As requested, I'm going to keep this project updated with pictures as I go along. http://chevelles.com/showroom/Randy_Mosier/Dcp_0754.jpg


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Here are the links to the rest. As you can see, I tried to weld in a patch panel that I aquired from a donor that was in surprisingly good shape as far as floor rust was concerned. But, the floor in my car was more corroded than I thought it was originally. The circled area in photo 0757 shows where the metal was so corroded, it was too thin to weld. It would blow through the instant the wire touched it. It didn't that bad initially.

http://chevelles.com/showroom/Randy_Mosier/Dcp_0755.jpg

http://chevelles.com/showroom/Randy_Mosier/Dcp_0756.jpg

http://chevelles.com/showroom/Randy_Mosier/Dcp_0757.jpg

Step one, remove driver's side inner quarter support to floor pan braces. The circled area in the next sequence of photos are the driver's side braces. The passenger side braces are already removed.


http://chevelles.com/showroom/Randy_Mosier/Dcp_0758.jpg

http://chevelles.com/showroom/Randy_Mosier/Dcp_0759.jpg

http://chevelles.com/showroom/Randy_Mosier/Dcp_0760.jpg

http://chevelles.com/showroom/Randy_Mosier/Dcp_0761.jpg

Most of the spot welds are drilled out. We're getting there. More photos to come.

Hey randy, what year is that car? I'm in the same boat. I should drop you an email later and show you what I'm up against.

It's a 71. The side braces are out. Here are more pics.

http://chevelles.com/showroom/Randy_Mosier/Dcp_0763.jpg

For some reason, the spot welds didn't turn loose as cleanly as I would have liked, unlike the passenger side which came loose with barely a struggle. That's what the MIG welder is for!! A little repair work to the inner quarter support sheetmetal will be needed. Thankfully, the damage was minimal.

http://chevelles.com/showroom/Randy_Mosier/Dcp_0764.jpg

http://chevelles.com/showroom/Randy_Mosier/Dcp_0765.jpg

http://chevelles.com/showroom/Randy_Mosier/Dcp_0767.jpg

More ripping and tearing.

http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Randy_Mosier/Dcp_0777.jpg

It helps if you take it out in sections. But be careful of what's underneath.

http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Randy_Mosier/Dcp_0780.jpg

The entire pan is out now, and I'll get some pictures posted tomorrow. All that remains is to trim the old sheetmetal off of the wheelhouses and forward lip of the trunk floor. Then it'll be time to cut the area around the floor brace where the forward rear seat mounts are spotwelded, and then it'll be ready for the new pan.

It's much harder than it sounds.

I have just about finished doing the same thing. I just cut the entire piece out and replaced it with a new piece from ground up. I think it was like 140 shipped in. I have only had to weld in the side braces for like 2 months and can't seem to find the time to do it. I think for my first welding it turned out fine.

http://home.sc.rr.com/deon/images/sheetmetal/floor.JPG

I still need to repaint the floor after I am done but man does solid metal make a difference.

:D

How about some pictures of the sides where you welded to the inner quarter panel support? How did you address that area? There are several sheetmetal parts that come together in that area and the pinch welded area has like three or four layers of sheetmetal there where the inner quarter support, rocker panel, and floor all come together. You can't lay in a new pan factory style without removing the inner quarter support. Any tips would be appreciated!

Randy you can put that pan in like factory without removing inner quarter. Drill out the welds and bend the inner lip up. To bend the rocker lip, right before the rocker lip meets that rear seat panel, cut a slice about 1/2 long with a cutoff wheel in the rocker, this will allow you to bend the rocker lip easily.

Now if you have easy acces to the underneath of car you can drill out the panel from the bottom and replace the panel from the bottom. Dont know if this can be done with the body still on the frame, but I did one the prevoius way from the top and one from the bottom. On the car from the bottom it was just sitting off the frame on 4x4

Here's where I'm at on the sides.

http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Dcp_0812.jpg

http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Dcp_0814.jpg

http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Dcp_0816.jpg

In the last photo, the one of the new pan, there's a bend along the edge where the dash line is drawn. What did you do about that? Did you cut that off?

