New floor pans....

[Guest]

Awright, here's a problem that I am faced with and need some good sound advice. My TR6 is solid, except for the front half of both floor boards. They are pitted and thinned out to the point of having multiple large pinholes, created by stupidly leaving carpet in for six months and never bothering to dry out beneath them. I have two new Heritage floor boards and want to change out the front half of both floors. Can this be done with the car sitting on jackstands from the the frame or should it be riding on its suspension. Interestingly, when the car is on jacks, the doors stick a bit, on the ground they work fine, hence frame torque. Can this be done leaving the doors on and opened to allow access to the work area? I have seen where the A and B pillars are welded together, this ain't gonna happen. I would like to cut out one at a time, MIG in new ones and move on. There is the problem of fuel and brake lines beneath the floor to deal with as well. I realize the whole interior has got to go and lots of welding blankets used to protect the car from flash will be needed. Will I screw up the car by doing a hemisection of one floor at a time? Really need to pull the heater (if TRF ever comes up with squirrel cage fan for the rest of the new heater parts I have in stock) and would pull the dash to accomplish this. Pulling the dash would give me the opportunity to push the wiring harness up and out of the way. The resulting new floorboards would be just painted black (not worried about colour matching). Bottom line, I want to do this as painlessly as possible, not respray the car and not screw up alignment of doors, hood, etc. I would even be open to giving up many pictures of dead presidents to have this done professionally if such a service existed within a reasonable radius of south Louisiana. Comments and suggestions would be appreciated.

Oh, and from the voice of experience, never "ride'em hard and put'em up wet" like I did for a year. Just ride'em hard and DRY'EM!

Bill

 

[Banjo]

Being a full frame car, the floorboards have a minimal impact on the door gaps. It's not like an MGB where the floor is the structure. But if it helps try placing the jackstands under the suspension so it is still resting on the same places. this sould keep your alignment. I don't see any problem with just doing half the pans, one at a time. That sounds like a solid plan.
Just be careful with the lines underneath. Maybe drape a dripping wet rag over them while welding in the area. that should suffice.
It sounds like you're on the right track otherwise.
Good luck Guv'na

 

[Andrew Mace]

[ QUOTE ]
I would like to cut out one [half-floor] at a time, MIG in new ones and move on....

[/ QUOTE ]I think this is by far THE BEST approach. This way, the chassis helps act as a "jig" for better alignment of the new floor panel (and holding the alignment of the rest of the body), and you'll have the other side intact as a "model" if necessary.

 

[BOXoROCKS]

Need more info to give specfic advise,need to know about the inner sill at the front as it attaches to the floor and the side bulk head.The floor side member, as it is the bottom inner sill.The floor and front bulkhead pinch weld area that forms the small 1/2 inch shelf that you see from looking in the wheel well.Also need to know whats behind the splash panel,the inside of the fender/rocker area.If these ares are good then there is a way to save the integrety of the floors and not have to cut and paste.I forget who mentioned the MGB floors but he is right.

 

[Alan_Myers]

Hi Bill,

My 2 cents worth...

You should definitely replace floor panels with the car on the frame, as planned. It's not only possible, it's the best way. One side at a time is also a very good policy.

It's *possible* this might be done without bracing, particularly since you are only replacing the front half of the floors. However, personally I'd go ahead and secure things a bit better, just to be certain that nothing slips and ends up out of alignment.

First, yes, all IRS TRs *should* be supported on their suspension while this sort of work is done (and not on jack stands under the frame). This is especially true if the frame has never been out from under the car and hasn't been reinforced and stiffened in any way.

The reasons are that the IRS frame assembly is a little flexible and it tends to take a bit of a "set" over the years. Jacking under the frame will induce some twist. You already see evidence of this because the doors stick when the car is jacked, but don't stick when it's sitting on it's suspension.

I'd be tempted to remove the doors completely. for easy access to dash and floor panels.

If you want to cross-brace the doors without welding, that's entirely possible and IMHO is a good idea. Remove the soft top and hoodsticks and use the trapped bolts as an attaching point at the B-post. At the front, remove the bolts holding the windshield frame, under the dash, and attach the brace there. Once these are in place, a brace or two can be welded or bolted across the car, too, if you wish.

Another place to check is the inner and outer rockers at the base of the A-post, when the floor section is removed. You might see some a little sag there and need to jack it up slightly to compensate. It's more of a problem when the rockers are removed, of course, less likely to happen with just floor panel removal. Just something to watch.

Tack weld the floors in place and refit the doors to make sure nothing has slipped.

If you end up with any door or other fitting problems after the floors are completed, there are shims under all the body to frame mounting points that can be adjusted to improve aligment. The shim points that have the most effect on the doors are at the four bolts at the base of the A-post and the three bolts at the base of the B-post.

Best of luck with your project!

Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif.
'62 TR4 CT17602L