I cut out alot of the floor boards and am almost ready to start putting new pieces in and then i realized it wouldnt be any harder than where i am now to just remove the rest of the sides of the floors . from bottom of hump outward... the question is this The floor boards are raised a little and angled downwards towards the rear of the car. could i put a piece of flat metal in there as one piece from the firewall to the rear seat area.? would it be difficult in driving the car with the seat flat and not tilted up? has anyone done the floor boards this way? should i get the entire floor removed including the humP?? help please i want to do it right but the easiest way possible and strong as well thanks
The problem with totally flat metal is the resistance against flexing. Thats why floors have all those recesses stamped in. Keeps it from getting that oil can effect.
Actually, the floorboard is one of the most important parts of a car. It provides much of the structural strength due to it's shapes and contours. Ask any stock or super stock car builder. Most if not all of them leave the stock floor intact....plus I belive it's also written in the rules. Also check the book "Doorslammers" by Dave Morgan. The book speaks of chassis strength with relation to the factory floor in one of the first couple chapters. Anyway, you have to do what you have to do. If I would not have made it a priority to keep the stock floor (well most of it) in the race car, I would have done a flat floor and built a tunnel. It's just easier to do it that way.
i have left the area where the front bench seat mounts to.....all the way across...just the front passenger feet area and the rear set feet area have been removed so far.... is there any way to "make" the creases and bends and all that with flat pieces....or should i just get the sawzall out and cut up a donor car's floor?
there is a wealth of printed material on sheet metal fabication for restoration projects. just go to motorbooks.com for some typical ones. we as maverick hobbyists are lucky to have the resources that we do have for our cars and can only imagine the fabrication necessary for restoring a TRULY rare car from a basket case. there are talented folks who work with tools like english wheels, shrinker/stretchers, panel-beating bags and hammers, throatless shears, bead rollers and sheet metal brakes to make exactly what they need when the original cannot be saved. all of these tools can now be had for the d.i.y. crowd from companies like eastwood but are still not very affordable for the beginning hobbyist. cutting what you need out of a donor car would be cheaper for you at the present, but if you invested in the tools and learned how to use them properly you would have valuable fabrication skills and a never ending supply of buddies with rusty rides!
i did sheetmetal when i was in the Air Force....that was mostly with aluminum and on aircraft....this is steel and in a car.....there are differences, small but some none the less.. i dont have the power sheer, box and pan brake, cornice brake, press brake, welders, orches and hand tools available to me anymroe...i wish idid but i welcome any and all help in anyone that has done floor boards and what they have done int he past...i like to take ideas that other people have and then incorporate them into what i do,.... it saves time and why mess with what works? thanks for all help
hi, as most know i just did my floor pans in my '73 grabber. my "pan" man had me get the mustang replacement pans. the "front short extended" ones do the compleat floor and 9" up the front...$29.95 each. they have the ones for the back also but i didn't use thoes so i don't know how they would fit. he drilled holes in them and welded them to the cross members on the frame. then put "seam sealer around the welds. i took pics. but he put "por15" on them and they are so shiny you can't see them well in a pic. if you like i will try to get a better pic....frank... p.s. do a search at the top for "floor pans", go to the "a large mav. day" post and go to post #9. there are the pics. i posted.
71 gold....sounds great.....i got in touch with mustangs unlimited today and they have the entire left or right floor boards for 54.95 each (economy version) and i am oprdering them this friday then i just have to get some tools together and start the process of fitting them....now i have to decide if i want to egt buckets or stick with the bench for now... pics would be great,... you can email them to me too... thanks
