Cab Floor Repair

[1952B3b23]

The other day i decided to pull up the carpet and the matting that was under neath the carpet in my '52. Well it turns out that the previous owner decided it'd be okay to put the same matting that's used inside of a house under a carpet, in the cab of the truck. This served as great bedding for a family of mice and to trap moisture between the mat and the floor pans, and with moisture comes rust. It's not rusted to bad just some surface rust no serious rot. What does bother me is that the metal used to make the floor pans is way to thin. When you step in the cab it pops in and out almost like pressing on a soda can. So here are a couple of my questions:

1. What gauge steel should i use to make new ones?

2. Is there any type of bracing that should be under the floor to give it more strength?

P.S.- I searched the forum and didn't find any threads on this but im sure its been talked about before. If anyone knows about one please let me know.

Thanks in advance for the help,

-Chris

[ggdad1951]

I'd say 0.060 (16 gauge) at a minimum. I think that was the orignal thickness. My floor had little to no rot and is nice and firm at that thickness. You could go to 0.074 (14 gauge) would make it VERY firm.

[buds truck]

a couple of well placed beads would stiffen it up a bunch. They are not impossible to put in while in place, but not so easy either

[1952B3b23]

  ggdad1951 said:

I'd say 0.060 (16 gauge) at a minimum. I think that was the orignal thickness. My floor had little to no rot and is nice and firm at that thickness. You could go to 0.074 (14 gauge) would make it VERY firm.

I will most likely go with the 14 gauge for a nice firm cab floor. Does underneath the cab have any type of bracing?

Thanks for your help

[HanksB3B]

No but it should've!

Hank

[1952B3b23]

  buds truck said:

a couple of well placed beads would stiffen it up a bunch. They are not impossible to put in while in place, but not so easy either

I'm confused about what you mean when you say " a couple well placed beads"? Do you mean "ribs" in the sheet metal to give it more strength?

Thanks for the input

[Plymouthy Adams]

tin canning is not always an indication of too thin a metal used..tin canning can occur in heavier gauge metal..depends on how it distorts during welding..often this can be heated and quenched and shrink the metal to prevent tin canning...the application of a weld bead including the artistic application of the trunk model or your initial or YOM as the bead will add strength and will not be springy thus eliminating the tin can effect..I have played a bit wasting time material and such with the welder..

[ggdad1951]

  HanksB3B said:

No but it should've!

Hank

I don't know, once you have the floor board capturing the front of the floor boards it's quite firm.

One can always weld some "L" or "C" braces underneath in places.

[David Muma]

I used this to repair the floor pan on my truck... worked well

http://www.por15.com/FLOOR-PAN-TRUNK-KIT/productinfo/FPTRK/

although I am certain I never paid that much

[Dave72dt]

Original floor panels had beads or ribs rolled into the panel to increase rigidity. With new flat pans welded in, likely has the oil can problem Tim spoke of. Creative welding is a good way to shrink the high spots. Weld a bit, cool it , weld a bit, cool it. If nothing else, it;s a good visual exercise in how panels move when welding in patch panels

[1952B3b23]

I knew that the panels usually came with ribs in them to give more support but i had no idea that you could use weld to add support too. Now that i think more about it, it makes sense. The reason i know that the material the previous owner used was thinner than stock was because i could see a small piece under the cab that wasn't cut out when they replaced the floor. I could tell it was thicker but couldn't get at it well enough to measure. I have thought about making up some bracing to go underneath. I'll try that first cause it's far easier than an entire new floor (i'll post pics of the braces i make). Then maybe i can treat the rusty spots with some POR type product. That package deal looks like it would work great, but it's awfully pricey. Seems like i have to make a decision on how to go and just do it. Thanks for all the help!

[48Dodger]

I use 10 guage to box a frame....12g in a pinch. I use 14g for a tougher firewall or floor...helps protect against shattered bell housings and drivelines that wanna rip through the floor. 14 guage is hard to roll a good bead into. If you build your floor in stages with 16 guage, you can make a wood block beader.....use a hard wood and cut a half round grove into it, (maybe 12 inches long/ 3/4 inches wide) and use a body hammer tap in the bead. You'll need to tack it in and find the small warps and heat shrink them out....heat shrinking is easy, works better with buddy. Once your floor is done.....it gets coverd....so ehjoy it while you build it and then say good bye....lol.

http://www.sheetmetalguy.com/sheet_metal_gauge_chart.htm

http://allmetalshaping.com/showthread.php?t=473

48D

[1952B3b23]

  48dodger said:

I use 10 guage to box a frame....12g in a pinch. I use 14g for a tougher firewall or floor...helps protect against shattered bell housings and drivelines that wanna rip through the floor. 14 guage is hard to roll a good bead into. If you build your floor in stages with 16 guage, you can make a wood block beader.....use a hard wood and cut a half round grove into it, (maybe 12 inches long/ 3/4 inches wide) and use a body hammer tap in the bead. You'll need to tack it in and find the small warps and heat shrink them out....heat shrinking is easy, works better with buddy. Once your floor is done.....it gets coverd....so ehjoy it while you build it and then say good bye....lol.

http://www.sheetmetalguy.com/sheet_metal_gauge_chart.htm

http://allmetalshaping.com/showthread.php?t=473

48D

Thanks a lot for that bit of information! My problem with making braces that attach to the frame and support the floor is that, they weren't there originally. Plus id like to fix the problem once and not have to deal with it again in the future (hopefully). I'm going to look at the link you posted and see what i can do.

Another question... what have some of you used for the flooring in the cab (stuff covering the floor pans)? I had some sort of padding with carpet on top, made good bedding for mice