Floor Pan Install - 65 Dart Convertible

Started welding in the pan. Tacked it across the front and made some plug welds along the rocker. My daughter's bedroom is right above the garage and she goes to sleep at 9:30 which is really cutting into my productivity.

I'm having trouble getting my welds to lay flat and so I have to do more grinding than I'd like. I did find that if I scrape away the weld through primer from the bottom layer of metal inside the hole, then I get a better result. As it is, I grind with a grinding wheel taking care to only grind the weld and not the surrounding area. Then I switch to a 36 grit sanding disk on a different grinder (helps to have two). Finally I hit it with 60 grit on the DA sander. This leaves a pretty smooth finish. The car will eventually be media blasted which will further obscure the welds and grinding scratches. The seam sealer will no doubt hide anything remaining, so perhaps I'm spending too much time for nothing. But the goal is to have an undectable repair from the top or bottom.

The second picture shows my attempt to draw the pan down tight prior to welding, using screws, clamps and a scrap of wood. You can see the bracket for the convertible top cylinder that was transferred from the old pan. Everything is fitting very well.