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Login to post Forums » Grassroots Motorsports » Patching rusty floor on beater

Aug. 16, 2008 2:24 p.m. Run_Away New Reader

Hello all, I pulled the carpet on my civic today to try and clean it out and get rid of a smell, and not surprisingly I found my drivers side floor pan has a few rust holes in it. Does anyone have suggestions on the best way to patch it up for cheap without welding? I don't have a welder, and one of the holes is where the floor meets the rocker, which is where the fuel lines are mounted inside the car. Welding would also mean removing all the insulating tar stuck to the floor.

Slightly related, any tips on cleaning the carpet? looking at the underside, it's got a bunch of insulation glued to the bottom and I'm not sure I could get that clean. Looks like if I got it wet, it would take weeks to dry.
Aug. 16, 2008 3:07 p.m. mikeatrpi New Reader

How big are the holes?

You can fiberglass it (though it might crack, particularly when the seasons change). Or, you might be able to cut patches and panel bond or JB weld them together.
Aug. 16, 2008 3:24 p.m. Run_Away New Reader

I'm just trying to get the car through this upcoming winter, I have some money for a new car but not enough to get something that won't be in as bad a shape in 2 years.

I just went out and took some pictures and started poking and scraping things with a screwdriver, which was a bad idea.
Aug. 16, 2008 3:29 p.m. Jensenman SuperDork

Cheapo fix: get some galvanized steel sheet, cut it to fit, drill holes and pop rivet it into place. I'd use some 3M Strip Calk to keep water out.

Yank the carpet, flip it upside down and leave it in the sun for a couple of days. That's what we do with flood cars.
Aug. 16, 2008 3:37 p.m. JFX001 HalfDork

Doesn't POR-15 make some sort of epoxy putty/filler?

Road signs work well as floorboards......
Aug. 16, 2008 4:41 p.m. Travis_K New Reader

I have seen (for small holes) someone take material like old swaeatshirt, dish towels, etc, and spray it with rattle can bed liner until it was completly soaked and use it to cover the hole. I think the idea is kinda like redneck fiberglass. lol
Aug. 16, 2008 6:14 p.m. Run_Away New Reader

Thanks for all the suggestions guys.

After looking more and poking around there's alot of rust there, I'm not sure if I should bother fixing it or scrapping the car. The other side has some all along the rocker too. Looks like it was also patched previously on the passenger side where the seatbelt anchor is, for all I know any passengers I may have are being held in place by some spot welds and caulking.

As I was trying to get out of the car I had all my weight on one foot, placed in a spot that had no visible rust from the inside of the car and the floor sank about an inch.
Aug. 16, 2008 9:11 p.m. ValuePack HalfDork

Looks pretty good for an old Japanese car in Canada. Bodge it up with whatever is laying around and beat it for a few more years.:)
Aug. 16, 2008 9:21 p.m. ignorant SuperDork

anyone have any success with tigerhair?
Aug. 17, 2008 8:37 a.m. Datsun1500 HalfDork

Run_Away wrote:

After looking more and poking around there's alot of rust there, I'm not sure if I should bother fixing it or scrapping the car.

Why scrap it now? The only change between last week, when you were OK with the car, and this week is the fact that you know it is there. Fix it as best as you can and keep your eye out for a deal on another car. The car is worth a few hundred as scrap now, or 6 months from now. Every month you get out of it is profit from this point.
Aug. 17, 2008 11:48 a.m. Karl La Follette New Reader

Aquire a mat like some businesses use at the front door / pattern cut to fit and get some caulking from homee depot . Spray with rust blue paint . If you are good you can get the hotel logo right in the middle of the floor .
Aug. 17, 2008 2:13 p.m. NYG95GA Dork

The jackleg bodymen around here use sheet metal and what they call "panel adhesive" (serious glue/caulk) to do floor pans. It won't win a concours, but it will keep your feet from doing a Fred Flintstone at a bad time (like there could be a good one..).
Aug. 17, 2008 2:46 p.m. dan_efi New Reader

20g sheetmetal, 1/8 pop rivets or #8 self tapping screws, and JB weld used as a sealer in the overlap.

Yes you will be deemed "that guy" but at this point in a cars life you really have no business doing a 10 year repair on a 2 year at best car.
Aug. 17, 2008 3:13 p.m. Run_Away New Reader

Hm yeah I'm still teetering between a new car and making this one last. Mechanically, the car has a freshly rebuilt motor and every single bushing in the suspension is poly/new oem honda and less than a year old. If I were to scrap it, I'd keep the engine and conversion harness/ECU since I've got decent coin into them. If I were to buy a new car, it would be another civic so I could re-use those parts.

My parents have seen it (I still live at home) and they'd rather I get a new car and they're willing to help me with that. In addition, I've got a new full time job and since I'm lucky enough that my parents don't charge me rent I've got money collecting in the bank that I've been dreaming of ways to spend it.

I guess my question is, would you feel safe with the rivet/sheel-metal repair and continuing using the car for auto-x and going to the dragstrip? I decided to stay home from an event today due to the shape of the car.
Aug. 17, 2008 5:08 p.m. njansenv New Reader

I'd feel safe in that car at auto-x AND at the dragstrip. It's on the road to and from the event that I'd be scared!

I'd say crash safety has been....compromised. ;) Nathan
Aug. 17, 2008 7:27 p.m. 914Driver HalfDork

Wire wheel all the oxidized areas, then cop the biggest tube of cheapie epoxy you can find. F-Glass doesn't aways stick and it's brittle. Put some screen or some kind of metal sheet down and slather in the epoxy.

When I was a ute, the telephone company used tubes of stuff that you broke a partition and two parts mixed together. It got hot but fixed many a floor panel, even fixed up the inner fender once. They intended it for fixing cables....

Be creative. You're not going to Pebble Beach.

Dan
Aug. 17, 2008 9:09 p.m. 92dxman New Reader

This is probably off topic but is that a JDM steering wheel?
Aug. 17, 2008 10:32 p.m. Run_Away New Reader

Thanks for the help guys, I'm going to go hunting for sheetmetal and epoxy or caulking at Canadian TIre and Home Depot tomorrow after work. I'm going to need some rivets and a rivet gun as well.....

92dxman: I don't think so, it's off a early (pre-airbag) "eg" civic. Found it in a junkyard. Sticks out further which helps with the driving position since I'm just under 6'2". Horn no longer works however.

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