I just picked up a 1986 camaro t top for $500 and knew that the floors were rusted, but now that I have the carpet up I'm not sure if this is typical of these cars or not. I would like to use this car to race and want it to be safe and how the floors look don't concern me too much. I'm just looking to compare it to other cars. (I'm used to full frame cars and if the floors rust its a different story than a unibody car.) Thank you
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...0&id=669323708

 

link doesn't work. It makes you log in and even then it says its unavailable... Try loading them up to photobucket or something!

 

 

Floors aren't that supportive in unibody. Rockers, rails and posts are where strength is at. Just attach floor however you want if it's a race car as long as seat mounts are strong.

 

Take a shoebox, try to twist it and then take the lid off and try again. Then think about the earlier post.

 

That depends entirely on how much of the floor is bad. If you're gonna cut the whole damn floor out the thing is going to fold up like an accordion, but if you're doing small 1 square foot patches here and there, you should be fine.

Mathius

 

I figured that post would stir up some stuff. LOL By your theory we should be able to cut the floors out and pull everything else out but that don't work. The shoe box theory is good but the lid is folded around the edges and is twice as thick like the rails. Also the box theory is what give rails they're strength. Open box is like c channel rails, box with lid is like square tube or boxed in rails.

The double thickness is your strongest points that's why the rails on a car are thicker and multiple layered. I'm not saying the floors aren't part of the structure, they're just not as important as rails and posts. Cutting out floors doesn't make pulling rails or other structure any easier.

 

Okay, not the shoebox then, how about a chassis tub from a race car, a spaceframe with sheetmetal riveted to it. Do you think the sheetmetal is there just to seal it off? It helps tremendously in torsional stiffness.

What I'm trying to say is, the floor is a key and integral part of the stiffness of the car. Cut large sections out and you will make the car, which is a wet noodle by itself already, even less stiff.

The rails and posts are nothing to be happy about, they're simply multilayer sheet metal spot welded together.

 

Pop riveted floors structual on race car? 18 gauge steel supporting 1/4 inch. maybe if it was full of creases for additional strength.

Anyhow post some pics and good luck.

 

I mean sheet metal covered tube frames, like this:

 

http://s1136.photobucket.com/albums/n488/wine-o1/
Sorry, hoepfully this link will work. And hopefully this car can be saved. It seems like it only has 37,000 miles on it according to the odometer and a receipt from an alignment that was done , but it was sitting since 2006 and the driver's window wouldn't close all the way.

 

I don't believe they did that for strength. Even a fender contributes to overall strength but not enough to be noticable. I've pulled a lot of frames, and even more unibodies and cutting the floor loose has never been much help other than making it possible to reach inside a rocker or post to get better pull. You've got the right idea about unibodies but some parts are much more critical than others. What you see in that pic is basically what a unibody looks like without skins or sheet metal, just not as stout.

 

I think I'd be checking torque box and that floor support, x-member mount. Other than that, put a floor in that thing. 37000 miles, we need more pics. Nice find. You sure you want to make a race car out of that?

 

probably 137000 miles and the odometer rolled over a time....or two

 

I put up some more pics. I would kind of want a hardtop more than a t top, but this one was so cheap. Or a '78 to '81 malibu would be cool, but I found this first. http://s1136.photobucket.com/albums/n488/wine-o1/

 

If you leave the rockers and the transmission tunnel intact, you should be ok to cut out the rest of the floor, IMO, but it looks to me like you only have small areas anyways. Pull the carpet and find out for sure.

Mathius

 

Yeah, that's not too bad at all. The hole itself is larger than you would normally find, but it's still the same amount of work as a smaller hole. Certainly worth fixing, IMHO.

 

Dude, was this your first car buy. I mean sometimes there's a great deal. But the engine bay alone would point out a potential nightmare. I'm sanding the crap outta my '84, trying to remove as much rust. I'd suggest the same for you.

 

new floor new battery tray, POR or rustbullet type product and you should be good to go.

 

anything can be done it's just a matter of time and money that is usually the deciding factor.

 

I agree with 1988camaroSC, there is no way that car has only 37K miles on it.

 

If you're building a race car I'd make sure all holes are welded up and sealed.This will help to keep out the exhaust fumes and make the car stronger for you.

Just remember when you build a race car, you want it to survive a wreck where the car might flip over 3X but still enable you to walk away.

I've drove a cup car around Louden Speedway for 20 minutes with exhaust coming in from somewhere,it was pretty distracting,had to keep poking my hand out the window at 120 to catch some fresh air.

 

Now I need some ideas of where to buy floorpans. I plan on fixing the rust and then sealing everything up over the winter. So far, I have been focusing on getting the motor out and apart. I'm pleasantly surprised though because they guy told me it had a 383 which I was skeptical about (but I could probably get a buddy's 327 to put in anyway so I didn't care), but it turns out it has a 383 in it with a cam so I'm glad for that. Once I get the drivetrain out I'll concentrate on the body.

 

 

http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/

good source of parts

 

Wow! that doesn't sound like much fun to me...

 

when buying a new floor pan i hope you can find a shop that sells it locally. when i bought mine the shipping cost about as much as the pan, they have to ship it truck freight due to the dimensions even though it weighs like nothing. shop around and find the cheapest deal with the shipping, think it was around $400 shipped for me.