Personally, I would have bought a rust free 3rd gen and transferred everything over or just started over with a new car. $3k to replace floor pans is just too much.
For example: cars in washington state have NO rust and our interiors arent hammered because it never gets very hot here...Look at what you can get for $1200! Look at the dash!
http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/cto/2722354230.html

Another:
http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/cto/2715083297.html

Shipping on a car is less than $800 so all of this could be done for much less than the cost to replace 2 floorpans.

Just food for thought....

 

You do have a point and if financial sense is a priority, that might be the best route. However, I'm just tired of seeing people scrap these cars from just a bit of fixable rust. Personally, I think there's more reward in polishing a diamond in the rough rather than giving up and moving onto the next one. Of course there are some that just plain aren't worthwhile to fix but if this car doesn't have hidden [rusty] surprises then to hell with it. That and our thirdgens seem to be slowly going the way of the dinosaurs so it'll be cool just to see another one rip down the road for years to come.


Or maybe I'm just delusional and far too emotionally attached to these machines.... lol

 

Believe me, Im delusional and far too attached to these machines too! Ive loved them for 27 years BUT Im also realistic that they are still very affordable and you have to consider all the rust that alot of these cars have.

Washington state cars are rust free and worth the cost to ship. I like seeing people save cars as well but the cost to repair vs the cost to buy another should be apart of the equation.

 

True, true, although why are cars from Washington state so rust free? You guys don't get any snow up there with salt poured on the roads in the winters? I always assumed they would be even worse than cars in my state (CT) cause you seem to be slightly higher north than us and we get a decent amount of snow which results in salt and chemicals dumped on the roads which eat these cars up if they're winter driven.

 

It rarely snows in WESTERN WASHINGTON (maybe a few times a year) but it melts almost immediately. We average around 46 degrees in the winter so it just rains alot. They have no need to salt the roads. Ive lived here my entire life and if I ever see a car with rust on it its because that car came with someone who lived back east. Trust me, Oregon and Washington have the best used cars around because of the lack of rust AND the fact that our interiors are left in very good condition because of how cool it stays here most of the year (lots of cloudy days here)..

--Its worth it to pay the shipping!

 

Did you not read that I have no tools or garage in which to buy a roller & transfer everything over? Maybe you missed the fact that I live in Ft Wayne, IN and that this car is my daily driver and that I'm tied up with my job to the point I have very little time to devote to this project myself which is why I'm taking this to a shop. Hell, I drove 3hrs one way to a friends house 2 weeks ago to strip the interior in his garage. He has the tools for most common repairs, but in no way could we have managed a roller swap. So I'd still be paying for labor in there somewhere.

Why would I shell out $2000 for a rebuilt rust free car that I have never seen before & have no experience with when I can spend $2500 on my car and FIX the problem? There is a monster perk in doing this as I know the problems with my car and its more than likely going to last until I get my student loans paid off. Then I can do all the work I want to do at a pace that fits my time & budget.

And its not $3000 for the pans, its $2000 installed (parts $620, shipping $125, and labor $1300). I was figuring on both rockers being replaced as well and renting a car for two weeks in that $3000 figure. Turns out that I won't be needing to rent a car for that time and the rockers are in a better shape than was thought. So I have some spare budget for other rust areas. My line in the sand is the subframes. If they are beyond reasonable repair, I'm pulling the plug on this.

Can't really change my mind now as I have already ordered the pans.

 

Who said anything about buying a roller? Both links I shared off craigslist are running/driving cars. You could probably sell your car and have spent nothing on a new rust free car...Your right though you dont know the history but it could be inspected before you purchase it.

Here's a 1986 IROC, complete with 5 speed tranny, no rust and ready to be a daily driver for $2k....There is just no way I could or would justify spending 2500-3000 on just floorplans knowing there is most likely rust on the quarter panels, suspension and under the hood including possible shock tower rust--its just not worth it (IMO).

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/cto/2710226727.html

1991 Z28
http://corvallis.craigslist.org/cto/2717725673.html

1985 IROC

http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/cto/2724521316.html

 

While you didn't state it outright, what you wrote in your first response reads as buying a roller:

Yes, I see those. However; I am not interested in going to Washington to get a new car for the same price that I can fix my already very reliable car. Give it up. You're telling me what you would do/what I should do, not how much its going to cost to fix my pans which several others gave me good ballpark info on pricing and further refined my choice of shops. I've already ordered the pans and unless there is rust that on the subframes that is outside of reason to repair, I'm not backing away from this.

