Ok, after all of the discussion about a trunk pan, door skins, etc. I have decided that getting new floors welded in would be a more reasonable place to start. So, I went to a supply shop yesterday and picked up the full length floor pans for the drivers side and the passenger side. Now, I know I need to drop the subframe and cut out the old floor. My problem is with the d**n seat supports. I have tried and tried to get those things out, but am not having much luck. So, I am going to be cutting them out now but am wondering how much overlap is needed between the old floor and the new. Also, on the new pans, the outside edge drops down instead of folding up. Is that just welded to the rocker panel or what? Any advice from others that have done this would be great.

Later,
Zappa1

I repaired the floor pans in my car last winter. You are correct, the seat supports are a real PITA. I just purchased a couple of spot weld cutters and started drilling spot welds. It takes quite a while to get them out, but they will come when you get all the welds drilled. The nice thing about using a spotweld cutter to get them out is that you already have a hole through the support to apply a plug-weld when replacing the support if you reuse it.

The amount of overlap of the new pans varied on my car. I even butt-welded mine in places where it worked out. I would guess I averaged about an inch overlap along the tunnel and the front of the new pan. What a professional body person would recommend, I have no idea.

Thanks Bruce,

I have gone around and drilled the pans, but still cannot get them to budge in the front. Are the subframe brackets welded to the floor and then the support welded to those? Or do the subframe brackets come out with the seat pan? I don't want to mess the seat support up too much, because they are one of the few parts that are actually in good shape. I guess I need to know if all of the spot welds are on top of the seat support or are there some others? That would also tell me if the subframe needs to come off first or if I can get the support pan out and then remove the subframe.

Later,
Zappa1

Yes,
The seat supports are welded to the subframe mounts and the subframe mounts are welded to the floor. You have to take each piece out one at a time. There are lots of welds too and they can be hard to find.

Max, you should call Stacy here in the Heights, drive up and look at his floor pan(s) he has just installed new on drivers side.....not covered up yet....you can call me on my cell and I`ll put you in contact with Stacy if you want....832-309-0863

Lee is absolutely right. Once I got the seat mount out, I didn't think it was too hard to get the subframe mount out. But, there are ALOT of welds. That job took me more time than I thought it should, and a person really needs a good bit of patience when they are doing it as well.

You're probably already doing this, but using something to pry the mount up while trying to locate the next weld is practically mandatory. I think Eastwood sells a tool that looks kind of like a cake cutting knife to separate the panels while disassembling. It looks like it would work well, but I just used whatever I had around here--probably a big screwdriver or something along those lines.

But there's more... Once you get the subframe mount out the floor pan itself is welded to the underbody support braces. And getting the edge along the rocker loose is real fun where the underbody braces are welded to the rocker.

Mushroom/Lee

You have me confused now. Is it necessary to remove the entire floorpan at the welds? I was planning on scribing around the new pan and then cutting, leaving a lip to weld the new floor to. I saw those support braces in a catalog, but cannot find them on my car. I was under the assumption that those were for the convertible. So where are they?

Later,
Zappa1

If you're this far involved in a floor pan replacement, consider exchanging the RH and LH pieces you bought for a full floor pan. The half panel I bought to cut patches from was thin and of the wrong shapes. Fortunately, I didn't need large parts from those repair panels. I read the full panel is supposed to be more accurate and thicker. It seems like you're not saving much cost or much labor when you're replacing both halves by themselves.

Is your car supported solid, true and level for this repair? The floor keeps the car square and you don't want things shifting around once you're into this surgery.

I didn't know if you were working on a coupe or vert. (mine's a vert.) So you wouldn't have the under floor braces. You can weld it together using a butt joint or overlap it. Which ever is easier for you. I prefer to try and butt weld all the joints so there is no overlap where rust can start. I only had to replace one side, but as 68Bigbird says the fit isn't perfect on the repo parts. Mine didn't match the bend the best along the tunnel and the lip along the rocker was much shorter than the original. (Don't know how you get the full pan into the car, in a coupe, without removing everything under the car. :-))

Okay, got the seat pan/support out and cut most of the rotten floor pan out. Now, to get the new floor pan in.


If I seperate the remainder of the floor where it meets the rocker panel - the yellow line - should the new pan just be screwed in there and then welded? It seems like that would work pretty good to me. Anyone ever do it that way?

Later,
Zappa2

I didn't screw it together anywhere, just went ahead and welded it along the rocker (from underneath mostly.)

You welded after removing that piece that was attached to the rocker? That seems like it is preventing the pan from dropping down to where it should be. And if you didn't screw it in first, how did you hold it in place?

Later,
Zappa1

Once you remove whats left of the lip of the floor pan it should fit right in. Plus I'm working on a convertible so all the underfloor braces hold everything in place. (The floor just sits on the braces.) This was after cuting the new pan to fit in the opening I made in the old floor, of course. If you overlap the edges, you can screw it down in places, or use Clecos. Butt welding is a little tougher to get it aligned. (Where your yellow line in the photo is, the floor rolled down about an inch and is welded to the rocker. Then that seam is filled with seam sealer.)

Max ,can you send that pic directly to me, bsefeldt@mhinc.com
b/c my office computer will not show these pics ,just a red x..

Seat support - Out. (For the passenger side, I'm just gonna' cut this thing out, flip it, cut the spot welds, and grind the rest off. That has GOT to be easier than trying to find them all from the top and then hoping you got it all.)

Subframe support - Out

Rotten floor - Out

I cut the old floor at the rocker about one-half-inch from the rocker using the allen head bolt at the top of the cutoff tool as a guide. I used a body hammer and flattened the remainder up against the rocker. After cutting a couple of small pieces from the flange of the new floor pan, it dropped into place pretty well. Just a little more trimming at the rear and the transmission tunnel and I'll have it in pretty well.

Now, how do I determine where the new pan should lay? Should I put a level underneath the pan and get the "floor" as flat and level as possible? The side to side alignment doesn't look like it'll be tough. Once I drill some holes and attach the sheet metal screws, it should snug up pretty good. But, at the tranny tunnel, there is still some resistance to a perfect fit, and that is to be expected. What is the best way to figure out where the right fit is?

Later,
Zappa1

You could lay a straight edge on top from the rocker to the trani tunnel and match it to the same dimensions as the drivers side.