Hi, new to the forum recently bought a 67 Dart four door with a slant six that runs (sort of) and discovered after pulling the disgusting carpet out that there is some pretty serious rust on the passenger side front floorboard. Strange because there is no rust anywhere else aside from minor body rust on the exterior anyway not really sure how to fix this. It's bad, two large holes with spots that could also give way to large holes. Any advice would be appreciated, also if anyone knows of a reasonably priced upholsterer in Phoenix let me know as I have two bench seats in need of new everything!
No idea where to start
- Thread starter Pjdiddy07
- Start date
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Woods74
Broke Senior
Consider yourself lucky on a '67. My 74 was pretty bad in this respect.
Cut it out, weld in (or glue in) new.
There's a few schools of thought on this repair:
The purists say take the time and butt weld everything.
A little trick: You cut the new piece to fit 1/2 or so over your perimeter, then with a grinding wheel or sawzall, cut 3 inches or so on your line thru the old metal, then tack, cut 3 inches tack etc, until the whole old metal falls to the floor and new is in it's place with matched even level joints. Drill holes every few inches where it connects to the sub frame, and weld thru those holes, into the frame.
The get-r-done camp say lap the joint drill a hole in the new metal every 2 or 3 inches, spray edges with weld thru primer, lay it in, then weld thru that hole to the base metal, also putting rust inhibiting primer in between the lapped pieces, and fill the rest in with construction adhesive. (The home depot kind works great!) Drill holes every few inches where it connects to the sub frame, and weld thru those holes, into the frame. It is also a nice process for thin metal you don't want to blow thru with a weld.
Or just cut it, and glue it in.
All acceptable ways of doing things, the last option, more on the temporary side I'd say, or if you don't have access to a welder. The main thing here is to make sure it doesn't rust where you fixed it. Seal it up nice. Its also a good starting point for other areas of body work. You can cut your teeth here and it doesn't show.
New floor pans can be had for $50 Including shipping on e-bay, if you want to go that route. Sounds like a few pieces of scrap 18 or 20 ga will work fine for you.
Its your car, have fun!
Hope this helps.
Cut it out, weld in (or glue in) new.
There's a few schools of thought on this repair:
The purists say take the time and butt weld everything.
A little trick: You cut the new piece to fit 1/2 or so over your perimeter, then with a grinding wheel or sawzall, cut 3 inches or so on your line thru the old metal, then tack, cut 3 inches tack etc, until the whole old metal falls to the floor and new is in it's place with matched even level joints. Drill holes every few inches where it connects to the sub frame, and weld thru those holes, into the frame.
The get-r-done camp say lap the joint drill a hole in the new metal every 2 or 3 inches, spray edges with weld thru primer, lay it in, then weld thru that hole to the base metal, also putting rust inhibiting primer in between the lapped pieces, and fill the rest in with construction adhesive. (The home depot kind works great!) Drill holes every few inches where it connects to the sub frame, and weld thru those holes, into the frame. It is also a nice process for thin metal you don't want to blow thru with a weld.
Or just cut it, and glue it in.
All acceptable ways of doing things, the last option, more on the temporary side I'd say, or if you don't have access to a welder. The main thing here is to make sure it doesn't rust where you fixed it. Seal it up nice. Its also a good starting point for other areas of body work. You can cut your teeth here and it doesn't show.
New floor pans can be had for $50 Including shipping on e-bay, if you want to go that route. Sounds like a few pieces of scrap 18 or 20 ga will work fine for you.
Its your car, have fun!
Hope this helps.
19 Again..
Well-Known Member
I too know how you feel.. Ya just have to prioritize what you need to do and write it out then stick to your plan.. When I started stripping down the interior of my duster I started with the back and it looked great, then I started taking the carpet out of the front passenger side first. I rolled it towards the drivers side and much to my surprise the floor pan looked in good shape, I then rolled it on over to the drivers side and that's when reality set in.. Rusted completely thru around the seat mounts, pin holed and push your finger the metal in the rear floorboard along with the front where your rest your heels. Since I don't have a compressor to carry air tool loads, I wound up using a "dremel"..LOL... and about 22 cutting discs.. I can say that it gave me a very nice cut line and I didn't even knick or cut any brackets, cables, or brake lines.. Its the old saying "nessecity is the mother of invention"!
