Van cargo floor replacement

Post by **leyther8008** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 8:27 am

Right as I got a complete cargo floor replacement panel cheap I,ve decided to have a go at replacing the one in the van.
couple of questions.
First can it be done insitu without taking the box off?
and secondly it doesnt appear to be attached to the side of the van anywhere as there is a rubber seal along the edge, does the same apply to the wheelarch? looking at the manual it appears to be attached only at the front behind the seats and right at the back at the cross member plus around the inner bit of the wheel arch. So if I cut it out will the box support itself?
Any body done it? any pitfalls to watchout for?
Thanks in anticipation.
Bern

(Also posted on the LCV register website, but the bigger the audience the better my chances)

Post by **M25VAN** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 12:35 pm

I've just done both sides of mine but I have a Glassfibre back so was a bit different (wheel arch to panel side is only pop riveted). Both sides were done with the back cab in situ and only the rear doors removed for ease of access. I reduced the length of the floor panels at the rear as they won't fit without removing the top rail behind the drivers seat. I did this so that I can easily remove the floor sides if they need any attention in the future, it's all bolted in place. Also you will need to think about some support at the back as the rear door hinge pillars may have corroded at the bottom where they fit the back rail.
One thing I did wish is that I had the floor and arch seperate as lining up the arch to side panel and filler pipe aperature was tight.
Difficult to explain but even harder to do without removing the front top rail.

Post by **les** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 10:09 pm

On a steel backed vehicle, the sides are spot welded to the floor around the wheel arch flange.

Post by **bigginger** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 10:18 pm

Thank you, from the heart of my bottom, since I'm about to fit the same for a pick-up, and was wondering about that

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Post by **IaininTenbury** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:18 am

Yes, it is possible with the body on. I found that if you bend the front edge of the floor down, it can be wiggled into place with the front and rear crossmember /valences intact, then the bent down bit tapped up back into place for welding. Yes the wheelarch lips are welded, but the rest of the floor edges should have a rubber seal (old boot/tailgate seal from modern cars works well - more squidgy than the proper stuff).
You can buy the floors and arches separately, which does make lining up easier, but it is possible with a bit of fiddling to get them in. If its all still on the chassis, it shoudl self support ok - just do one side at a time ideally and make sure the doors still shut ok before welding, but unless you're doing the rear valences too nothing will move. A jack under the rear of the back arch helps if you think anything has dropped, but checking the door fit will tell all.

What is often missed is that the rear pillar continues down and welds to the inner valence, which gives much stiffness to the body. this normally all vanishes so never gets recreated, then cracks appear in the paint between outer valence and body at the join, as the structure flexes.

Post by **M25VAN** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 7:20 am

[quote="IaininTenbury"]Yes, it is possible with the body on. I found that if you bend the front edge of the floor down, it can be wiggled into place with the front and rear crossmember /valences intact, then the bent down bit tapped up back into place for welding.[/quote]
Now there is a man who has thought about the problem.

[quote="IaininTenbury"]What is often missed is that the rear pillar continues down and welds to the inner valence, which gives much stiffness to the body. this normally all vanishes so never gets recreated, then cracks appear in the paint between outer valence and body at the join, as the structure flexes.[/quote]
Is this your part no M27 Iain? Mine were badly rusted through.

Post by **IaininTenbury** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 9:11 am

Yes it is! Surprised no one else has ever produced this bit - I've had to, at least repair it on every LCV I've had... the bit of angle iron you often see welded int he corners is a give away that all is not well!

Post by **leyther8008** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 9:43 am

Thanks for the replys I,m going to give it a go this weekend fingers crossed I dont find another four patches to do!

Post by **les** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 8:57 pm

I'm having a job visualizing this bit Iain, could you post a picture some time?

Post by **IaininTenbury** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 12:13 am

Hope this works, and is clear. The rear pillar continues down to the bottom of the rear light section and the folded over 'tab' will weld to the inner valence when it is in place. Sorry for the delay in sending the pic. - had to wait till I was making one....

[img][img]http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w290 ... illar1.jpg[/img][/img]

Post by **bigginger** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 12:24 am

Thank you - yet another job I have to do very soon

Post by **les** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 9:58 pm

Thanks Iain, now see what you mean, looks very neat.

Post by **leyther8008** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 8:24 am

All done including two new plywood floorpanels, found 'woodworm' in the front one

I wonder if you would fail your MOT for that? reason for failure woodworm in the floor! or would you pass with no boards at all and just a big hole, you could explain that it makes it easier to inspect the chassis!!