floor pans

[cronanzone]

new here. new car.... well new to me. 87' GN.

weighing options on floor pan replacement.

need to replace driver side front and rear, those that have tackled this job, what brand of pans did you use what gauge Etc.

I have a local shop that will butt weld everything, but its expensive. He saying 20-25 hrs but say i won't be able to tell he's been there.

I'm no welder so i have limited options.

trying to figure out if i should go the overlay route or spend the extra money to everything butt welded w thicker gauge, too. all the pans i looked at online either don't state a gauge, or are 19gauge wich sounds pretty thin?

Thanks

 

[rag231]

What is the overlay route, putting a pan on top of what you have and welding it? Scrap that idea. I understand that it costs more but it will be a much better finished product in the end. The floor pan in sections is a good alternative to a full side which is better than a full tub option when it comes to cost vs. down time. I went to a junkyard and cut of a floor section on the drivers side with a sawzall , used a plasma cutter to cut my factory stuff out and used some of the Butt weld clamps from Eastwood and welded the piece in myself. I only had to do the drivers side in front of my seat but it wasnt difficult. I only see 2 holes in your floor board, is it more to the eye like thin metal or something. The rear just looks like surface rust. After looking at it again I would take a Harbor Freight wire brush to it and clean up the rust to see exactly what I have. If it is only those 2 holes weld them up and POR 15 the top and if you dont know where your leak is coming from find out. My car that had holes in its floor plan, it sat under a tarp in grass for many years. If i had to go with a set of floor plans from anywhere I dont think that you could go wrong with GBodyparts, Highway Stars, ( I think that they are Goodmarks) and i think Shermans make some also.

20- 25 is about spot on for a half side pan replacement, multiply that by his labor rate of I 'm guessing around $45-60 an hour and it adds up.

Hopefully others will chime in as many ( mostly TTop owners) have had or will address this issue at some point in time. Let us know what you decide and the final outcome please.

 

[cronanzone]

What is the overlay route, putting a pan on top of what you have and welding it? Scrap that idea. I understand that it costs more but it will be a much better finished product in the end. The floor pan in sections is a good alternative to a full side which is better than a full tub option when it comes to cost vs. down time. I went to a junkyard and cut of a floor section on the drivers side with a sawzall , used a plasma cutter to cut my factory stuff out and used some of the Butt weld clamps from Eastwood and welded the piece in myself. I only had to do the drivers side in front of my seat but it wasnt difficult. I only see 2 holes in your floor board, is it more to the eye like thin metal or something. The rear just looks like surface rust. After looking at it again I would take a Harbor Freight wire brush to it and clean up the rust to see exactly what I have. If it is only those 2 holes weld them up and POR 15 the top and if you dont know where your leak is coming from find out. My car that had holes in its floor plan, it sat under a tarp in grass for many years. If i had to go with a set of floor plans from anywhere I dont think that you could go wrong with GBodyparts, Highway Stars, ( I think that they are Goodmarks) and i think Shermans make some also.

20- 25 is about spot on for a half side pan replacement, multiply that by his labor rate of I 'm guessing around $45-60 an hour and it adds up.

Hopefully others will chime in as many ( mostly TTop owners) have had or will address this issue at some point in time. Let us know what you decide and the final outcome please.

Thanks for you reply. The pics dont detail how thin that front is, its done. I ordered the 1 piece pan last night and its moving this way. Yeah, not overlay in the sense just laying some new sheet metal on top of the rusted floor and welding in place, but instead cutting it all out and overlaying the seams, tacking, and seaming it. The other option is to butt weld everthing - but will take extra time/money that i'm not sure is worth the effort.

Now im trying to figure out the best approach w/the bracing. Guess I just need to cut and try and reuse it / weld it back in place? Could also buy the new braces to make it a bit cleaner but still have to cut the existing as im not touching the passenger side, its perfect. Thoughts on that?

 

[rag231]

With the braces they are just spot welded in. You can use a special spot weld drill bit or just simply drill thru every spot weld. The floor pan is coming out anyway. Just be aware of what's on the bottom of the pan, e brake cables, return fuel lines, etc..... The hole that is created from drilling will be your area that your new weld to your new floor pan will be applied, or if your body shop is fully equipped it may have a spot welder with enough reach to make new welds. New braces wont necessarily make it look cleaner, you will still have to weld it to your new floor pans somehow. There will still be a whole lot of butt welding going on. The hardest thing for me was the area at the fire wall, it's a lot of stuff in close proximty of both sides of the floor pan there. Take pics if you get a chance during the work process.

 

[cronanzone]

thanks for info and reply. glad to find this forum.
can't wait go get it done. will update as i go...