PoisonDart gave you some great advice. as well as everyone else does on this forum.
Here's a few pictures, I haven't got it welded in yet but the new is prepped and drilled ready to be welded.. Good Luck and most of all... Have Fun! That's what this hobby is all about...
PoisonDart gave you some great advice. as well as everyone else does on this forum.
Here's a few pictures, I haven't got it welded in yet but the new is prepped and drilled ready to be welded.. Good Luck and most of all... Have Fun! That's what this hobby is all about...
moparlover
Well-Known Member
you should be able to find a donor car for the sheet metal stuff... if you have room for one. being a 4-door the price will be considerably lower than a 2-door to get one.
it's going to take time so having a place is important. and good tunes playing......
it's going to take time so having a place is important. and good tunes playing......
Bulldozer
free ice cream sandwiches
please dont "glue" anything over the old metal. at the very least you can weld in some new patch metal. 19 shows how it should be done.
19 Again..
Well-Known Member
One of the most important things if your new at this is to make sure you drill out the spot welds on the old floor pan as well as the ones on a donor car if you go that route. If your floor pan has alot of rust you can take some sandpaper, file or whatever you can find to clean the area where the welds are so there easy to find. And another note of interest these spot welds are not uniform, by that I mean they are not welded every 1- to 2", there is a pattern but they just dont fall perfectly in line.. (simple I know, but I found it out the hard way.. ) Highly suggest you go spend the $12 - $15.00 for the bit thats designed to drill out spot welds. It's worth its weight in gold.. It will only leave a 1/8" hole or so to close up after you drill the spot welds out.. And yes you will need to close them up with a welder and grind them flush for the new pan to fit and not rust through again from the drilled holes.
I went thru AMD metals for my pan, had it shipped to JEGS in Columbus Ohio, drove up and picked it up to save the $130.00 shipping charge.. I wasn't fortunate enough at the time to find a good floor pan that suited me, without it being shipped across the country..
Have fun, take your time, and ask all the questions you can think of.. We all do! LOL!!!
I went thru AMD metals for my pan, had it shipped to JEGS in Columbus Ohio, drove up and picked it up to save the $130.00 shipping charge.. I wasn't fortunate enough at the time to find a good floor pan that suited me, without it being shipped across the country..
Have fun, take your time, and ask all the questions you can think of.. We all do! LOL!!!
Thanks for the info I think I will probably go the new floor pan route. On to the rough running she stalls out if I step on the gas hard I've seen many different causes but was hoping someone might know the most common one? Yes the inline fuel filter is new. And should I focus on one area first like interior or try to do several things at once? Again any advice greatly appreciated!
FISHBREATH
Well-Known Member
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Don't forget to check for the source of water entering the car that caused the rust in the first place. A body shop guy on LI once told me that a daily driver up north will likely have rust on the driver side floor pan because of snow tracked onto the carpet all winter long. It will less likely have rust on the passenger side from that source unless there is always someone riding in the passenger seat all winter.
Notorious for water entry are leaking firewall gaskets and leaking heater box fittings.
Notorious for water entry are leaking firewall gaskets and leaking heater box fittings.
D
Deleted member 9923
Guest
I was hoping someone would address why it rusted in the first place, as "fishbreath" did. Water leaks in during rain and soaks the carpet, and the original floors were not painted all that great on the top sides. Another source of leaks is the windshield wiper pivot seals.
Robj
Well-Known Member
Also check out this thread:
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=35796&highlight=wiper+bushings
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=35796&highlight=wiper+bushings
Rusted floors have been patched with old lisense plates and pop rivets, for years.
Most common had to be under the back seat of a VW Beetle were the battery was located.
Today we can buy stamped repop sections for our A-bodies.
Patch yours anyway you choose.
The main thing to do is fix the water leak. Could have been the heater core leaking but my money is on the cowl drains clogged and/or that vent box to cowl seal. The left and right seals are made different and the right is more prone to failure.
Most common had to be under the back seat of a VW Beetle were the battery was located.
Today we can buy stamped repop sections for our A-bodies.
Patch yours anyway you choose.
The main thing to do is fix the water leak. Could have been the heater core leaking but my money is on the cowl drains clogged and/or that vent box to cowl seal. The left and right seals are made different and the right is more prone to failure.
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