Here's the big picture of the rear seat area.

http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Randy_Mosier/Dcp_0806.jpg

Randy on that pic with the inner quarter, the first pic shown since my last post, right where those 3 spot welds are kinda all in one in the front is where I made my slice on the rocker. With this slice you will be albe to bend the rocker lip up and over out of the way. I then took some vise grips and bent the quater lip up and then rocker lip up.

What I did to remove the floor on the sides was take my cutoff wheel and grind away the spot welds that hold the old floor to the inner rocker. I found that the spot welds didnt line up all the way thro so I took the cut off and ground away just the rear seat floor.

The factory floor is bent like your new panel, when you remove it you will see that it bends down somewhat. I do recall doing some trimming on the sides of the new panel but very little.

Like I mentioned before if you can the easiest way is to place in from the bottom. Still grind out the welds that hold the floor in place. Instead of bending the quarter lip and rocker up(still will somewhat)but bend the inner rocker lip down, That inner is very thin metal bending easy. I got the front edge of new panel just on top of the 3rd brace then was able to slide the rear seat panel inbetween the inner rocker and rocker. Did have to apply some sight pressure in the middle to bend the rear seat panel somewhat so it slide into place. But you might not have the clearance to do so. If you dont have clearance, just bend those lips up more with vise grips and you will be able to postion that new panel in like factory.

Excellent!! I do want to get it as close to original as possible. I figure any additional cuts that have to made.....well, that's why I bought the MIG welder!! Thanks!

Wow thats a much more thorough job of removal that I did. I actually used a air chisel, drill and heavy duty putty knife w/ BFH. I actually just trimmed up the sides. I now know its not correct but nothing on the car is anymore. :D This is my first time behind real sheetmetal replacement, I don't count putting patch panels in the lower front fenders real metal replacement.

I still need to thank Sevt_Chevelle for his instructions to get me as far as I have. :D

Progress is a little slower at this stage. But I managed to remove the remnants of the old floor pan along the sides by cutting the spot welds and rolling up the bottom lip of the inner quarter support as Sevt_Chevelle suggested.

http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Randy_Mosier/Dcp_0855.jpg

http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Randy_Mosier/Dcp_0856.jpg

The driver's side, shown in the first picture, took about a week because I was feeling my way through unchartered territory and was being extra cautious. The passenger's side took about two hours.

This job has been progressing, but at a slow pace. All the seatbelt nutplates have been cut and removed from the old pan and are now welded to the new one. The clips for the rear seatback attach bolts are also welded in place. The new pan has been trimmed on the sides, but there's some work to be done to the wheelhouses before I can install it. The wheelhouses need to be rounded back into shape with the hammer and dolly so that they mate up with the seat pan with minimum gaps. The forward floor pan brace needs to be cleaned and repainted, and I need to retack the forward section of floor pan to the brace. Other than that, it should drop right in, right? :confused:

More pics soon.

Yeah the wheel well area of the new pan didn't fit very well at all. I did some shaping and got it pretty tight. Welded it from inside the wheel well onto the new pan. Then I got some of the new pressurized tube of black weatherstrip and sealed it up. If I ever get the car back into the daylight smile.gif I hope to take more pictures as the one is in the dark cave never seem to come out well.

July and August are behind us. I've been waiting for this damn brutal Texas heat to let up. It's been a little cooler this past week, so I'm hoping to make a run at putting this thing in soon.

The countdown to installation has begun. I did have one delay. You know those clips that fold over and hold down the rear lighting wiring harness? I drilled off the old ones, primed them, and then layed them down somewhere. I turned the garage upside down looking for them. I'm off to the junkyard tomorrow to grab some more, and then I start fighting the damn thing into place.

I hope the trunk pans go smoother than this thing. Like I said, they built the entire car around this one floorpan.

We're going in!!

http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Dcp_1222.jpg


Almost, I have to pull it back to notch around the body mount. The replacement panel has a longer lip.

http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Dcp_1223.jpg

Looks good Im getting ready to MIG in my front 1/2 floor pans. I looked at your site, did it say you had a craftsman MIG for sale? graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Third try this afternoon, and the right side is still not going in all the way. The wheelhouse on that side is out of shape from a previous accident. I may have to do some shrinking on it to get it to conform to the pan.

