Hi folks,
I picked up two replacement floor pans from RustRepair.com. They are partial pans. Should I cut most of the floor out and just leave enough of a flange for the weld, or just cut out the bad stuff and lay the pan over it?

You probably need to provide a bit more information on what you want the end result to look like and how extensive your floors are rusted.

When you say

Quote:

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just cut out the bad stuff and lay the pan over it

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I have visions of a butcher job.

That's why I'm asking - I want to avoid a butcher job. The pan is rotted at the flat area on the bottom and the angled area that attaches to the firewall.

The new pan goes all the way to the door sill, 3/4 up the transmission tunnel, and almost back to the seem of the rear floor panel.

Obviously I need to cut out the rotted area but I can't decide how much good steel to remove. Do I cut out most of it and only leave enough of an overlap for a good weld, or do I leave all of the good steel and weld the new pan in over the top? I want this job to look as good as possible.

Locate and drill out the spot welds with a spot weld cutter and re install the ENTIRE new pan. No sense half azzin it because no matter what you do you will be most of the way toward what I just suggested anyway.

I would except the parts are patch panels and not complete sections. At the time I didn't realize what I was buying and have had them for over a year (project was stalled due to other issues at home) so can't return them.

It looks like I'll cut out most of the existing panel and create a flange to weld in the patch panel.

I'm semi talking out of my @ss when I ask this question because I have not yet done any panel replacement work, but I do have some experience with gas, mig and tig welding.

Why not butt weld the replacement section in? Some of the stuff I have read suggests that lap welding (with a flange) creates an area that is prone to rust again. A butt weld should also allow you to grind the welds down to create a seam that should be almost non-detectable. Again, I haven't done this on my car yet, but it sounds good in theory. I know I've seen it done this way in some of the mags.

Hopefully someone with some actual experience will chime in.

Anyone?? Anyone??

Here's a link to panels I bought : Rust Repair floor panel

As you can see there are two slits on the drive shaft side so they are not drop in replacements.

Now that I'm more familiar with the different vendor offerings I wish that I had bought the Year One 3/4 length pieces.

Your link doesn't work. It just goes to the main page instead of to the specific piece that you bought.

I'm in the same boat as you. I bought a two piece trunk floor from Year One years ago and have not yet installed it. Now, after having learned to weld, I know that I'll never be able to install the Year One trunk pans in a way that will satisfy me (the center seam runs through a narrow dimple in the trunk pan so that I'd never get that seam to look right).

My plan is to use these pans as welding practice sheet metal and just buy a one piece trunk pan from AMD. I realize that most of us are not made of money, but if I'm going to spend all that time and money to install a new trunk pan, then I'm willing to eat the bucks that I blew on the YO pans before I knew better, in order to get something I'll be happy with.

How much of your trunk is rusted?

The shop that is doing my Challenger was able to save much of the origonal trunk floor by using an old set of 2 piece floors as patch panels. The only areas that were rusted on my car were right above the shackles. The center area was mint.

I hate when sites do that

It's a '71 Charger. Click on the details button for part 74-70-72-LH.

I wish that I could eat the cost but I have two kids in college and it's running over $50k/yr. It's pretty tough coming up with that kind of money.

I'm looking at it this way:
1. this is my first project of this magnitude so there will be some areas that I'm not thrilled with.
2. The inside of the floor will be covered with sound damping material.
3. If you want to look up inside my drive shaft tunnel have it.