I'm at the point of I could either buy a new car and inherit a whole new set of problems or spend the money now and get another 3-5yrs solid years out of the car, assuming I have no other repairs to make.

I have no other issues with my car. I can't justify getting rid of a fixable car when the only real concern is the structural integrity of the floor pans. I know that I have rust in other places. My quarter panels have bubbles on them, my outer rear wheel wheels are starting to rust out, but no rust on the strut towers. Fine by me. I have zero issues with using Bondo & Rustoleum to keep the rust on the non-structural items at bay. All I need is for this car to last another few years and I can park it to work on it.

 

When I said "transfer things over" I meant hood, interior, wheels or anything else you wanted to keep--not an entire car.

Your right, I am telling you what I would do--its a forum and people are going to give you their opinions and advice.

 

Wow. I didn't know that. Thanks for solving that great conundrum of life for me.

BTW, its considered rude to make a reply that is off topic. I didn't ask anyone on what I should do or what they thought of paying to fix the pans. I wanted to know how much it was going to cost to fix the pans. You're telling me what you would do, which is off-topic and not what I made this thread for.

 

Well, if you knew that then why on earth would you be questioning why Im giving you my opinion? I dont think you do really understand what a forum is.
Furthermore, its not considered rude to "go off topic" which I really didnt. The question had been answered in regards to the cost to replace floor pans. I simply chimed in on the cost to replace floorpans vs replacing the car. You didnt like what I had to say--so be it!

You are going to have a rough time on this or any forum out there if you cant handle people giving you their advice and opinions.

Good luck with your car.

 

Been here as long as you have been and longer. I have no problem with people giving me their opinions. Posted a ton of questions here asking for answers and had several people shoot my question down. I also learned a ton from those shoot downs.

What I do have a problem with is people who think that their view of fiscal sanity is far superior to mine. Besides, where was this "sage" advice 5 WEEKS AGO when I made this thread? Not that I didn't think about it, but its quite annoying when I've already posted that I've bought the pans and then have people coming in with the "thats not what I would have done" comments. Really, well I didn't ask for what you would have done, I asked for what I can expect to pay for this.

If you for one second don't think I don't appreciate or understand how costly this is, think again. It'll take me anywhere between 4 & 6 months to get this off the credit card, assuming no other problems. And I'd still be in the same situation if I bought a new car, but then I'd be facing eviction because I can't have more than 1 car in my apartment complex and I can't afford a storage unit for it while I part out a car that I frankly wouldn't feel safe selling to anyone. Taken a look at the auto loan market recently??? I have and it ain't pretty if you don't have good credit or large sums of cash to slam down on a car. Most financiers of good repute only make auto loans for a minimum of $7500 on a vehicle less than 7yrs old and with less than 100k miles. I don't have the time to chase all over the IN/OH/MI tri-state area for a car that meets those criteria. The closest any vehicle came to meeting those criteria was a 2003 Avalanche with 170k miles on for $9k. Count the cost of taxes, titleing, and licensing the car and I'm into a $10k car loan before I go out and buy an insurance policy for it. And the devil with loans that small is they generally carry large monthly payments because most companies aren't willing to give you a 72 month loan at 7% interest on $10k fresh out of school. This is just one small aspect of what I looked into over the last month.

You don't know all the things I took into consideration when making this decision because you frankly don't need to know all the information I know. I asked for input on the cost of the repair and I got that information from several others.

 

I, for one, would like to commend you for spending the money to fix it and fix it correctly. He's clearly done the math associated with his situation and found this to be the best solution for him at this time. The best part is that he saves a third gen that would otherwise be hacked up and sold off into bits.

 

too many people here "dont have the money" to fix something correctly. youre atleast planing out a way to have it fixed since you have neither the funds on hand, or the tools/skills/place to do it yourself. Its gonna suck paying off the credit card, but atleast youll have a floor pan thats right that will outlast most of the car now. i would advise having the shop cover both sides of the new pan with some corrosion protection after they weld them in. if youre willing to shell out anouther $200 or so, you can get a lizard skin kit. the ceramic one is a heat insulator, sound deadener, and corrosion preventative all rolled into one.

 

They said undercoating was included in the labor. But, once I get the card paid off, I'm going to be sure that this doesn't happen again. A lot of my friends have had excellent experiences with using roll on truck bed liner for undercoating and I'll add SFC's (UMI's & Alstons) to the car and tie in the rockers with tabs. Assuming they don't find a problem with the subframes, which I'm hoping they don't.

All my car needs to do is last a few more years after this repair until I can park it to work on it in a proper setting myself.

