Trunk Floor, Tail Panel, Quarter Panels, Outer wheel wells - Order of importance?

[Mister 4x4]

Apologies - My internet at work is blocking the pics, and when I was at home last night before I got a chance to take a look, we had a power hit for a few hours.

If I'm tracking what you're saying (without benefit of pictures), basically both the trunk pan as well as the drop-offs have 90 degree bends in them at the point of contact to each other as well as the rear frame rails.  So yes, there will be an overlap of the pieces.  Since I did my trunk pan first, the drop-offs came out on top [of the framerail/trunkpan/drop-off sandwich] - and No, the extra layer of thin sheet metal has very little impact on the overall fit of everything.

Keep in mind that mine is a restomod, I used repop sheet metal, and I didn't everything out of necessity rather than the desire for executing a faithful restoration.  Since my entire trunk is carpeted, I could care less which panel wound up on top, or if it was factory correct.  That's just how mine went back together.  Someone interested in "getting it absolutely right," as in "faithful restoration," would be using NOS sheet metal and referencing an unmolested car to duplicate the same.

 

[rackerm]

Fabrice, I think the floor pans were a 1 piece design with the drop offs on it and bent 90 degrees! 

I've asked, because when i've patched my 73, having just light corrosion on one side at the fold, I remember there was no double metal there.

@Mr4x4 used new separated sheets that were having the fold. Just like the floor pan that I have with a 90 deg extra bend.



Unless I'd replace the drop offs and buy new ones with a fold on top, I will have to cut the floor +- 1 inch away from the drop offs,

This way, I can spot weld from beneath and also eventually do same from the side once the lower quarter is removed...

Not expecting the 1 mm extra height to be a prob.

Thanks for clarifying that.

I believe the factory and NOS were a one piece with the trunk floor and drop-offs so no seam or overlap.  If I recall, my repro trunk floor had no 90-degree lip, that was on the drop-off. We put the drop-off lip over the trunk floor.

 

[Fabrice]

I believe the factory and NOS were a one piece with the trunk floor and drop-offs so no seam or overlap.  If I recall, my repro trunk floor had no 90-degree lip, that was on the drop-off. We put the drop-off lip over the trunk floor.

Never seen the original (as NotAT5 posted) offered anywhere. Took already a while to score one for a human price over here, so mine will do just fine.

I'd prefer to have the lip beneath for a cleaner look as the original, but after giving it some thoughts, doing this way have many advantages, 

most spot welds done from above and I could spot weld the lip of my floor to drop-off, tho not sure if the torch would fit easy with the rail in the way...

Way around if quarters are still on, it's gonna ask for serious gym to weld the sides.

thx for posting these, preciously stored them for later study!

@Mr4x4

No prob, all my options are clear now thx for all posted picts.

I'm not after concours either, just after something solid/durable.

 

[ITMike5.0]

Make sure to get the 'long' trunk pan, not the short one like I did:

Since mine's a restomod and I'd already bought the short panel (not knowing there was a difference), I just made a panel to bridge the gap:

Just after removing and replacing that rusted out quarter extension panel (whatever it's called - seen in the other pics):

After that, welded in the new taillight panel:

Hope this helps!

Do you think the shorter trunk floor would be correct for my car since I have the fold down rear seat?  

Also are there steps or a correct way to remove my crusty rear taillight panel?  It's even worse on the inside of the trunk...  It's kind of hard to find all the spot welds with how bad it is.  Once I do find all the spot welds and drill them out or grind them down really good then I will need to use my air hammer?

 

[mjlan]

The 'long' or 'short' trunk pan doesn't have anything to do with seat options. The short version is out there only because it used to (maybe still does) fall into a different shipping category- it is sized to be easier/ cheaper to ship. As Stanglover points out, if you have extensive rot in the trunk the short version may not cover or replace all the rusted parts...

My $0.02 in general on your tail panel question: if I am working with panels that are rusty and bent/ damaged, I usually cut away the larger sections leaving the spot welded flanges intact. In my opinion, it is easier to remove a thin strip that is spot welded by using a cut off wheel to grind through each spot, moving along the strip until it is all separated.

Not sure if that makes sense?

For removing the tail panel specifically, be careful at the quarter to trunk transitions, these are not re-popped and tend to rust. This piece is part of the trunk W/S sealing surface so take care. Also the fuel filler support and bumper supports are welded to the inside of the tail panel. Depending on the extent of your rust these may be damaged or intact, but do need to be separated before the taillight panel will come out...

 

[Mister 4x4]

The 'long' or 'short' trunk pan doesn't have anything to do with seat options. The short version is out there only because it used to (maybe still does) fall into a different shipping category- it is sized to be easier/ cheaper to ship. As Stanglover points out, if you have extensive rot in the trunk the short version may not cover or replace all the rusted parts...

