66 Coupe- Inner Rocker Replacement tips/tricks

AlmostCoffee

Active Member
Feb 4, 2020
58
25
28
Canada
Hello all, I finished my rear subframe rails last week and started doing patch work on some very small holes in my floors/ under the passenger seat. During this I noticed my passenger inner rocker is rotted right through where the floors meet them., however I already have new coupe carpet on the way and the drivers side inner looks to be newer so I don't want to go through the hassle of doing the convert upgrade. I have been searching for info on how to replace the inner rocker on a coupe with just coupe inner rockers. I can only find info on convert rockers it seems. Is it as simple as drilling out the spot welds on the top, opening up the pinch on the bottom and sliding the old rocker out the bottom? (making necessary measurements prior/ marking how it sat of course) and sliding the replacement rocker in? If the floors are solid and the outer rocker is in good condition should I still throw some bracing in? If anyone has a build thread that covers doing inners in a non destructive manner I would greatly appreciate some pics. Thanks!
 
  • Sponsors (?)


Hello all, I finished my rear subframe rails last week and started doing patch work on some very small holes in my floors/ under the passenger seat. During this I noticed my passenger inner rocker is rotted right through where the floors meet them., however I already have new coupe carpet on the way and the drivers side inner looks to be newer so I don't want to go through the hassle of doing the convert upgrade. I have been searching for info on how to replace the inner rocker on a coupe with just coupe inner rockers. I can only find info on convert rockers it seems. Is it as simple as drilling out the spot welds on the top, opening up the pinch on the bottom and sliding the old rocker out the bottom? (making necessary measurements prior/ marking how it sat of course) and sliding the replacement rocker in? If the floors are solid and the outer rocker is in good condition should I still throw some bracing in? If anyone has a build thread that covers doing inners in a non destructive manner I would greatly appreciate some pics. Thanks!
The inner rocker on coupes and fastbacks just consists of a strip of 14 gauge steel with a bend on the front and the rear where it meets the wheel house.

Were it me, I would replace the floors that are rotted and repair the rotted section of inner rocker once the floor is cut out. I did an outer rocker repair to my '66 coupe. An inner rocker would have been much easier to repair. The inner and outer rockers are spot welded together on the top and bottom.
 
The floors are solid, I just had small patches along the rear of the pan to replace (old repairs had rusted out). I was curious if the inner rocker can be removed without cutting the floors besides drilling out the spot welds or cutting the outer rocker out (car exterior is finished and painted by previous owner already) . I can see the spot welds on the top, but wasn't sure about how the lower attached so that's good to know, thanks!
 
The floors are solid, I just had small patches along the rear of the pan to replace (old repairs had rusted out). I was curious if the inner rocker can be removed without cutting the floors besides drilling out the spot welds or cutting the outer rocker out (car exterior is finished and painted by previous owner already) . I can see the spot welds on the top, but wasn't sure about how the lower attached so that's good to know, thanks!
Do you have a picture of the rotted area?
 
Unfortunately I do not, I'm currently at work up north so I can't get back to it for about a week. I may just go for it, worst case i'll have to cut back the floor along the rocker and patch something back in after the repair. I'll be sure to follow up for others to reference once it's done. I shouldn't need to put bracing in with the outer rocker still in will I? I also have subframe connectors I can install first to add rigidity if need be.
 
The floor where it attaches to the inner rocker will need to come out...even if its just the spot welds drilled out and the floor peeled back(either make a couple of relief cuts and peel it back, or just cut out that section of the floor and patch a new piece in. That is my guess...but pics would be needed to say for sure. Kind of a weird place to rot out...my floors were toast pretty much the entire way, but the inner rockers were solid.
 
The floor where it attaches to the inner rocker will need to come out...even if its just the spot welds drilled out and the floor peeled back(either make a couple of relief cuts and peel it back, or just cut out that section of the floor and patch a new piece in. That is my guess...but pics would be needed to say for sure. Kind of a weird place to rot out...my floors were toast pretty much the entire way, but the inner rockers were solid.
Yeah I think i'll just cut the floor out about an inch or so from the panel and take it all together, There is some surface rust anyway (not much) and it'll be easy enough to fab up a replacement patch from there... Thanks!
 
There will be a lot of big spot welds but yes ,just drill them out and slip the inner plate out . The area back at the rear torque box will be the problem because the torque box is welded to the inner plate
The rear torque box area is where i've found the rust actually... Good to know, maybe i'll try cutting all those spot welds out before hacking the floor then. I can probably throw a new torque box in if it gets to that as well. Would you recommend making a door brace? If it was a real inner rocker I probably would but it seems unnecessary with just an inner plate like this if the outer rocker is staying in. Thanks
 
You will need to support the rear frame rail and the front of the body ,when you cut the torque box loose there will be nothing to keek the rear of the car from sagging . Put a jack stand as close to the rear torque box as possible with out it being in your way
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user