I found I have a tear right under the drivers side door sill in my Fox body stang. And I found replacement floor pans on the cheap. Now how do you remove the old one/ put a new one in? I have a stick welder and I'm not too shabby... could I do this in my driveway? I'll get pics tomorrow the car is in storage
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March 18, 2011 11:25 p.m. Blitzed306 Reader
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March 18, 2011 11:29 p.m. Sonic Dork
I've never done floor pans, but now that I've done a roll cage, I'm thinking of floorpans: How hard can it be?
Just cut out the old ones on the horizontal, lay the new ones over it, lots of tack welding around the edges, probably two or three passes around, then some seam sealer, then primer and paint.
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March 18, 2011 11:53 p.m. Stealthtercel Reader
The Other Magazines (HR, CC, etc.) do floor-pan articles every couple of years or so. A Mustang-specific title probably has a multiple-page how-to just waiting for you if you can track down the right issue either physically or on the web.
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March 19, 2011 6:40 a.m. Woody SuperDork
You really don't want to use a stick welder for floor pans. They make more holes than they fix.
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March 19, 2011 6:45 a.m. NOHOME Reader
Need a mig welder. I know that I could not do tin with a stick welder.
If just doing a repair, no need to get too fussy; a flanger would be good but not critical.
If restoring, then I consider a butt weld all along the perimeter to be part of the game.
You will be drilling out a bunch of spot welds a 1/8 and 5/16 drill bit will suffice or you can buy a spot weld cutter. Several on the market and they all work to some degree.
I have three angle grinders loaded up with different tools since I hate changing over: one with a 0.060" cutt off wheel, a second with a flap-wheel grinding pad to clean up welds and metal cling-ons and a third with a wire wheel to clean off rust and muck before welding. If it aint clean, it wont weld.
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March 19, 2011 6:59 a.m. patgizz SuperDork
how big a tear? can you just make a patch? replace as little as necessary, repop pans are not usually as thick as originals, especially important on your uni body stang. just because you get a whole side doesn't mean you can't just cut patches out of it and leave as much of the original as you can.
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March 19, 2011 3:02 p.m. 914Driver SuperDork
I put floors in my first 914, firewall to kick panel and door to door. I love Pelican Parts!
If it's a small tear a patch could do it. An entire floor pan isn't hard but you have to remove the seats, carpet, sound proofing, wiring etc. MIG is the way, the metal is too thin for stick.
You can do it in your driveway if you plan well.
Dan
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March 19, 2011 4:04 p.m. eastpark Reader
patgizz wrote:
how big a tear? can you just make a patch? replace as little as necessary, repop pans are not usually as thick as originals, especially important on your uni body stang. just because you get a whole side doesn't mean you can't just cut patches out of it and leave as much of the original as you can.
I agree. I had a similar problem on a daily driver years ago. I cut a patch and bonded it in place with this:
Worked like a charm