My $0.02 in general on your tail panel question: if I am working with panels that are rusty and bent/ damaged, I usually cut away the larger sections leaving the spot welded flanges intact. In my opinion, it is easier to remove a thin strip that is spot welded by using a cut off wheel to grind through each spot, moving along the strip until it is all separated.

Not sure if that makes sense?

For removing the tail panel specifically, be careful at the quarter to trunk transitions, these are not re-popped and tend to rust. This piece is part of the trunk W/S sealing surface so take care. Also the fuel filler support and bumper supports are welded to the inside of the tail panel. Depending on the extent of your rust these may be damaged or intact, but do need to be separated before the taillight panel will come out...

Bingo - across the board.

I did the same thing when removing things like the taillight panel.  It's tough to see everything a the joining places, so you might as well take the rest of the panel out anyway, and focus on separating the joints.  The important part is to not mangle the pieces intended to remain on the car for the new pieces to have something solid and correct to join-up to.

For the most part, I drilled out my spot welds with a purpose-made tool I picked up from Harbor Freight (a lot of people say HF tools suck and suggest spending 3-5 times as much on name-brand tools instead - I spent approx $5 apiece on 2 of these, and they lasted the entire 4 years of my taking apart approximately 60% of my car's sheet metal).  https://www.harborfreight.com/38-in-double-sided-rotary-spot-weld-cutter-63657.html?cid=paid_google|*PLA+-+All+Products+-+Lower+Sales+Items|New+Products+-+%281%29+Price+%3C%2410|63657&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&mkwid=s|pcrid|318476002950|pkw||pmt||pdv|c|slid||product|63657|pgrid|63088204786|ptaid|aud-466777368654la-301077805115|&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzvuXxY_Q4AIV1P_jBx0KsgLuEAQYAiABEgKWhPD_BwE

Toward the end of the rust repair (the trunk area and quarters) on panels I needed to separate that both panels were going to be replaced, I was comfortable enough with what I was doing and got to the point that I just blew through the spot welds with a plasma cutter.

 

[jdomke1]

The 'long' or 'short' trunk pan doesn't have anything to do with seat options. The short version is out there only because it used to (maybe still does) fall into a different shipping category- it is sized to be easier/ cheaper to ship. As Stanglover points out, if you have extensive rot in the trunk the short version may not cover or replace all the rusted parts...

My $0.02 in general on your tail panel question: if I am working with panels that are rusty and bent/ damaged, I usually cut away the larger sections leaving the spot welded flanges intact. In my opinion, it is easier to remove a thin strip that is spot welded by using a cut off wheel to grind through each spot, moving along the strip until it is all separated.

Not sure if that makes sense?

For removing the tail panel specifically, be careful at the quarter to trunk transitions, these are not re-popped and tend to rust. This piece is part of the trunk W/S sealing surface so take care. Also the fuel filler support and bumper supports are welded to the inside of the tail panel. Depending on the extent of your rust these may be damaged or intact, but do need to be separated before the taillight panel will come out...

I made the mistake of buying one of these shorter trunk pans from CJ Pony because it had free shipping vs. NPD that had the regular pan but $175 shipping. In the end I bought the NPD because I already cut out the old pan to the weld joints. CJ was nice enough to refund me and didn’t want the pan back. Now I’m stuck with a short pan. Need to find a way to sell it and get it out my garage. 

 

[jdomke1]

Bingo - across the board.

I did the same thing when removing things like the taillight panel.  It's tough to see everything a the joining places, so you might as well take the rest of the panel out anyway, and focus on separating the joints.  The important part is to not mangle the pieces intended to remain on the car for the new pieces to have something solid and correct to join-up to.

For the most part, I drilled out my spot welds with a purpose-made tool I picked up from Harbor Freight (a lot of people say HF tools suck and suggest spending 3-5 times as much on name-brand tools instead - I spent approx $5 apiece on 2 of these, and they lasted the entire 4 years of my taking apart approximately 60% of my car's sheet metal).  https://www.harborfreight.com/38-in-double-sided-rotary-spot-weld-cutter-63657.html?cid=paid_google|*PLA+-+All+Products+-+Lower+Sales+Items|New+Products+-+%281%29+Price+%3C%2410|63657&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&mkwid=s|pcrid|318476002950|pkw||pmt||pdv|c|slid||product|63657|pgrid|63088204786|ptaid|aud-466777368654la-301077805115|&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzvuXxY_Q4AIV1P_jBx0KsgLuEAQYAiABEgKWhPD_BwE



Toward the end of the rust repair (the trunk area and quarters) on panels I needed to separate that both panels were going to be replaced, I was comfortable enough with what I was doing and got to the point that I just blew through the spot welds with a plasma cutter.

Another suggestion for fitting the panels together before welding is Cleco pins. I watched a video and got a decent starter set from Amazon next day. Now I regret not using them sooner.