floor welding

[mohawk9069]

hello!

i have just bought a minor, 69 ex police car first car and i need some advice, there are few holes (welll....) it has been completly restored at some point in her life how ever since then has been patched...quite alot the are about 7 patches on the near side they are completly fine, but on the off side ontop of the cross member rust has come through a patch and in the corner of the drivers footwell where the O/S inner wheel arch id there is a hole, i plan to replace it along with possibly the o/s of the cross member and just wanted to know how difficult this would be, luckly wont have to pay for a garage to do it as i (finally) convinced a friend to do it also do you guy/ girls recokon its worth replacing the hevily patched n/s passenger footwell?

cheers guys!

[chickenjohn]

Assuming your friend is a competent welder and has restored cars before, then with that amount of patching, you are better off cutting the whole lot off and welding in new front and rear floor pans. Butt weld to the transmission tunnel, and plug weld to the inner sill step/ seat support box section, and plug weld the front floor pan to the front chassis leg flanges. To remove the front floor pan it is much easier to drill out the spot welds that join the floor pan to front chassis legs.

Protect any overlaps (where plug welded) with zinc weld thru spray inside the overlap, seam sealer, and after painting use underbody and cavity wax to protect the new panels from rusting.

The floor pan 1/4's are fairly cheap at £20 plus vat each, so I would advise doing a proper job and replace the floor pans. Also inspect the sills for severe rust (remove sill covers).

If the sills are sound, then you can replace the crossmember end while the floor pans are cut away on that side- much better access.

It is a straightforward job, provided your friend is an experienced welder and car restorer. If not, then you/ he need to acquire the skills for example on a college restoration course.