Replacing Floor Pans

[dbdragracing]

I am in the process now of installing all my black interior. When I removed the carpet is saw some light surface rust on the floor pans. I poked around at it with a screwdriver and 99% of it seems to be solid so I plan to remove the surface rust and paint the floor. On one seem behind the passenger seat the floor is soft and I can fit the tip of a screwdriver through it. Should I just have this piece cut out when it goes in the body shop or replace the whole pan? How big of a job is this? Can I fix the floor pan with the Maximum Motorsports full length subframe connectors installed? Thanks for any help.

 

[88Stangboy]

Replacing a piece of the floor pan isn't that big of a deal when you can get the patch panels. Im pretty sure there is someplace you can get some patch panels for a mustang. YOu just put the panel up against what you want to replace and trace it with a marker, cut it out and then weld the new piece in. When you weld sheet metal, you need to be extremely carefull, try to just tack weld it in and then tack one spot, then go to the opposite side of the panel and tack it there, etc. To keep to heat limited to one small point at a time, other wise you'll warp the panel. You just keep doing that until all the tack welds are connected. Then grind the top of the weld down equal to the surrounding sheet metal. Paint it with some rust preventitive paint and your done. You may have to hammer and dolly the sheet metal around the weld if it warps to much. And then just to go the extra mile i would buy a POR 15 kit and do the whole floor pan just to be safe. You can get POR 15 from Eastwood.com

 

[88Stangboy]

Oh and, just a thought. But if you have rust on your floor pan, check and see where the water is getting into your interior. Look around the door weather stripping, if its dried or cracked, you need to replace it or that water is going to un-do any re-pairs you do perform or just plain mess up your nice new interior. Just remember, rust is cancer for sheet metal, it only gets worse. Look at my Avatar at me and my dads Camaro, look what we had to deal with when restoring that thing, every panel had to be replaced, both rear quarters, complete floor, roof, entire trunk interior, wheel wells, rocker panels, hood, front fenders, firewall, cowl panel, etc. I've done a hell of alot of body work/ welding. That thing is completly done now and ran a 10.4 on a 150shot.

 

[dbdragracing]

Thanks for the help....I just put new door weatherstripping in the car (this past Fall) and had my girlfriend sit in the car while I took it to the carwash to check for any leaks all around the car. It looked good! Now its time to cut out an weld in a new piece where the soft spot is....I hope the full length subframe connectors don't have to be removed.

I feel you on the camaro....my friend just got done restoring a 1967 Camaro that had homemade floor pans and rust everywhere. He added up his reciepts the other day and he was just shy of $34,000. But now its perfect....even the underneath is clear coated. He had the newly built 427 dynoed at 588 RWHP!

I know this doesnt really belong on Stangnet, but here is a picture of his car:

 

[88Stangboy]

thats nice, all the info on mine is in my sig. Its my dad and mine. Took 7 years and about $45,000. And then his 72 Demon he's had since highschool took another $5,000 on a minor restoration. We just replaced a rear quarter, toe boards and the hood and had it painted baby blue.