Muscletang needs new floor pans - advice?

[turtle5353]

Looks good man!!! The sheetmetal inside looks like brand new! Spray whatever you want in there to help seal it back up. I think I used eastwood chassis paint inside. If it looks like that after 40+ years im sure it will last a long while more after you seal it. Keep up the good work and keep us posted.

 

[tony-muscle]

Moving closer to welding day. I read my own thread again to make sure someone has not already suggested the diameter of the holes for plug welding. I can't find this information. Should I drill/punch the pan with 1/4", 5/16" or 3/8" holes for plug welding?

 

[Qcode351mach]

Moving closer to welding day. I read my own thread again to make sure someone has not already suggested the diameter of the holes for plug welding. I can't find this information. Should I drill/punch the pan with 1/4", 5/16" or 3/8" holes for plug welding?

On the floor structural parts frame etc 5/16"

Sheet metal (door skins, quarter panel rain gutter, etc )1/4" is fine

 

[turtle5353]

I use this nifty little tool from harbor freight, http://www.harborfreight.com/air-punch-flange-tool-1110.html Doesn't take much air to run either. I think it makes 3/16 holes. I use this where ever I can then do the rest with a drill the similar size. not sure if that's the proper size but it has worked for me for years. If drilling don't forget to debur the backside of the holes so they sit flush.

 

[tony-muscle]

I use this nifty little tool from harbor freight, http://www.harborfreight.com/air-punch-flange-tool-1110.html Doesn't take much air to run either. I think it makes 3/16 holes. I use this where ever I can then do the rest with a drill the similar size. not sure if that's the proper size but it has worked for me for years. If drilling don't forget to debur the backside of the holes so they sit flush.

You recommended that one on an earlier reply, but I thought the hole was too small.

Moving closer to welding day. I read my own thread again to make sure someone has not already suggested the diameter of the holes for plug welding. I can't find this information. Should I drill/punch the pan with 1/4", 5/16" or 3/8" holes for plug welding?

On the floor structural parts frame etc 5/16"

Sheet metal (door skins, quarter panel rain gutter, etc )1/4" is fine

I found this hole puncher, http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200635671_200635671, but it only goes up to 9/32". Would that work?

 

[turtle5353]

Just use a few more holes than you normally would if its a little too small for your liking. I did my floor pans with it without any trouble.

 

[tony-muscle]

As cudaK888 said in a previous post, remove your fuel lines before you start cutting out floor pans. I'd suggest removing the fuel tank. too, before starting down that road. Also have a big fire extinguisher, or better yet, two, nearby. You don't want to catch your car on fire in the garage. It's a huge, expensive mess. Don't ask me how I know.

Reading back this post it makes me smile because I took your advise and needed it. I actually read somewhere to have a bucket of water nearby so I had the fire extinguisher and water inside the car. Well, the other day I was welding and stupidly left some plastic sheet underneath the car that I use to catch all the stuff that falls. As you can expect during welding it catched fire right under the car and right by where the hydraulic hose to my lift is located. I tried hitting the flames with my welding gloves and nothing. The flames were growing rather quickly. Luckily I had the bucket of water next to me and emptied some of it over the flames. They extinguished right away, and was just left to clean and suck all the messy water. That trick saved the day. Later talking with a friend he suggested to have a spray bottle with water. I think this will work well to put out small flames with little mess.

So keeping a spray bottle nearby while welding is a good trick. May not work for big flames, but if you act quickly it may do the job. Still, this shouldn't be a substitute for having a fire extinguisher handy.

 

[turtle5353]

Usually not much water handy in my garage, but I have had to resort to putting out a few small fires over the years with Bud Light!

 

[tony-muscle]

Okay, here is an update. I finally welded the driver's side floor pan and just finished grinding. I took the time to prep the pan and overlap areas very carefully. On the car side I epoxy primed the overlap area in between the plug welds location plus some areas that will be covered. Then I sprayed the areas where the spot welds would be with weld-through primer. On the floor pan side, I epoxy primed the bottom and sprayed the non-welded areas with rubberized undercoating. Now that I am almost done with grinding the welds I will epoxy prime them and add some putty to cover irregularities plus small holes. I also have an idea to add more epoxy prime in the overlap surfaces by letting the epoxy drip in between the panels. Then add seam sealer under and top, and finally paint the whole top of the floor. I will also spray the bottom of the floor with the rubberized undercoating once the subframe connectors are welded. Also, I have to spray the inside of the rocker panel with Eastwood's internal frame coating.


I have to say that this whole process has taken much longer than I would have ever thought. However, I have learn so much and I know it has been done right, or at least really trying to make it right. These 100+ spot welds take a very long time to prepare, weld and grind.

Thanks to all of your help I am slowly moving towards the finish line. I just have to repeat the whole process on the passenger's side.....

