it, a slapping spoon might work, by setting the spoon on the metal, then hit the spoon with a hammer.

Try a piece of scrap metal first, if you get the lines okay, even if they aren't deep enough, like one of the guys said, sheet metal screws will draw it tight.

Just my .02 cents. Good luck

Rob

Yea, I guess that should work fine. Just going to have to buy a jack, mine took a crap :( .

Thanks for the help guys, was really stressing over this.. Since it is the first body panel I have EVER replaced in my life (17 in Apr)..

-Todd