[Zig'sbird]

I had to sell my 1974 TA 455 back in 2009(?) due to financial reasons.

While I have a 73 Grand AM I really haven't been very active because it needs a new engine and nose. I just haven't been very motivated. I have been active though with my Ford SVT Focus. Never in my life did I ever imagine I would be interested in subcompacts but here I am

However a few weeks ago my youngest son bought a 1980 TA Pace Car. To say the car is rough would be an understatement. However he is a professional welder so he wanted the challenge of replacing the rusted out floors. This has re-energized me.

I know nothing about the turbo cars so it's going to be to learn about them and how to make some performance upgrades to it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Scott

[RocktimusPryme]

Floors are really easy. Especially if the rockers are decent. Ive done them in several cars and I am far from professional welder. So for a real pro it should be a breeze.

I guess you can make it as hard as you want if you are a perfectionist, but a reasonable functional floor repair is about as beginner as it gets for metal work. Buy some patch panels, cut some holes, make some plug welds lay some seam sealer, add a little spray paint, and then throw carpet over it.


The first ones I did I was trying but buttweld, and then as I was cutting away the old metal I realized they were overlapped from the factory so what I was doing was pointless.

[TAKerry]

I agree that floors are fairly basic to weld in and I too am NOT a pro. However knowing what I do now and seeing it done to several other cars, I would suggest a full floor replacement. For a pro welder this should be a piece of cake. Just make sure you brace the body before cutting everything out. I was patching mine in with several spots and my neighbor at the time kept telling me 'do the whole floor'. I was intimidated and kept going at my snails pace. Then I went to his shop while he was doing a full floor on a 67 GTO convertible. He made it look easy, It was much quicker than several small patches and in the end was an all around nicer job.

[GT182]

Here's a thought. When you do patches or the whole floor, fiberglass the inside flooring. Just your wet feet, rain or snow getting in from a window not fully close will soak the carpet, and rust will start from the inside. Use a good undercoating. Or fiber glass over it underneath too with the undercoating. It actually adds strength too.

My GTO had the tiny pit holes in both of the foot wells. The previous owner fiberglass both insides floor pans and undercoated the outside underneath. I've owned it since 2007 and the floors are fine. The only thing I did was paint the inside fiberglass. Yeah, it's gotten wet inside, but it doesn't rust.

I know this is the "cheep" way to do it and it's messy, but it works. I was talking to a guy at a show as he had the same problem. I pulled the carpet back to show him. He did the same thing and told me it worked great and saved him a lot of money.

[kingbuzzo]

Welcome back...where did your old bird end up going?

[Zig'sbird]

Originally Posted by kingbuzzo

Welcome back...where did your old bird end up going?

It ended up about an hour outside of Indianapolis.

[kingbuzzo]

Kokomo?

[Zig'sbird]

Honestly I don't remember exactly.