I want to replace a section of the floor pan on the drivers side near were your feet go. I was wondering what gauge steel i should use.

Thanks

 

Cut a patch panel from a rust free car.

 

I would if i could find one but, these cars aren't easy to find with rust free floor pans where i live. i was going to try and make my own patch panel. To get to rust free metal i only need about 6"x12" patch panel.

Thanks

 

I used 16g welding steel I picked up at Lowes, it's a little thicker than the sheet metal on the car which is probably around 20-22g but the thicker stuff is easier to weld with my flux core welder without burning through everywhere.

I had a lot rust on the floor pans of my car, and this stuff worked the treat for repairs, it's a little thick to bend but with some work you can make it do what you want. I still have the drivers side to do, but it has less rust and less complex angles than the passenger side so it should be a lot easier.

Before:





After:

 

I used 18 guage with flux core and no problems. Huge patch I made. Check it out on my car domain page.

 

Hey aarivers. did you cut all the bad stuff out before welding in the new?

 

Ooooh yeah. I cut and cut and cut some more.. and just when I thought I was through I found more rust lol. You can see all the pics on my Picasa page here, don't want to flood this guys post with my pics, but here's a taste.

 

Thanks guys, I'll try to get some pics up today.

 

Here is what I've got

 

I cant really make out all the rust or where that is on the car. Take a pic where its a little more zoomed out. If you posted 2 pics I couldnt see the second one though.

 

It's the drivers side toe board... Where the floor pan and the part that slopes upward meet. Right next to the kick panel.

 

Hmm that's a little worse than the rust on my drivers side. It's going to be the next thing I tackle and then my car should be back to having a sound body with no rust holes. Here's a pic of what I am having to replace on my car, I'll probably start cutting out the old rust tonight, and will try to grab a couple of shots after the cutting stops.

You can't see it in the pic, but behind that plastic wire holder is just rusted out.

 

I'll try to get some more pics tomorrow

 

91Camaro: I'll be waiting for pics

aarivers: you should also put some kind of rust neutralizer on the other parts there that are starting to rust. To prevent that rusting through too.

 

Yeah I intend on using some type of rust converter/paint on the rest of the floor pans, POR15, Rust Bullet, ect.. to prevent any further rusting. I also went ahead and primered the backs of the new sheet metal I welded in to prevent it from rusting also.

 

Hey guys, how much of the interior up front did you remove?

 

They came from the factory with 20 gauge. Ohh and when you weld yours in try to make it one peice, I mean absolutly no offense aarivers (btw your welds look great), but try to take all those peices he used on his and make it one, you can acheive those bends he has on his with a hammer and hard 90 degree edge on a table or somthing like that, or even a breaker that can be found at most machine shops, the more peices you have the more sealer you'll use which means the more likely your pans are to leak and rust, plus one peice will be stronger, ohh and make sure to get the peice bead rolled.

 

I don't know what bead rolled is, can you explain.

thanks

 

I think that means to put the little creases in the metal to match the ones you weld to. Right??

 

Hey, There are detailed pictures of the rust being removed from my car, me bending a peice of 18 guage into the drivers side floor pan, bead rolling it, welding, sealing and priming on my car domain page.

Bead rolling is getting a bead (long groove) put into your peice of metal. This is done at a metal working place. There are pics on my cardomain page. The link is in my sig

 

Thanks guys, Im getting the metal from a welding shop, they should be able to bead it right?

 

The place I bought from had a bead roller. It wasn't big enough, but it was good enough.

Before you bead roll it try and shape it and get it ready to weld in. Make sure the bead roller can still roll it after shaping though.

Call around if that place doesn't have one. I got my rolling done for free

 

I may be wrong but I think you can buy universal panels from JC Whitney that come in various sizes. You can also buy body plugs.

 

Don't buy body pannels from jc whitney, no offense Kevman but from what I've heard and read jc whitney pannels are thin and cheap, and will rust super quick, just like mark said, bead rolling is when a roller (looks like a roller skate wheel) indents into the steel giving it rigidity and integrity, if you notice for example on the back of some chevy trucks like the Avalanche, the name CHEVROLET will be indented into the tailgait, they do this to give a good look, but also because it strengthens the steel in the tailgait, the same principle applies to bead rolling.

 

Thanks for the word on JC Whitney. I have never bought anything from them.

 

Yeah, I understand I was really excited about their prices too, until I heard about them.

DacMan

 

Hey guys, the problem im having is getting the black rubber mat thats under the carpet on the drivers side away from where i need to repair. Can i cut the section i need to get away and attach it when im done or should i try and keep it in one piece?

Thanks

 

When it was warm here in canada, I was able to fold the black mat and he insulation underneath up under the pedals. I tried again when it was cold and the plastic started to break off.

Im sure the plastic is only to keep wetness off. So you could remove it (cut) and glue it or something else back in later.

 

None taken man, this is my first attempt at sheet metal repair and it's a learning experience, if I had to do it again I would do a couple things different.
I had never have thought about bead rolling the pans till you said something, but the 16g stuff I used is way stiffer than the factory 20g stuff, this floorpan isn't warping unless it gets red hot. lol.

Thanks for the compliments on the welds, I'll be the first to admit that they are not pretty, but they get the job done, if I had a MIG instead of the flux core they would be soooo much nicer, but oh well, once it's covered with carpet no one will notice. My orginal plans were to make this a race car, so they only needed to be functional, not pretty. On a side note, I got rid of the hump in the passenger side so we will have to see how that plays with the molded capet set once I get it.

 

Wish I knew how to weld. Guess Ill stick with JB WELD! Welding for noobs! haha

 

That's good noobs

 

i guess im lucky, my floors in my car need some minor work but its very minor compared to those pics that you guys posted. my car came from north carolina, and i have owned it since 2005. i have never put it through a metal destroying winter, i have an old heap of a 91 cavalier that i drive in the winter and actually that car is still solid too, that car came from maryland and i have had the rust-stop done to it several times; i have owned that car since 2007.

i do have a 1997 pontiac grand prix GTP that looks ugly underneath, too bad i kinda like that car 3800 SC'd L67 is a beast of a V6. seems like those grand prix like to rot out in the structural areas, i dont think its too fixable and i might only get a year to two more out of it. too bad those are nice cars too, heated leather, heads up display, power everything, and the L67 what's not to like about them!!!

 

Look mine up on you tube 300 dollar 91rs Camaro I didn't think my radio was berry loud but the cam piced it up

 

300 bucks is dirt cheap, i paid $2,200 for my 89 camaro RS that had a 305 back in 2005. it was a carolina car so it was very clean. it still is quite clean, the spots i have to fix on my floor is really quite small compared to what i have seen. when i first got my car i pulled the carpet back once and it had zero rust, now i have a couple small spots, is this just normal to have some minor rust? i havent driven this car through a winter, but i feel that i really bad carpet broke the paint down in a couple of areas. is that typically what happens?

300 bucks for your car was dirt cheap, personally i wouldnt have bought it. when i bought my car i wanted a V8 car, if i had a 305 then a 350 would and did bolt right in. i didnt have to change anything else except the exhaust. transmission from a 305 bolts right up to a 350 and works just fine, they are identical