[1NC Again]

Well the body came off today, and thankfully made it to the stand with no adrenaline rushes. Was really pleased with the chassis. 4 body mount holes need repair before I blast it but overall the frame is in great shape. Unfortunately the body isn't in quite as good shape. Several spots on the floor and near the front body mounts are going to have be cut out and replaced. I'll probably have to find an anvil somewhere to shape replacement pieces. It's not bad enough to warrant a new floor pan but I have a LOT of spot welds to drill out - all 3 floor braces are shot. Since I'm replacing the floor braces I'm not planning to use a spot weld bit. I'm just going to step drill (probably 3 passes) each weld and then use the hole in the floor to weld onto the new braces.
Anybody done this and have any do or don't advice?

[400 4spd.]

Nothing wrong with that plan. It's the best way for a few reasons.
You will be plug welding the thinner floor to the thicker braces.
You won't be welding overhead and should get nicer welds.
Because it's under the carpet, you won't have to grind and finish off as nice as you would if it was exposed on the underside.

[Txbobcat]

Have you got any pics to share?

[1NC Again]

I'll take some this afternoon or this week and get them posted. Started cutting rust this morning. This part is just going to be a lot of dirty sweaty (I'm in FL) work. Good thing that 462 stroker is sitting on the stand beside it - 565 ft pounds of motivation !!

[2002Z4CSS]

We need some pictures!

[1NC Again]

As you can see the quarters (and the trunk and the wheel houses) were done before I pulled the body. I'm going to wait until I have all the rust cut out and have removed the floor braces before I make decision about replacing the entire floor plan. I really hate to do that because the vast majority of the pan is in good shape, a lot of strong metal. I'll post pictures of the chassis sometime over the holiday week-end. Headed to Turkey Rod Run Friday!

[Txbobcat]

Looks like you have a good start

[2002Z4CSS]

That floor looks better than mine.

[pugslyx234]

Awesome thanks for the pics, Woody

[1NC Again]

Couple shots of the bottom half. It'll probably be next spring before I do any more with this. Gotta get through the holidays then work the body issues, then I can disassemble. As I said in an earlier post, if all goes well I think I can be back on the restored chassis next year at this time.

[1NC Again]

Progress is slow, but progress none the less. It's time to remove the rear floor brace. I'll be drilling as many of the spot welds as I can access, but I'm guessing there are welds under the plate on the floor in this photo??
The brace is pretty rusted on both ends, so I'm thinking - drill all the welds thru the floor (see the discussion below) that I can get to, use a spot weld drill to remove the 4 welds on each end that tie the floor brace to the inner side of the rocker and then pull down the center of the brace, cut it in half, pull each end down as low as I can get it, then air chisel the welds I couldn't drill because they're under this plate. Once I get the old brace out I can grind and replace floor metal as needed and then drill holes from the bottom in the correct pattern. Then put the new floor brace in place and weld from the inside of the car.
Anyone tried this approach or see a better (translate to EASIER) way??

[Squidward]

On my 67 FB I replaced 3 of the 4 floor pans (both rear foot pans, and driver side foot pan). I had to cut out the floor brace plate that went under the driver seat, and welded it back in after the metal underneath it was welded. I drilled out the spot welds up by the toe pan. But for the most part, I only needed to replace the "tub" portions. I did mostly butt welding. I did not grind all welds flat, and you can see the seam from underneath. But that doesn't bother me.

Consideration could be given to your ultimate plans for the car. If you are ok with visible seams from underneath, then you probably don't need to do the full pan thing. But if you are welcoming critical inspection by 3rd parties, ala show car, then you will get the cleanest install with the full floor.

Yours looks easily patchable from your pics, but then again, you would know more about your own swiss cheese than I can tell from a couple of pics.

[1NC Again]

Anybody got the floor metal that goes under this brace? Would save me lots of time having to form the piece to fit the floor. 72 Lemans - need drivers side.

[Hunter98TA]

How is your windshield channel? I'm in the process now of repairing the little holes and using POR-15.

[1NC Again]

The windshield channel for the most part is in great shape. There's a hole (about the size of a half dollar) above the driver on the top surface that will have to be cut out. I, too, will be flowing POR or something thru the channel before I put the dash back in. I hope to be done with the rust repairs in the next 4 - 6 weeks and then start disassembly on the chassis.

[moparcolt]

I just came in from the garage. I was welding up the floor braces on my 68 GTO Convertible. They were rusted where they curve down to the rocker.had to fix 5 out of 6 of them. I'm pretty excited to be done with that.

[1NC Again]

Congrats on another completed task! I have the rear and middle floor braces out and the floor rot removed on the RH side above the brace. Most of the bottom of the car is cleaned up and ready for primer. Unless life gets in the way any more than usual I should have all the metal work done on the body by the end of February. Then I'm thinking 2 or 3 days to clean up the firewall, get everything seam-sealed up, and then painted. Still haven't decided what paint to use - whatever I decide will be used for the underside, firewall, chassis and inner fenders.

[1NC Again]

Well it's been awhile but I'm making progress. I didn't like the way the replacement braces fit under the floor so the floor pan is being replaced when the weather cools off a bit here in Central Florida. In the mean time the frame has been completely disassembled and I'm waiting for a call that the blast booth is available. The entire drive train and suspension is ready to go as soon as the frame is blasted and painted. I'll post pics soon of it going back together.
So, another question regarding frame paint. As I said the frame is being blasted to bare metal. I have a 2 part epoxy primer sealer that is advertised to cure satin black. Assuming it does and I like the sheen, do I need to put a topcoat over it? As I mentioned above I live in FL so the car will never see snowy roads and probably not wet roads often.

[indymanjoe]

Have you looked at powder coating the frame?

[1NC Again]

I've considered it but it's about 3x the cost of painting around here. I'm going to spray a 2 part epoxy primer/sealer and see how it comes out. I can always put a topcoat on if I don't like the finish. Not looking for show quality but don't want to hesitate to show it off in the parking lot either.