I spent the weekend wire brushing the floorpans in the 68. I removed a lot of surface rust and there are a few pin holes in the drivers front pan. What would be the best way to repair these holes? I have purchased the back floorpan section and I have cut out all the rusted sections on both sides. Would it be better to try to weld them from inside the car or from the underside? When all the repairs are done I plan to use Por-15 to seal all the floorboards. What is the best way to remove the tar residue from the sound deadner?

MARTINSR: Ever been to Baltimore,MD we have great crabcakes, beer and a 68 Camaro that could sure use your expertise.

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Scott
68 SS BB project car

[This message has been edited by cpodeep (edited 03-12-2002).]

Scott, I think some of the residue is from the "seam" sealer used between the floor pan and the rocker. The stuff is almost oily, I used paint thinner to get it off the pans after "digging" it out of the seams. Paint thinner also works on the sound deadner tar.

I don't know about installing the floorpans -- most experts say to butt weld them in.

Yes definetelt but weld them, don't overlay it as it will look bad and you can do it right in a little more time, if you have a full repair section , trace the repair on floor then cut hole so the new panel overlaps the old and then trim to fit, then but weld, this way it doesn't matter if you do it from top or bottom, your weld is penetrating the same, good luck
Jake

Sherman Williams R7K156 Solvent Cleaner will remove that harder tar residue very easily. This solvent is commonly used to prep the area before painting. It will clean off any chemical residue left over from previous cleanings, waxings, whatever. I also used it to clean the entire inside area, floorpans, tunnel, etc. However, I just used adhesive remover to remove the deadener/black guey glue substance that was underneath the carpet along the tunnel and floor areas. The black, guey, tarry, glue stuff is different from the harder black sealant that you find around the seams.

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68 SS Full Resto Project
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I agree that butt welding is the cleanest method of installing the pans. Just make sure that you very carefully trim the new sheet metal to fit the area it will be installed in. Whether you overlap or butt weld, also make sure that you don't weld more than 1/2"-1" for each weld. Tack it into the fitted area. Take your time. Tackle various sections of the project area rather than continue welding around the pan. Let the welder and the metal cool off. Take frequent breaks. If you don't follow this recommendation then you might experience ugly warpage. If you have pin holes to fix, you might consider removing the bad metal and patching in new metal. It can get pretty nasty when you try to repair rusted metal with a welder. Although I have had great success using my MIG welder to just fill in some of the rusted pin holes and finishing it off with a grinder (wheel or die). Good luck.

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68 SS Full Resto Project
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A good way to fill pin holes with a MIG or if you have too big a gap when butt welding is to get a piece of copper and put it behind the hole or opening, then weld.The copper acts like a backdrop and supports the weld but it won't be welded on...you remove the copper and have a nice fill..

Thanks for all the advice! The rear section I cut out is just the section where your feet go. I cut along the thick edge of the seat support and I cut the back area along the framing just before it starts to turn upward (Glad I saw that brake line before I started cutting). The floorpans I have are from Ricks and are a lot more than I need so I guess I'll I just start cutting them down until I get them to fit. Would you butt weld them from the underneath side and them finish them off so that the it would be hard to tell they were replaced or weld from the inside and not worry what they look like from the bottom?
I was thinking about using Por Putty to fill the pin holes in the front floor or even using their mesh cloth with Por-15 to fix the holes any suggestions on this approach?

Thanks again for all the help so far! I'm sure that I will be asking more now that the weather is getting nice enough to work in the garage.

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Scott
68 SS BB project car

cpodeep,
Butt or lap joint, I find it more difficult to weld upside down. My car is a driver so I did it quick and dirty lap style. Nobody will ever be looking under my car up inside the tranny tunnel. That is the only place you will be able to see the seams from the outside when finished. They do not show along the rocker, front, or rear seam if you start with full front to rear pieces. A little latex (no silicone!) caulk or filler followed by some black paint (and maybe even a rattle can of rubberized undercoating) and you are back on the road as the car would have been delivered when new. Resto guys like to show off the underside of thier cars but not me. I have other things to do with my time than worry about the greasy side. Just a different way to do the same functional job. If your car is a national show contender or if your pride forces you, by all means butt weld it. Good luck!

-Mark.

P.S. - now that I think about it, you could try butt welding the front to back tunnel seam only and lap joint on the other 3 sides. That is the best of both worlds.

Regarding the copper backing during MIG welding, I cut a 10" section from a broom handle and inserted one end into a 4" copper pipe. I inserted it deep enough to allow placement of two hefty screws through the copper into the broom handle. Next I flattened one end of the copper in a vise and curved it slightly. I even bent over one of the flattened corners. This tool works great as a backing for filling larger holes like stingr69 described. The copper also works as a heat sink to help from burning or warping the surrounding metal.

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68 SS Full Resto Project
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