I bought a '92 D150, 2WD, 5.2 last month with the intention of putting some money in it and flipping it. It is a low mileage, above average truck that is worth a little investment and a chance to be in service as someone's work truck.
The driver's side floor pan in the sunken area is shot. The passenger side is fine. What is the best way to get the floor solid again without spending much money? Can a flat sheet of metal be formed and welded in or does a formed pan have to be purchased. I have a mig welder and all the tools needed to do it. This will be my first attempt at a floor pan. All previous restorations had good pans to start with. I do plan on sealing it real good and hopefully putting a rubber mat in instead of carpet.

1 question.

If your going to take the time to fix it why not fix it right the first time.. If I was looking for a truck and saw a poor repair Id be worried about what else was jerry rigged.

I had a '74 D100 with a bad drivers floor. When I pulled up the floor mat to work on it I found the floor had been patched with a Pennsylvania license plate

A friend had a mig welder and we welded a piece of sheet steel in place and formed it with a torch and hammer. When I traded it to my son it was still there. No idea where it is now, but I would like to have back the E58 Police 360 that I built for it.

my 92 had a soft pan on the ds. bought a new pan for under $100 and welded it in. good as new.

My old Ram Charger had a real bad floor.I cut a solid floor from an Imperial I was scraping.Fit pretty good and lasted the 5 years I had it.The guy that bought it had it at least 7 years with no problems.Rocky

I would just buy a drivers side floor pan for it. For the amount of time your going to spend beating, bending, cutting a piece of steel in there, might as well just put the right thing in it and be done ans save time. And it will fit and be right without alot of money spent IMO.

Too cheap not to fix correctly. http://www.mill-truck-body.com/807271l-dodge-pickup-81cab.html

cheap shadetree repair here...I used some 20 gauge sheet metal and welded in my own patch.

patched up the driprail/pinchweld/roof edge then sprayed the cab inside and out with 6 gallons of bedliner...that should keep it rust free a long time.

then swaped it to my 85 truck along with the nv4500 5 speed.

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Now that's gett'n after it.

I've put replacement pans in and I've put flat 18 gauge sheet metal in, and I've put 20 gauge sheet metal in. Once its all welded in, the edges sealed, a coat of paint and carpet or rubber mat installed, it makes little difference if flat sheet or a formed pan is used.

20 gauge is easier to work with then 18 gauge is, and if your rubber mat has the jute backing, it will rust out just as fast, its the jute backing that causes the problems. For the record, 98% of all floor pans rust out from the inside. The jute backing gets wet, stays wet for weeks at a time, and rots out the floor pan. Poor window seals, windows left open, poor door seals, holes in the the firewall, vents, or cowl, or snow & mud covered wet shoes & boots all cause the backing to get wet. Gene