How to fix floors?

[matthon]

The intent was to replace the wiring, and I had to pull the carpet to get at the rear harness, but as I got into it I realized the floor seemed good from the bottom because it was glued to the carpet.
There was so much glue I could barely get it out- but a quick trip to the car wash and $16 later, it all came out.

Now I am left with the driver front floor with holes, and 2 small holes in the rear, one on each side- plus a smaller hole in the center where it appears someone 'gained' access to one of the tranny bolts then covered it with fiberglass.

Should I treat the floors with something as there are spots of bare metal?

I don't have the funds to pay someone to fix the floors, but I do have a welder, (not much experience with it though). I know there is no good temporary fix, but it needs to wait for now, and I drive this thing-
So is there a good way to cover the holes so I can drive it?

Back in high school we used to use a piece of wood, lol.

 

[Badart]

If it were me I would just bite the bullet and weld in new metal and be done with it. You could always clean up the rusty areas and treat it with Por15 and do a fiberglass patch as a temporary fix. You can buy the fiberglass patch kit at any parts store. The por15 will stop the rust for now but it is always best to weld in new metal.

On second thought after looking at your pictures again. The drivers side is pretty bad. I would just cut it out and replace it.

 

[toolmanmike]

I have never done any body work but I did find some reasonably priced floor pan sections. If you have a wire welder and a grinder you should be able to cut out the old and weld in the new. Because its on the floor and covered up with carpet it doesn't necessarily have to be pretty but functional. I'm sure someone with body shop experience will reply. toolman
http://www.rockauto.com/dbphp/x,car...ACUDA_5.2L_318_cubic_inch_V8_F_Floor_Pan.html

 

[matthon]

Is por15 the same as Extend?
I have some of that already.

Since I have never done this before, and as much as I want to fix it quickly, I would definitely fix it right if I get some insight.

I have a welder and an air cutoff tool.
For the driver floor, where can I get a patch panel?
Do I cut out just the area that is rusted, or an area closer to the size of the patch?
For the 3 small holes, buying a patch panel seems like huge waste, so how do I make a patch?
What is the correct metal to buy and how do you shape it?

Sorry for all of the questions.

 

[toolmanmike]

We were typing at the same time. LOL

 

[Jim68Barracuda]

take a look at the 68 Barracuda thread. We ran into the same issue, only worse. We cut the old out and welded in new and then we fibreglassed them. I think its best if you get whole new floor pans, then you know its all good.

 

[Badart]

Is por15 the same as Extend?
I have some of that already.

Since I have never done this before, and as much as I want to fix it quickly, I would definitely fix it right if I get some insight.

I have a welder and an air cutoff tool.
For the driver floor, where can I get a patch panel?
Do I cut out just the area that is rusted, or an area closer to the size of the patch?
For the 3 small holes, buying a patch panel seems like huge waste, so how do I make a patch?
What is the correct metal to buy and how do you shape it?

Sorry for all of the questions.

My dart had some similar issues with the floor pan on the passenger side. I just bought 18 ga. mild sheet metal found at any metal supply place. I cut it to shape and bent it with stuff that I had in the garage in order to get it the shape that I wanted and lap welded it in. I would recommend drilling holes and doing plug welds into the frame rails for strength. If you go this route I would also get some seam sealer and weld through primer to help keep the rust out once the job is done.

 

[zigs]

Cut your floor back to good metal. Wire brush rusty areas ,make sure metal is clean. It looks like its a pretty straight forward job. You can buy sheet metal at any steel supply yard 16 ga should do or if you can find a good doner car. When you have everything ready to go, start at one corner and spot a weld move about 2 inches and spot again. Do this all the way around. Then spot in between the spots you already did. Keep doing this until it is all filled in. This keeps the metal from getting too hot and warping.

