toolman

Decided to strengthen the left side panel because of all of the corrosion. So I added a 16 gauge piece welded to the side panel and firewall. trail fitting the piece in place welding strengthening panel in

cardboard template transfer to sheet metal rear view of floor pan my tiny work area

exterior view of firewall and rocker panel interior view of firewall Put a cardboard on a floor jack under the hole in the floor. This is used to create a template for sheet metal replacement floor pan. The hole was traced with a flet pen. Notes and measurements were written on the cardboard for reference. Always add additional sheet metal as you can always cut the extra material off. Adding material later is more difficult. I replaced the floor pan with 20 gauge sheet metal( the original was 22 gauge stuff). The pan consists of both straight bends but have curved edges too. sharedmedia=gallery:images:35465] fitting and cutting the pan aligning the pan

I used a Sunex Toon #SX278C punch and flange air tooll. There are various brand air punch and flange on the market. They are all basically the same. The cut line must be straight as the guide depends on the cut line for straightness. The resulting flange does provide additional strength and leaves a flat surface when finished. Sunny

firewall cut out--(note edges for patch are flanged) exterior view of firewall interior view of firewall frame rail aligment