SPL311-18278

[Steve_69]

Got the engine and transmission installed. Also, I had the rear leaf spring shackles upside down and had to address that. Need to do the driveshaft and then start on the bodywork.

[Gregs672000]

Looks great Steve! So fun when things start coming together... onward!

[Steve_69]

Yesterday, I managed to get the body off of the overhead dolly and mount the it onto a rotisserie. A little more work and I will be ready for wet blasting!

[Steve_69]

Well, not the best of mornings. I thought (and everyone else who has looked at the car thought) that at least the floorboards are in very good condition. Just a couple of small patches, clean it up and paint the floor and good to go. Well, I started buffing it off from underneath and this is what I found. The light blue spots are daylight. My guess is it rusted from the undercoat t the inside because you could not see evidence of holes from inside the car. I guess I will be ordering me some floor tins. $$Cha-ching!$$

[Steve_69]

It has taken some doing, but I have removed the first section of floor and installed new. I have been learning a lot about sheet metal welding in the process, and that it is not easy. Butt welding sheet metal takes a lot of time and patience. Also, every time you think you have it done, you find more pin holes. I have not yet put in the seat braces nor captured nuts for the E-brake bracket. I will do that much later. Anyway, after 6 weeks on the first section (~6-10 hours per week) I think the others will go a little faster.

[iloveredmeat]

Man, that looks really good! I admire you for learning how to do that.

My friend who welded in some small floor patches said the same thing, it's delicate... slow and patient. I believe he settled on doing small 'tack welds' every few inches and then coming back around and filling in the gaps once the last weld had cooled down a bit, and on and on until he completed it.

And regarding tiny pinholes, @JT68 once posted what seems like a great idea... a small patch of metal tape and then epoxy over that. Eliminates the risk of burning the hole any larger.

Nice work!
pm

[Steve_69]

Thanks for the nice words. I am using stich-welding where I put down a tack and move down an inch and make another and so on. Yes, I burn holes in the old sheet metal every now and then and have to use a copper backing plate to fill it. Going forward, I am thinking about doing some as lap welds and then using seam sealer since I will need to use sealer where the plug weld seams are anyway. Time will tell.

I am really concerned about the front pan section because there are MANY hole that wrap up to the vertical section. I am not sure how to bend a corrugated sheet without losing its dimensions, or I could just split the corrugations and seam them back after bending into place. Any advice from the experts would be welcomed....

[Danjo55]

I just opened this post and have not read any other yet but want to ask, Where did you purchase your floor pans?
thank you, I have started on my 68 2000. I have a long way to go before I get to the body. The frame is almost ready for sandblast and paint.

[Steve_69]

I just opened this post and have not read any other yet but want to ask, Where did you purchase your floor pans?
thank you, I have started on my 68 2000. I have a long way to go before I get to the body. The frame is almost ready for sandblast and paint.

I got the floor pan sections from Ross Mullen (https://sportsimports.ca). I should let you know that they are not a drop in set of pans like you might expect for a Camero or Mustang, but still I appreciate having the ability to purchase something that has much of the work done for you at (what I would consider) a fair price. Good Luck. I hope to have my car on the road by this time next year.

[Steve_69]

I finished the 1st floor section including the seat braces, E-brake captured nuts, seam sealer and primed. 3 more sections to go.

I've been busy this morning cutting away some more rust. I will need to do some cleaning up on it, then start hammering out the end caps for the rocker before I start putting things back (Someone should make replacements for these). Also, I need to repair the top of the door sill that has some rust holes.

[Bwk2000]

Coming along nicely Steve.

[Steve_69]

I made a new rear endcap for the driver's side rocker. It does not exactly match the original, but should provide the structural strength needed. It was a real PITA, however I got into this project to learn some new skills. Therefore, I welcome the challenge. As you can see the original was in very bad shape. I made a 1st cut template, then a final and then built the metal piece. I have everything ground down and ready for welding tomorrow. I also made a rear endplate. I should get the welding done tomorrow for the end plates, the rocker, the rear end cap, and the repaired door sill. Then I will have to start hammering out the repair patch for the front endcap. And to think, I have to do this all over again for the other side!

[iloveredmeat]

Wow!

It's so cool that you're learning and fabbing this on your own.

I'm way more impressed than the cat seems to be.

Good on ya,
Peter

[Steve_69]

Here is the finished rocker on the passenger side. Also I had to fabricate a new footwell section on the driver's side along with a number of patches to the kick panel and a portion of the transmission tunnel. Dead pedal is blasted and installed to. I still have some butt welding to do to finish these off, but I should be putting the front floor in the driver side next week.

[S Allen]

Very nice work indeed. Great skills.

S