It's so damn close I can taste it. I ran out of oxygen for my torch, so I'll continue the shrinking process tomorrow.

I really need to update where I am at. I have painted the inside bottom black and the back panel between the trunk grey. I have removed all the metal framework for the headliner and cleaned that area up. I want to give it one more good coat of eastwoods before I start putting everything back in.

Randy I hear you about July and August. I tell you it didnt get that hot here till about the last month to month and a half. I hope to get after it and finish up alot of small things this weekend. That and me and family have been out of town every weeked for like 2.5 months. Its about time for a break.

Looks good Randy keep us updated.

This is the time of year that I can finally get back into the garage to work. I'm covered in sweat after a half hour, but at least I don't feel like I'm going to die and waste half of my time drinking water...by late October I'll be able to drink beer in the garage!

Mr. Mosier, thank you for detailing your work. I will probably have to do this on my 69 Malibu (hardtop) and your instructions are definitely worth my TC membership.

This was the notching I was talking about in the vicinity of the body mount in the area where this pan transitions into the forward trunk floor. http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Dcp_1226.jpg

After a bit of shrinking with the torch, and a bit of hammer and dolly work, the wheelhouse is finally close to its original shape. The circled areas were stretched pretty bad from a previous accident. I had to do a lot of shrinking in that area to get this thing to fit just right. Thanks to MARTINSR and his advice on shrinking metal! At one time, the gap was close to an inch just above the circled areas!

http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Dcp_1316.jpg

I'd say it fits much better now.

http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Dcp_1314.jpg

At last, at long last, I've started welding it in place!

Wire burning continues! I'm a pretty good welder with years of experience, but I didn't realize how out of practice and rusty I had become. It took a little while, but now I'm laying down some decent looking beads. For anyone who is new to welding, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!

I'll get some more pictures posted soon! It's almost completely welded in, minus the side braces. The original metal is some tough stuff to weld. My welds are not as pretty as I'd like them to be and certainly not as good as I've done in the past, but they will do the job. The old metal likes to pop and splatter and blow out a lot, almost like welding with the gas turned off. I have to squeeze and release the trigger really quick a few times to get it to smooth out. Once I get it flowing good, the weld puddle settles down. But it made for some unsightly looking beads. My weakening eyesight doesn't help matters. I layed a perfectly nice looking bead down in one spot along the seam between the rear of the front pan and the front of the new rear seat pan. There was only problem with it; it was along the side of the seam. When I raised my hood, the bead was about an 1/8th of an inch from the seam. I have to use reading glasses to weld.

The pan is in!! All I need to do now is weld the side braces and seat bottom hooks in place.

We're on the downhill side!! http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Dcp_1653.jpg

http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Dcp_1656.jpg

http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Dcp_1657.jpg

The welds are ground flat now. It's just a matter of getting the side braces back in the car. I wanted to bring this back up for the benefit of kmchugh.

Originally posted by Randy Mosier:
The welds are ground flat now. It's just a matter of getting the side braces back in the car. I wanted to bring this back up for the benefit of kmchugh. I am watching as well. Thanks Randy. Please keep it going. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Thanks Randy graemlins/thumbsup.gif

You'll still have to weld the seat bottom hooks back in right?

Originally posted by YenkoChevelle69:
You'll still have to weld the seat bottom hooks back in right? Yep! Those need to be reinstalled also! The side braces turned out to be a bit of job though. It seems that the replacement pan is not as deep as the original, so I had to reshape the lower side braces a bit so they would sit flat against the floor pan. That's done now, so all I have to do is prime them and weld them in place.

I'm bringing this back up for a friend of mine so he can find it a little easier!

I'm bumping this up again. Someone was asking about this job in another thread.

Im in the same boat too. I removed the seats and found patches on patches. the rear passenger had corrigated tin screwed down with what appeared to be roofing tar covering it. graemlins/angry.gif I could kill the person who did that. it took me weeks to get that crap off. I basically had to chisel it off. I wish i had a digital camera so i could have gotten some pics of it. Im going to do a quick patch till i can afford new floor pans, i believe someone here recomended using 18 guage at minimum.