Pretty much as the subject says.. i need to know if there is actually a difference especially one that i would notice between replacing the driverside front floorboard by either riviting some steel or welding the patch in..

normally i'd just do it the best way which is to weld.. but since i don't have access to a welder and the car isn't driveable right now it isn't an easy option for me.

if i had to i could fabricate some sort of extra support if riviting isn't really strong enough..

 

I would personaly weld it in. But in lieu of that, ifyou lay a bead of automotive seam sealer between the two pieces then rivet the piece in place. Then make certain to POR-15 the top and bottom to prevent rust. Not the best way to do business but it will work and be plenty strong. Just my $.02.

Bill

 

Seam sealer I would not use. Get some metal bonding glue. Use that in between the metal.. We use 3m at work the stuff is really strong... Fuser is pretty good to.


But welding i think is still the best.

 

Do not rivit, glue, etc a bigger patch into third gen F body floors.

These cars are weak enough to start with. All the stress is put through the floors, pillars and roof as the are unibody cars without a frame.

The floor pans is really like the "frame" in these cars, thats where your stiffness of your chassis comes from.

A welded in patch is the only way to keep the car stiff. Rivited or bonded on patchs will fail on the floors of these cars but thats not the biggest prob. The biggest prob is a rivit or metal glue will never been strong enough to keep the floor stiff and from flexing.

That's almost like saying rivit or bond on sub frame conn. or roll bar. Bolt ons aint even good in those

 

I would also suggest you weld eveything else while the interior is out.

SCF are good too but just welding the body pannel seams makes a hugh difference. The cheap sparse spot weld they use every 2-3 inches suck. Cause you know they only used the min number needed to pass test and not one more.

I was very please with the results, well worth all the effort.

 

ok.. so it seems like the consensus is that i have to weld.. so what time of welder should i be using? stick, mig, or tig?

 

tig > mig > stick

if you don't have the welder, pay someone to drive over and mig it in. There are mobile welding services around that could do it for you. Or if you're in the market for a welder, MIG is probably what you want to purchase.

 

Get you a good mig welder that has an amp range of 25 or 30 to 125 to 140, .024" solid mig wire, 80 cu ft. tank filled with 75% argon/25% c02. It will be the best tool buy you'll ever make.

7 or 8 years ago I bought a cheap CH flux core welder and used it for along time. Flux core welds to hot though for light gauge work and burns through sheet metal fast if you aint real carefull.

I'm putting in a roll cage now and it has to be mig welded so I bought a mig and wow what a diff in welds. Much smoother action, better looking welds and no burn through on sheet metal.

If you will be doing a good bit of welding in the next 10, 20, 30, 40 years get a good welder like a Miller or Hobart. If you think you won't weld much then you can get an off brand like Clarke.

I bought a Hobart handler 140 at tractor supply for $420. 2 lb rolls of wire is around $8-9 a roll, or 10 lb roll for like $28-30. The tank and gas if you shop around aint too bad. I found a welding supply shop that sells the 80 cu. ft tanks for $150 and $20 to fill up, or 40 cu ft tank for $97 and $15 to fill.

I also found a place that I could rent the tank from but I rather own my own tank. Renting they have a 125 cu ft tank. $50 deposit, 6 mo. contract, $5 a mo rent fee, and $32 for each fill up. Bring tank back in 6 mo and you get the $50 deposit back. If you just need it for a mo. or two then you don't get your deposit back

 

The floor pan is a structural part of the body and welding it is the proper repair method. Don't half *** a structural repair as it could cost you if you get in an accident. Rent a MIG welder from an equipment rental place if you don't have the cash for a welder.