Eddie 1979 Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Hello, while in the midst of some electrical repairs I figured while I'm at it why not redo my interior. I'm almost done cleaning/grinding all of the tar and now its time for rust repair. I've been have been debating whether to weld in patches or put in new floors all together. However, given that I want to finish this relatively quickly and that this is my first welding project,patching with 18 gauge sheet metal seems like an acceptable approach. The smaller patches are straightforward, where I need advice is with the floor pan seams and seat brackets (pictures below): 1. Both the front and rear seams are rusted out. What is the best approach to repair these areas? Can I just cut 2 or 3 inches on either side of the seam and lap weld in a single patch panel? Or do I need to do two separate repairs e.g. cut and butt weld in upper patch onto the firewall, and then cut and weld an overlapping patch that is attached to the old floor pan? 2. The seat bracket seams are rusting out, should I completely remove (or cut) the brackets out and clean up the areas underneath or can I get away with spot blasting the seams and treating with phosphoric acid? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 (edited) A lot of that looks like very minor rust. Take some good, clear, close up pics of the various areas so we can see a bit more detail. In the last pic, I see some minor pitting, but I don't think it's worth cutting out and replacing. I think I'd treat it and call it good. But your pics are kinda blurry, so I'm not sure. Looks like a lot of it is at the front of your floors. If it definitely needs replacing, I think I would just take it out in one big chunk, and replace that. From about where that patch is welded in already, and forward, I would cut that out and replace it, and just do a patch for that little guy towards the back near the rocker. Not as big a project as doing a total floor replacement, but probably easier than doing a bunch of separate patches. There's a number of ways you could do it though. Edited September 17, 2015 by rturbo 930 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLave Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 I did something similar and totally regret it. Patching is way more work. If i were to do it again, I would do the whole floor or buy pans and do large sections. If you are going to patch, at least combine smaller, closer patches and do a single large one. Its a lot less work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie 1979 Posted September 18, 2015 Author Share Posted September 18, 2015 Yep I will follow your advice and try combine things into large patches. My worry is making the round bends and getting them all lined up. In the end it maybe less work to do entirely new floors out of flat sheet (as others have done). I wish we could get the premade patches that GM guys can get for $40 bucks Regardless I'll take some better pictures and start cutting one side this weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie 1979 Posted September 19, 2015 Author Share Posted September 19, 2015 A buddy of mine is a sheet metal fabricator so I'm starting to lean towards a DIY floor pans like in this thread and perhaps followed up with Bad Dog rails (undecided): http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/116988-diyhomemade-floor-pans/ If I do one side at I time, do I need to be concerned about bracing or and chassis flex? The car is up on blocks (below) and everything is assembled except for the interior, I'm thinking of the approach detailed on the following page where the main seat bracket is left in place: http://zhome.com/Classic/240ZFloorboards/ChrisFloorboards.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grannyknot Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 I would just cut each side out one at a time and install new pre-made pans,http://www.datsunzparts.com/products.html Charlie's pans are fantastic and cheap for what they are. Patching is good for a few rust spots, yours will look like a quilt by the time you're finished. Good luck, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 +1 for pre-made floor pans. When people replace the floors with flat metal, it just looks cheap and half assed IMO. Considering how nice the rest of the car is, I'd definitely go to the effort to do it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhm Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 +2. The pre-made pans also have more structural rigidity, due to the additional bends and creases. Obviously, you can do all that yourself as well, with the right equipment and time, if you so desire. I have seen cases where homemade flat pans deform over time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie 1979 Posted September 21, 2015 Author Share Posted September 21, 2015 I would just cut each side out one at a time and install new pre-made pans,http://www.datsunzparts.com/products.html Charlie's pans are fantastic and cheap for what they are. Patching is good for a few rust spots, yours will look like a quilt by the time you're finished. Good luck, Chris +1 for pre-made floor pans. When people replace the floors with flat metal, it just looks cheap and half assed IMO. Considering how nice the rest of the car is, I'd definitely go to the effort to do it right. +2. The pre-made pans also have more structural rigidity, due to the additional bends and creases. Obviously, you can do all that yourself as well, with the right equipment and time, if you so desire. I have seen cases where homemade flat pans deform over time. Okay you guys have me sold, I'm in contact with Charlie and am going to order the proper floors. The wife was asking me what I wanted for Christmas good timing. I commenced with surgery today and removed the first section of the driver's side, the good news is the rails are in decent shape although there is some rust to grind out along the rocker. I might end up replacing the floor pan rails with stronger 1x3 box steel and link them up all the way to the back. I'm also going to cut high enough on the firewall so that I can get access to the front rails and clean them/treat them from the inside. Hopefully in a couple of weeks I will have some updated pictures with my first welds ! Lots of practice and shaping to do before then though.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fyanrudger Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 Off topic comment, but your car is the exact color mine was and was...the 113 green from the factory and resprayed a factory-ish bronze/copper at some point in its life. Pretty funny looking at the photos and seeing essentially the exact same color combo as when I did my floors. Good luck with the floors. It's not so rough once you get into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie 1979 Posted September 22, 2015 Author Share Posted September 22, 2015 Off topic comment, but your car is the exact color mine was and was...the 113 green from the factory and resprayed a factory-ish bronze/copper at some point in its life. Pretty funny looking at the photos and seeing essentially the exact same color combo as when I did my floors. Good luck with the floors. It's not so rough once you get into it. Man your car looks great, after the floors and interior my next job is to strip the body and repaint. I was thinking of grey or black, but maybe I should go back to roots...That 113 green and black trim is pretty damn sexy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fyanrudger Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 Much appreciated. I couldn't decide, so I just let the car make the decision for me. Definitely a color you don't see often. Good luck, man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie 1979 Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 The new floor pans arrived and they look great, so I started to get things ready and unfortunately for me I found more rust along the rocker / floor seam, it has blown through in a couple of spots so I am pondering how to replace this section. The rest of the rocker seams okay so I am thinking of replacing the section between the yellow lines below. Some some questions for the gurus out there: My worry now is chassis strength, how much can I cut out ? The floor behind the seat bracket is still in The area (see below) is similar in shape to hat channel, should I fabricate the same contours and try but weld a new section in just below the gussets? Or could I weld in a rounded piece that looks the same as the top of the rocker? Has anyone repaired this particular area before, if so what was your approach? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88dangerdan Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Send me a pm if you think you could use these Daniel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie 1979 Posted October 8, 2015 Author Share Posted October 8, 2015 I've been thinking that one way would be to cut out all the rust I can in that area, blast whatever I can, treat it and then weld on a cap the length of the yellow area on the bottom where the floor pan seam is. I know caps are not the ideal way to go but I wouldn't need to worry about structural integrity with this method. Good or bad idea? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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