 

[turtle5353]

Wow looks good! You definitely went above and beyond on that repair. It will last forever!!! Im much lazier. I usually just hit it with weld through primer, weld it, grind it, epoxy seal it, seam seal, and top coat. Looks great cant wait to see the other side. Keep up the good work.

 

[tony-muscle]

Wow looks good! You definitely went above and beyond on that repair. It will last forever!!! Im much lazier. I usually just hit it with weld through primer, weld it, grind it, epoxy seal it, seam seal, and top coat. Looks great cant wait to see the other side. Keep up the good work.

My only concern are the little holes left after grinding the spot welds. It will be 2-3 weeks between welding to the time I get to prime it. I will grind the surface of the welds just before priming, but I don't know what happens on those little holes. Any tips? Should I spray them with something before priming or should I just prime? I don't want to find surprises in a few years.

 

[turtle5353]

Really shouldnt be any holes in the welds after you grind. Should be smooth as babys butt. If your getting holes in the spot welds then you are getting contamination in your weld. Either all the stuff you are prepping the are with is getting into the weld and causing the contamination or your shielding gas pressure needs turned up a touch.

More than likely its from all the products you have around the weld area. This is why most of the time I only use weld through primer or nothing at all. I have had some weld through primers cause pin holes in my welds. The cleaner the weld area the better. The products around the weld area get too hot and give off gases and can contaminate your welds. Bare steel is the best to weld to in my opinion.

If your just getting some small holes from not enough weld in the plug weld, then you need to hit them again with the welder and grind them down again.

Post up some pics of these holes if you can and some close ups of your spots welds before grinding and after grinding.

 

[tony-muscle]

Really shouldnt be any holes in the welds after you grind. Should be smooth as babys butt. If your getting holes in the spot welds then you are getting contamination in your weld. Either all the stuff you are prepping the are with is getting into the weld and causing the contamination or your shielding gas pressure needs turned up a touch.

More than likely its from all the products you have around the weld area. This is why most of the time I only use weld through primer or nothing at all. I have had some weld through primers cause pin holes in my welds. The cleaner the weld area the better. The products around the weld area get too hot and give off gases and can contaminate your welds. Bare steel is the best to weld to in my opinion.

If your just getting some small holes from not enough weld in the plug weld, then you need to hit them again with the welder and grind them down again.

Post up some pics of these holes if you can and some close ups of your spots welds before grinding and after grinding.

I think my holes are from not enough weld. Some of the welds under the steering column are hard to get and the areas facing the front of the car were hard to see during welding. I may have to go back and hit some of these spots.

In regards to contamination, it could be but I think it's less likely. I actually scraped any primer in the area of the spot weld hole before welding.

 

[turtle5353]

That's good then! if you have enough weld to hold and you just want to fill in the small spots, I have actually used JB weld to fill in small pin holes after grinding. Works pretty well.

 

[Mexican]

I need my floors replaced but i'm not smart enough to do it and no one in the Tulsa area is interested in tacking the task

 

[turtle5353]

I need my floors replaced but i'm not smart enough to do it and no one in the Tulsa area is interested in tacking the task

Floor pans are pretty easy. I could probably do a set in a good weekend. Bring it up to PA!

But seriously a lot of people have done them on here with limited skills and had good results. Just get proper tools and take your time.

 

[Mexican]

I need my floors replaced but i'm not smart enough to do it and no one in the Tulsa area is interested in tacking the task

Floor pans are pretty easy. I could probably do a set in a good weekend. Bring it up to PA!

But seriously a lot of people have done them on here with limited skills and had good results. Just get proper tools and take your time.

I have looked on youtube with no luck, will keep looking

 

[tony-muscle]

Reading though this thread should give you a lot of details on how to proceed. In Page 2 there are links to very useful videos. I won't say it is "pretty" easy unless you have done it before. But it is not that complicated either. You need time and patience. This forum has been great help and motivator.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

There is a place in the Atlanta area called graverobbers and they do floor replacement on any vehicle google and you can find their web page. They have the fixtures to hold the frame in the correct plane when putting the new parts in. That is the biggest mistake people make they do it in their garage sitting on jack stands or the tires. The rust and cut out panels lets the body sag and nothing aligns. The door gaps are crazy the windshield angle on a vert goes crazy trunks don't align. You have to set the body up on the correct dimensions and double check everything before welding in the new. You can do it but doing it right is the key to a great job.

David

 

[83slimer]

I just ordered the full 1 piece floor from goodmark, I think its the universal from 64-73 that I will have to modify the floor where the front rails meet. Anyone ever install a one piece from a earlier model mustang? Pics are were taken before i found out that a full floor was available for me here in canada. I was going to do the 2 full length but I want a clean floor. Someone had already done the 4 small floor panels befor and lap welded them, very ugly. I might leave the thicker steel i welded in the pic , it ties the frame rail and leaf spring mount and torque box together quite nicely.