Best Way to Replace Floor Panels

[Daniel L]

Whats the best way to go about replacing the floor panels. I know they make OEM panels but do not want to spend 699.99 to do it. Any good suggestions or parts for sale? Thanks

[casper50]

Who's charging $700 for floor panels and is it just the 4 floor panels?

[Daniel L]

4 minutes ago, casper50 said:

Who's charging $700 for floor panels and is it just the 4 floor panels?

Spotted the entire floor panel kit somewhere on google for 700. No, just the back floor panels, entire trunk area, and rocker panels on all 4 sides. 

[casper50]

It adds up.  Some make their own panels but you need either/or both the equipment and knowhow.   I'm doing it with out either but I have lots of patience to make the panels figuring it out as I go.  http://p15-d24.com/topic/35504-started-the-teardown-and-now-the-build-up/?tab=comments#comment-361566  This is one I'm doing literally right now.  http://p15-d24.com/topic/47146-started-on-the-55-pontiac/     

[allbizz49]

If you calculate how much time you are going to spend making pans, 800 bucks isn't bad. I'm not sure how many cars you have built, but this is damn expensive addiction. 

[pflaming]

All the above are correct yet it also depends on how much needs to be replaced and how fancy one wants the floor to be. It also depends on if you can weld. 

 

A friend had floors, no rockers required , installed. All done, undercoated, por 15 inside cost him $1500. 

 

I will weld mine in myself. I have a wire feed welder and have made my replacement floors from quality scrap metal. It won't meet casper 50's quality work but once undercoated, top painted, and sound deadening applied only my "hair dresser" will know. 

[Dale Gribble]

12 hours ago, pflaming said:

All the above are correct yet it also depends on how much needs to be replaced and how fancy one wants the floor to be. It also depends on if you can weld. 

 

A friend had floors, no rockers required , installed. All done, undercoated, por 15 inside cost him $1500. 

 

I will weld mine in myself. I have a wire feed welder and have made my replacement floors from quality scrap metal. It won't meet casper 50's quality work but once undercoated, top painted, and sound deadening applied only my "hair dresser" will know. 

Do tell of this 80's GM master cylinder I see peeking up the floor ..... 

[pflaming]

That is a 98 Cherokee master cylinder. I used the same on my truck. With the MC is the proportioning valve and all new brake lines. Since it is in line with the gas pedal, and just below the seat I used it. I think there is a lower profile MC available.

[50 coupe]

How will you address that MC popping up in the floor. I will need to do the same and wondering how others have handled it?

[DJ194950]

There are MC's out the with remote fill (plastic or metal) reservoirs and also kits to convert say what Paul shows with caps that fit the MC openings on top to convert from the top reservoir to remote fill style. A web search will let you choose what fills your desire.

 

I would hate to have to remove my lower seat in my 50 Ply. to check brake fluid!! It weighs about 100 lbs. (at to me it does!!) . Probably would never happen until the brakes quit working!! ?

[Dave72dt]

I spent about 600 on full length floor pans , trunk floor, trunk drops and tail panel for a Mach I, 6 or 7  years ago and 200 for 1 outer rocker for wife's 05 Silverado this spring.  800 for all those parts is well worth the money.  You're less likely to get discouraged installing big pieces that already fit reasonably well and seeing progress than trying to form small pieces, welding them to probably thin metal and dreading the next piece you have to form.  Yes , I still make some small pieces to patch in small areas but it's difficult to make those larger section that have a lot of curves, radius, recesses, ribs, etc and have them look decent without the proper tools.

[Plymouthy Adams]

with all due respect, a floor pan is often easily repaired as the tunnel seems to hold up fairly well and the common foot placement areas where water and dirt is forever present gets the worse rust.  Cutting these sections out and copying the shape of the removed piece, use of bead roller and proper butt weld clamps on install and alignment prior to weld is usually the worst of the fabrication and even then that is not bad.  After this phase it is welding, prep to prime, paint and undercoat in the manner you find best suits your build.  Most any metal working shop will have flat stock to purchase.  I even recommend use of donor hoods and roof panels as they are a tad heavier guage....many body shops will let you walk off with one of these from a collision repair for token coin.

[Dave72dt]

I think fabricating floor panels or purchasing panels depends a lot on the complexity of the panels, how much needs to be replaced, skill level of the fabricator, equipment available,, hiring the work done or DIY and maybe how close you want it to look original.  Everybody oohed and aahed over the panels those guys over in Europe did a few years a go and to achieve that level without serious skills and equipment would be difficult for the home DIYer.  Not everyone wants or needs or can afford to build to that level.  Not having a bead roller, Pullmax, power hammer, opting for reproduction pieces made sense for the build level I'm going after on the Mach I

 

My truck is a different story.  Cab floor, dash, trans tunnel and firewall were handmade from scratch as well as all the rust repair patches.  It's a full custom still high level, but those pieces can't be bought, have to be made.  When I started on the truck, I was using donor panels as well.  The last donor hood I got was glued down so tightly to the understructure, removing the exterior panel proved to be destructive and the panel became worthless.  A lot of the newer stuff out there now has aluminum or ABS panels on them so now I just get a panel of cold rolled from a local manufacturing business that still does retail work

 

I haven't seen the OP's floors so how best to repair them  is difficult.    Are the floors Flintstone variety or just a few pinholes?   There's the fiberglass mat and POR15 method also..   Just saying, the price for those reproduction pieces isn't out of line if that's the way the OP decides to go.

[Plymouthy Adams]

many panels IF AVAILABLE at all are often subject to some massaging for fit to your application.  Many are quite high to begin with.  As with your Mach...these cars are lucky to have a reproduction base equaled only by that for the 32 Ford maybe.  Skill level is just as important to the installation as is the fabrication prior to install.  Each person can and will often chose their path based solely on money and skill...often money trumps skill...sometimes lack of money and skill is the approach an to this end, as long as the man is happy with the outcome or the process if he enjoys the build and use of his own two hands...there is no FOUL   I have never been in a museum which featured 100's of the very same model car...