 

[BillGrissom]

It looks like everywhere but the driver's side can just be wire-brushed and painted. The driver's pan needs new metal. I bought a pan for the passenger's side of my '65 Dart for $60 at RockAuto.com. Shipping wasn't bad ($20 I recall). However, I was underwhelmed by it. I could have done the same from raw sheet. Haven't welded it in yet.

Everybody recommends POR-15, but it costs ~$40/qt. I have been using Rust Destroyer (~$22/qt at Ace). It is an etching primer that even bonds even to aluminum, and is good to 800 F. I first used it on my trailer and no failures yet.

 

[pettybludart]

I just had the same problem,floors looked good from underneath.When I pulled the glued down carpet out,I noticed pinholes over the frame rails on both sides.I cut it all out and added new metal,I also have my own mig welder.It was an easy fix and now have a piece of mind.

 

[needsaresto]

Def clean it up,por15 the surface stuff and cut a few patches in. Pop rivets are another cheap method but silicone is needed to seal the patch

 

[goldfish65]

I was told not to put in a whole new floor pan unless the whole area was bad....better for the structural integrity to weld in new metal no bigger than it needs to be.

 

[matthon]

I agree 100%. Driver floor needs a decent size patch. Both rear need a patch about the size of a baseball, and the hump has a business card size hole.

I hope I can find the correct metal tomorrow, I'm not one for waiting to fix something and I miss driving it already.

 

[jeryst]

Welding in a new floor panel is always the best way to go, but there are temporary alternates, as already mentioned.

Rivet in a patch.

Fiberglass in a patch.

POR-15 has a complete trunk and floor kit, where you can rebuild the whole floor or trunk. I've never used it, but I've seen it in their catalog and on their website, and they show some pretty impressive pictures.

 

[66 Dartman]

I pulled mine apart this winter looking for the build sheet and found my pan
had soft spots. They don't make pans for 66 dart so i made my own and butt welded them in.
Here's a couple pic's.

 

[RedFish]

Those reproduction floor sections that fetch 90 bucks per square foot haven't always been available. They aren't nessesary for repairs either. Any piece of sheetmetal once hammer formed and welded in place will keep your feet off the asphault. old school patches were made from anything, drum lids to lisence plates.

 

[oneway71]

Those reproduction floor sections that fetch 90 bucks per square foot haven't always been available. They aren't nessesary for repairs either. Any piece of sheetmetal once hammer formed and welded in place will keep your feet off the asphault. old school patches were made from anything, drum lids to lisence plates.

Another great source of metal is old appliances, washers, dryers, refridgerators. I have used alot of metal from these over the years for daily drivers. My grampa built a car in the early 60's out of 7 different cars and washing machines. Everyone that sees it likes it and can't tell it was built out of junk appliances.

 

[Slantsick]

Another great source of metal is old appliances, washers, dryers, refridgerators. I have used alot of metal from these over the years for daily drivers. My grampa built a car in the early 60's out of 7 different cars and washing machines. Everyone that sees it likes it and can't tell it was built out of junk appliances.

DING DING DING!

Just be sure to wear safety glasses when cutting panels from appliances (you should be anyway), because when that paint chips off it turns into thousands of little needles. Wear long sleeves too.

 

[waggin]

Make shields for all of your glass in the car, the welding spatter will stick into the glass and ruin it. I made my floorpans from an old hood

 

[crackedback]

I may have patches that are original mopar steel for all those locations.

PM if interested.

 

[pauly v.100]

i got lucky when i went to go look at a parts car, in this case a 4 door 68 dart that was on the opposite side of the island. i was smart AND lucky when i chose to take my grinder and cutoff blades with me. the drivers rear pan was dirty but otherwise perfect so, besides the trim parts and interior stuff i got i was able to cut out the patch that i needed for the rear footwell. the area under the brake pedal on my car looked very similar to yours. for that i just made a patch with a small sheet metal peice from the hardware store that i cut to fit. as mentioned in previous post, drill holes in patch and weld to frame sections under the front pan area.