 

it works pretty good as an undercoating, but provides no sound deadening or thermal protection. but it is cheaper. you can always undercoat the bottom with the truck liner, then at a later date rip out the interior and lizard skin the top side.

i plan on lizard skinning the floor when i finally start working on the interior.

 

I've had experience with roofing products (kinda goes with being in construction) such as fully adhered EPDM and from what some around here say, they do good as sound deadener. I've been looking for a good cheap peel & stick sound deadner & insulator so I'll wait a bit on that front (not like the interior isn't already peeled up for starters).

Been reading this thread for ideas:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/inte...deadening.html

 

from what ive heard, roofing products used in autos tends to make the car smell like tar on a hot day.

 

Compared to the 850MGD (million gallon per day) Combined Sewage Pump Station upgrade project I'm working on right now, roofing tar smells like a beautiful bouquet of roses to me.

But I don't want to use any of the bituminous roofing materials as they are a pain to work with. EPDM is a bit different, you lay down a bituminous tack coat (its almost like water with glue in it its that thin) then roll out a PVC/HDPE sheet and torch it in with a heat gun. Turns it into a rubber band like material that is waterproof and goes no where. It very neat stuff.

 

*UPDATE*

My pans were ordered by Hawks from the manufacturer on 11/23. The manufacturer is Classic Industries. They struck and shipped my pans last week and they arrived at the shop on Friday last week. Went up there today and looked at them, they are awesome. They have the pinch weld, seat belt mount hole, and cut out for an auto trans shifter. Very light weight and good looking too.

All told, 2 pans ($620) and shipping ($125) was $745. Need to call Hawks and tell them I've got my pans already as they haven't updated my order status yet

 

*UPDATE*

It went to the shop today. I'll have it back by the last Friday of the month barring any "are you sittin down" phone calls. Haven't heard anything so far as its only day one and all.

 

*UPDATE*

The work started today. Passenger side turned out far better than was thought. They only need to section in the pan to fix that side which is going to save time & money on the budget. All the other rust was minor surface rust.

 

*UPDATE*

As of now, the passenger side looks to be completed. They patched up the Right Rear Wheel house, welded in the needed pan section, and sealed it all up and threw down some primer on it.

 

They also just removed the junked out Driverside floor. And the rocker doesn't look bad either. Just a bit of surface rust. Man these guys aren't fooling around.

 

How did the car come out?
I just read this whole post. lol
i have the same problem with mine!
(I got a firebird though)

 

Looking good, glad to see solid progress.

 

They're not done yet. I'm guessing Tuesday or Wednesday is the finish date. So far the rust has been far less advanced than it looked. They are sectioning the parts of the pan they need rather than cutting out the whole floor. So it should save me some money.

I'll post up my total project costs when they are done. A pair of full replacement pans with shipping was $750. The estimate for labor was $1500, but that figured on cutting out the whole floor.

 

*UPDATE*

More progress today. The driver side floor is in and the left rear wheel house is almost patched up.

 

I'm gonna keep the scraps for next years office party. Someone will be getting a box full of rust next year

 

that shop does some good work. theyre even seam sealing the edges and primering the bare metal. a lot of "budget minded" shops would skip that since its under carpet and youd never see it. which leads to more rusting later on.

 

The guy is great to work with. He's been sending me picture mails to my phone and keeping me in the loop the whole time.

 

i would keep his number handy in the future

 

Its in my phone for sure. Or as Homer Simpson would say, "Its under speed dial for FIRE!".

 

*UPDATE*

It went in for undercoating this morning. They also are patching up that last wheel house hole and primered up the pans completely.

 

*UPDATE*

Its done. They're holding onto it now so that the undercoating will at least set before I drive it home. I'll be able to pick it up tomorrow. He told me that it was going to be less than $1200.

 

Nice that isn't as bad as I thought it would be.!
Good luck!!

 

*UPDATE*

The totals are in. Mind you, the price of the shop time includes 7% sales tax whereas the pans shipped were tax free. There's some rounding here as well since I don't have the reciepts laying in front of me right now.

Full set of replacement pans: $620
Shipping to the shop for both pans: $125
Shop labor pre/post tax: $975/$1085

All told: $620+$125+$1085 = $1830

Original shop estimate for executed scope of work (with me supplying the pans): $1500.

So, I budgeted $3200 for this project and managed to get it done for half that. I really saved a ton by not needing the rental car, rockers replaced, and having less rust to repair. When I get back from vacation, I'll post up the information I learned over the course of this project for those who are considering the same thing. I saved a ton by doing my homework and not rushing into this.

