Floorboard repairs

[Dan Babb]

Some of my floor is in bad shape and I'd like to fix or replace it.

First, how many pieces is the floor? On my truck, it looks like I have 3 piece.

1) I have the top section that's near the pedals. That's in great shape

2) just below that, still at an angle, it looks like a separate section about the same size as the top piece. This has some rusted out parts. I'd like to try to get a replacement or patch it.

3) The flat large section. A prior owner did some repairs to this part with fiberglass. Doesn't look too bad and with the floor mat down, you don't notice it. I'm not going to cut this out.

The part I want to focus on is Section #2.

What have you guys done to repair holes in the floor? I don't really have the skills to weld in a metal patch, and I don't think good replacement sheetmetal is available.

How hard is it to fiberglass a patch and not have it look like crap?

[Dave72dt]

If you can make a patch panel that fits well,requires a flange or overlap, there are adhesives for bonding steel to steel. Production body shops are using this stuff for door skin replacement, roof replacement and some factories I think used to glue doors to hinges with it.

don't worry too much about the floor until the new engine/trans is mocked into place. You may have to readjust the floor panel for clearance

Edited July 23, 2010 by Dave72dt

[Dan Babb]

Thanks.

I'm going to put the motor in place this weekend, so I'm hoping that I'll have a better direction on next steps (hopefully no cutting or major mods will be needed).

[grey beard]

Dan,

The floor has the two slanted panels you mention, that unbolt, plus a rather large transmission cover. Once you have that off, the rest is welded cab structure.

On my own Pilothouse, the passenger's side floor was completely gone - you could drop a five-gallon bucket thru it, and the rust continued out to the threshold of the door at the edge. I was able to buy a piece of floor from a parts truck from a guy on this forum from ND. When it came, it was cut a few iinches too short. My son in MT has several parts trucks and he cut a larger panel for me that was just right, except it had rust holes in the middle.

Sooooo, I took the two panels and made one - spliced it at the center of the seat and replaced the entire floor on the right side - migged it all in around the right front cab mount and the door threshold. Then I dressed my welds and undercoated it all with rattle can bed liner from AutoZone. No one could ever tell it's been replaced, because it has all the original tool markings in it.

Before I spent much in patch panel material, I'd suggest you ask around on the forum for anyone with a parts cab. Someone may have just what you need. By the bye, the way to cut this stuff is with a Sawzall - not a torch - unless you have a plasma cutter. That'd work well, too.

Good Luck

[Dan Babb]

Good advice.

I'll post a picture of the panel I need and see if anyone has one.

It would be pretty long, so I guess it could get cut in half for shipping, then I could have a friend weld it back when it gets here.

[48Dodger]

I have a few spare floor panels laying around. No need to cut it in half, I've shipped all kinds of stuff at different sizes. I order bed rail caps all the time for trucks I work on.....short bed/long bed.....never a problem. Post a picture so I can see if I have one better than yours, etc...

48D

[Dan Babb]

Thanks....I'll get a picture today and post it up.

[buds truck]

If the one Tim has doesn't work out, I think I have a pretty darn good one in my shop that may fit the bill. I just want to see a picture to make sure it is the same one. Bud

[Dan Babb]

Here's a picture of the bad part on the driver side. Where it's rusted, it's either pretty thinned out or has holes that go all the way through.

[48Dodger]

Mine should be better., Would be good to see the "channel" along the edge. It has a tendency to get thin and rotted.

48D

[48Dodger]

This is one of the lower sections I've removed. It shows the "channel" I'm talking about. I'm interested to know how bad it is in that joint. You might need a patch for the cab too.

48D

[Dan Babb]

I'll look under the truck tonight.

I'm thinking the channel is going to be rough on the driver side.

Your piece looks way better than mine. I'll PM you.

[48Dodger]

Hey Bud,

Can you (or anyone with a 52 for that matter) post a picture of a 52' floor board. Just need to make sure its the same as the 48/50's I have around here. Don't want to send Dan something he can't use.

48D

[buds truck]

Tim, they have me working in Moses Lake this week, I won't be able to get a pic till the weekend, but as I remember, the piece I have with the dimmer switch looks like yours.

[Dan Babb]

Here's a shot of my floorpan from further back. I'm not sure if it's been modified though. My gas pedal is mounted to the transmission cover, not the floor piece.

[Merle Coggins]

The gas pedal attaches to the trans cover on my truck too. I thought it was odd that the pedal studs were on the plate Tim showed but I couldn't place why until you mentioned yours is on the trans cover like mine. That must have been one of the changes starting with the B2's.

Merle

[grey beard]

My '48 has the throttle studs on the lower of the two angled toe boards that unbolt and are removable. This must have been yet another of the many changes they made from model year to year.

The rusty floor board in the pic at the top of this thread could be easily repaired since all the rust is in a flat plane. My whole section was gone from the trans hole over to the sill and nearly back to the seat riser. Yours would be a sinch to repair. Just fab up a heavy sheet metal piece larger than the rusted area and resette-weld it in with a mig unit. A little underciating and Bob's Your Uncle! Since it is a welded-in-place panel, I wouldn't consider cutting it out and replacing it. JMHO

[buds truck]

I agree with greybead. much too nice to cut out. I would do just what he said on mine if it were that good (and if I didn't replace it with a dakota floor)

[48Dodger]

looks like the joint between the lower floor board and cab floor are fibered glassed together on both driver/passenger side. Is that right? If so, I'd grind through in a few places and see what you really have as a floor. Wether you partial patch or replace the whole thing, might not hurt to have Buds floor as the patch.

48D

[Dan Babb]

On the driver side, the flat floor section has some fiberglass on it.

On the passenger side, there's more glass on the flat section and the middle section is bonded to the floor piece I'm thinking of replacing. I'm thinking with the glass on that middle section, that the rest of the passenger side is shot.

My thoughts are to take off the rusty piece. Clean up the flat section a bit. Then mount a replacement panel.

If Buds piece will work better, then I'd like to get it.

[48Dodger]

I would go with Bud's, since the year does matter.

48D

[smallblockjunkie]

have you put the hemi and trans in yet to see how everything fits? you may need to make a new floor anyway.