Floor pan(s) install

[Schumijr]

Hello all.

I just purchased new full length floor pans and toe boards for both driver and pass. sides of my '68 coupe. The question is this:

While I see the side lips (that woud attach to the rocker) for the full length pans are bent upwards the lips for the toe boards bend down. Why would these not bend up towards the dash so that you can weld them in to the kick panel area?

Also I cut the seat riser out of the pass side and then laid the floor pan into place to get an idea of fit and placement. The fit doesn't seem to be quite right although I think its pretty good. I did notice the holes for the seat mounts and drains are a little off. The drain holes I'm not worried about but could the seat mount holes be an issue?

Where is the best place to make your cuts for the seat belt attachments on the tranny tunnel? Would it be best to leave the original mount in place and notch around the new pan or cut out the original and reattach the hardware for the seatbelts?

As for the pans themselves I would assume the best thing to do is cut as low as possible on the tranny/driveline hump. That way, you get rid of most of the old floor to make room for the new and then you can mark and trim the tunnel for a better fit.

Can anyone offer words of encouragement or advice.

Thanks for all the responses,
Carter

 

[robbz28]

I put the same thing in my car....i left as much of the tranny tunnel as i could and notched around the seatbelt hole. Also I put my toe board in a vice and bent that side lip upward so I could weld it from the inside. As far as the mounting holes go....these things are made by the lowest bidder in vietnam somewhere, just get it as close as you can. Also one thing I want to mention while you are at it...if you are 6' tall like I am, take this opportunity to lower your seat pans to give you more head room...you can even move them back for more leg room.
If you are building this car for a driver you can lap weld the pans instead of butt weld. What I did was overlapped my new pans over the tranny tunnel about 1/4" and ran some short 1" beads every foot or so, then come back and put more inbetween them and kept doing that until i had it all welded up. (I didnt want to weld on one spot too long for the heat. Anyway, they look good now, i had to modify my passenger toe board, it was complete crap, but i got it in there, once the carpet is over it, you cant tell.

 

[Schumijr]

Hey Thanks Rob. Nice to see another native Louisianian on here.

Im planning on doing the laps and plug welds. The car is for me to be a local nice fair weather driver with occasional shows. I'm not worried in the slightest about not doing butt welds.

I thought about bending the flange for the toe boards but really didn't think that was such a hot idea. I also thought about cutting the panel and actually welding to the "floor" since the damage I have in the toe boards is exactly in the center of the piece.

Thanks for your response,

Carter

 

[robbz28]

No problem, in my opinion if its good metal, keep it! My toe boards and floor pans were completely gone! Fred Flintstone must've been the previous owner. What part of LA you hail from?

 

[Schumijr]

I lived in Monroe. Moved here to Missouri in 2000.

The driver toeboard will probably require everything to be replaced. The pass. side I could probably do a patch on.

 

[robbz28]

Darn, was hoping i had a fellow mustang enthusiast nearby to help me when i needed another hand or two! But glad to see you got out while the getting was good! Anyway...the drivers is probably the harder of the two to replace, you got the steering column, ebrake cable hole, etc....How about your torque box? does it look like it needs replacing? Easy to do while you are already in there...

 

[Schumijr]

This shows a bit of what I have to deal with. The hole crack actually goes all the way to the floor dimmer switch. I think I can cut below the steering column and all the other holes in the firewall. I'm still a bit nervous about getting it in and out.