 

Very cool, its to bad you didnt know earlier that they were not as bad as first thought, you could have gotten some good used ones cheaper. But with that said you did alright, nice to see another honest guy in the body shop business.

 

Well, thats a catch 22 in and of itself. The shop guy said I saved myself a ton by buying those new pans. He said they practically lined right up with the existing floor, just needed a few good measurements and a bit of hammering to get them in & lined up properly. He also told me that my rear wheel houses and quarters have 3 years or so left in them before they start rusting out bad. He told me alot of people cheap out on the parts they supply and end up paying for it in the labor.

As I was putting the car back together, he said a good cheap way of making what I have last as long as I need it to is to get a garden sprayer (those 2gal hand pumps with the wands type thing) and spray motor oil into all the void spaces inside the chassis, subframes, & wheel wells a couple times a year to stop existing rust & prevent any new rust. I did that every where except inside in the trunk area as its too darn cold out for me to want to strip the interior out of the rear right now. Spring time will be the time for that project.

I got the car all put back together over the course of yesterday & today and aside from the faint smell of a couple quarts of 30 weight in the cabin, it rides, drives, and SOUNDS (as in no excess road noise can hear the radio and myself think) great. My spring time project is at least UMI SFC's and new undercoating in the wheel wells and I'd like to get Alston's in there as well at the same time, but I need to pay down my card and get some new tires first. Thankfully, I didn't count on getting 5 pay checks in December, so I'll whip this out a bit faster than I thought.

All in all, I learned a ton in the course of this project and aside from the cost of the project, I am rather pleased with how it all turned out.

 

Motor oil....really. For $50 you could do the same with Rust Bullet or POR15 and not worry about it for much longer. Please don't treat rust with motor oil.

 

Until someone comes up with a spray can/paint applicator that fits inside the rocker through the little Ziebart hole sitting on top the rocker and a rust neutralizing material that creeps on 25* steel like motor oil does, I'll be using motor oil. I'm fighting rust where you can't get to it without torches or other cutting tools.

And for $20, I've bought myself a lifetime supply of oil considering how much longer I'll need the car to last. An added benefit is that I can do this without having to have the car totally stripped down and in a shop for a month while they strip every bit of old seam sealer, undercoating, and other adhesives off before they clean it up and add the POR-15.

 

As a final picture to the thread, heres a good picture of what they cut out before I threw it away.

If anyone wants a new firewall extension & trans tunnel to behind where a manual shifter goes, let me know. I still have the scraps of the replacement pans in my apt and really would like not to scrap them.

 

i could use a couple inches of the top of the trans tunnel behind the shifter....i had to notch mine to fit the 6 speed and if i ever take it back out id like to have that piece to weld back (toseed it being young and dumb)

 

A 3 minute internet search yielded these results. Both of which would serve your purpose and both meet your stringent criteria. I'm very surprised to see you resort to such remedial means when you've gone to great lengths to repair other rust properly.

 

Neither will work. For one, I live in a 500sf apt, so I don't have an air compressor system for the first option. Secondly, it been in the mid 20's to low 30's here in Ft Wayne since I got back from vacation so that spray can won't work either. You can't apply a spray aerosol of any kind and have it work worth two craps in this cold, don't care who you are. Also, spray aerosol won't creep on the metal like oil does. Sure, I'll have to oil my chassis twice every year, but I've already made the investment for the cheap way of rust prevention/maintenance.

And for the record, I didn't fix all the rust. I know I have more in my rear wheel houses, quarter panels, and other areas. What I did was spend the money to properly fix the floor and make the car safe to drive. All the oiling needs to do is keep the rust from progressing any further than it already has for at least the next 2 years.

 

Haha Nice ^
Anyways dud Nice job!
uhm the rust I have on my firebird is pretty much exactly the same.
A little worse though I actually have a hole in the floor pan. I think the previous owner used it in the winter time when the roads had salt and it just ate it right up..

 

Do you know of a cheaper place I'm restoring my 82 camaro and one of my floor pans have rusted threw maybe three quarter size wholes and I don't really have money to throw out on 300 hundred dollar pan but I can't find a partial pan neither

 

you guys think you have rust? i had my drivers side lca mount rust off, along with my drivers side rear seat belt ... take my rear seat out, you can see the ground ...not sure if i am just going to junk it or try to save it ... if i can get pans and get them put in for around $2k and someone will ship me a lca mount cheep, i may keep it on the road ... if not, it will be another 3rd gen in the crusher

 

Good job Like the pictures of the problems. Helpful, thanks