Rusted Floor board under the accelerator pedal- VICTORY!

Hey Guys,

I know it has been a while since I posted but I thought I'd let those of you who care to know, know that I finished my little(?) project. I would have posted earlier but after finished up this floorboard and interior I then had to start on the clutch. As luck would have it the PO didn't align the Lakewood bell housing. So a order to RobbMC got me some adjustable dowel pins and from there I was off to the races. Oh of course 1 of the 6 flywheel bolts wasn't like the others and the pressure plate bolts were a mish-mash of bolts with some having lock washer and others not which I suspect is why I had clutch chatter to the max. Anyway, while I'll spare you the rest of the story and thought I'd just show you what I ended up with.

Here it is from start to finish.

After washing the car I now know why it rotted out. For some reason it seems as though my windshield leaks like a sieve so it wasn't the wiper pivots leaking like I originally thought. If anyone has any experience with replacing windshields please speak up! I wondering if perhaps I have rotten metal OR if it is possible that someone just didn't use sealant on the gasket....that is IF sealant is used.

Thanks!

Funship

Nice work!

No more Flintstone power...

Funship32 said:

View attachment 204003Hey Guys,

I know it has been a while since I posted but I thought I'd let those of you who care to know, know that I finished my little(?) project. I would have posted earlier but after finished up this floorboard and interior I then had to start on the clutch. As luck would have it the PO didn't align the Lakewood bell housing. So a order to RobbMC got me some adjustable dowel pins and from there I was off to the races. Oh of course 1 of the 6 flywheel bolts wasn't like the others and the pressure plate bolts were a mish-mash of bolts with some having lock washer and others not which I suspect is why I had clutch chatter to the max. Anyway, while I'll spare you the rest of the story and thought I'd just show you what I ended up with.

Here it is from start to finish.

After washing the car I now know why it rotted out. For some reason it seems as though my windshield leaks like a sieve so it wasn't the wiper pivots leaking like I originally thought. If anyone has any experience with replacing windshields please speak up! I wondering if perhaps I have rotten metal OR if it is possible that someone just didn't use sealant on the gasket....that is IF sealant is used.

Thanks!

Funship

Click to expand...

Very nice looking repair job, Funship!

Have you inspected your cowl in that area? Like many of us, you might have some pinholes (or worse) in your inner cowl just below your windshield gasket which is allowing water to seep through and go down to your floor. Just a thought....

Steve

Sixpaksteve said:

Very nice looking repair job, Funship!

Have you inspected your cowl in that area? Like many of us, you might have some pinholes (or worse) in your inner cowl just below your windshield gasket which is allowing water to seep through and go down to your floor. Just a thought....

Steve

Click to expand...

Steve,

Well here is what I did- I ran water over the wiper pivot, no water. Ran water into the cowl through the vents in the middle, no water. Ran water on the windshield- oh boy captain! We have a leak. So I'm just wondering if perhaps the PO or installer didn't put any type of sealant on the windshield gasket. That is IF there is suppose to be some there originally. I suspect there would be but...
When under the dash doing the pivots I didn't see any rust out. Surface rust yes, but nothing that said "hi neighbor, I'm your new friend Mr. Hole.".

Hey you did some nice work on that floor pan! Only problem is now what are you going to use for an emergency brake now that you can't put your feet thru the floor?

Funship32 said:

Steve,

Well here is what I did- I ran water over the wiper pivot, no water. Ran water into the cowl through the vents in the middle, no water. Ran water on the windshield- oh boy captain! We have a leak. So I'm just wondering if perhaps the PO or installer didn't put any type of sealant on the windshield gasket. That is IF there is suppose to be some there originally. I suspect there would be but...
When under the dash doing the pivots I didn't see any rust out. Surface rust yes, but nothing that said "hi neighbor, I'm your new friend Mr. Hole.".

Click to expand...

Since you didn't get any water on the inside of the car when you ran water into the cowl only, then I agree that your windshield gasket has a problem somewhere. (Could be in the middle of the windshield, but the water is running into the car above your pedals.) I'd have to call a windshield installer at this point if it were my car. I'd want someone with way more experience than myself removing and installing my windshield in a car as nice as yours. I'm not sure that they'll guarantee that they can do the job without cracking your current windshield, so you might want a contingency plan for that....

Nice job on the floor. I need to do that to my 68 GTS.

GetX'd said:

Hey you did some nice work on that floor pan! Only problem is now what are you going to use for an emergency brake now that you can't put your feet thru the floor?

Click to expand...

I have a cinder block with a rope tied to it. Figured I could just throw it out the window as needed. ;-)

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68chicken said:

Nice job on the floor. I need to do that to my 68 GTS.

Click to expand...

Good luck with your project!

Getting them out is not usually a problem IF you want to cut the gasket up. Razor knife away.
And if it is an old gasket, you might want to get a new one anyway.
(see next)
I'm a tight wad and only have experience on A bodies, so far.
But it's probably the same. If it is, MOPAR just used something like plumbers putty to seal that rubber to the metal.
Along with very little paint.
If the PO didn't take it out, there's the problem.
Believe it or not, when I reinstalled my windshields I reused gaskets. I kept them stretched between poles till I was ready to put the glass in because the old rubber will draw up when it is out of the car.
I used black polyurethane roofing sealant from Home Depot to glue the rubber back in when I reinstalled the glass.
With this method I've actually been able to change damaged windshields later without the rubber coming out.
I shoe horn them in and out with a multiple rounded putty knives.
If a B body is different, never mind.

Well executed sir. Hunt2Elk has plenty of experience trying to keep a windshield from leaking. Pretty sure after a few installs/removals, he's got a good system to keep the dash sprinklers from turning on.