69 Super Bee Trunk Floor Replacement

[andrewwoz]

The trunk is my super bee is shot, I have a new 1 piece pan from AMD and am unsure which route to take to replace it. I am not looking to do a full restoration, the bottom of the rear window and dutchman has some rust and probably should be replaced along with the bottoms of the quarter panels. I may do all this work down the road but I am not looking to totally blow the car apart at this time, I do not have the space or money to take on a project like that right now, I also really dig the current old beat up paint job. One thing in the back of my head is not doing anything now that will make those repairs more difficult.

The pass side trunk extension is in pretty good shape, as is the top of the driver side, the lower side is not. Tail panel is in good shape and I also think the rear crossmember is salvageable.

Looking for opinions on these options
1. remove the tail panel - this seems like the easiest way to install but will things be hard to line back up?
2. remove the rear crossmember and slide it in - if the crossmember needed replacing this seems like the obvious choice
3. cut it in half or just cut a patch section out of it

 

[andrewwoz]

This would probably be the patch section I would do, if I went that route, most likely flange the driver side

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Remove the three triangular braces and the whole center trunk floor at the rear pinch weld point.... Slide the new panel up through the slot and onto the rails...

 

[andrewwoz]

Remove the three triangular braces and the whole center trunk floor at the rear pinch weld point.... Slide the new panel up through the slot and onto the rails...

The rear crossmember can stay in place?

 

[1 Wild R/T]

The rear crossmember can stay in place?

yes, there's an area between the tail panel & the crossmember, that is the trunk floor... Remove the floor all the way back & your left with a slot to install the new floor through...

 

[andrewwoz]

From the looks of it the crossmember reinforcements will also need to come off, correct?

 

[1 Wild R/T]

From the looks of it the crossmember reinforcements will also need to come off, correct?

Post 2 Remove the three triangular braces and the whole center trunk floor at the rear pinch weld point.... Slide the new panel up through the slot and onto the rails...

 

[andrewwoz]

Those are out but I still only have less than a 1/4" gap on the ends and the tail panel does not seem to want to flex. Do I need to break the spots from the tail panel to the trunk floor extensions?

 

[1 Wild R/T]

You might have to, mine's a 68 & it slid in pretty easy...

 

[andrewwoz]

So I hit a dead end with this method. I broke the spot welds to the trunk floor extensions, removed the rear crossmember and bumper reinforcements, still no go. Then I broke the welds on the support that holds the trunk latch and the 2 taillight housing supports at the bottom so I could flex the tail panel more, I was able to get the floor in up the point where it goes full width, but the front portion is wider than the rear and would not go past the trunk floor extensions. I need to replace one extension so I cut most of it away, I was then able to flex the other one down enough to slide the floor in more, probably had about 18" hanging out still but I could not tip the front of it down far enough to clear the hinges and still be able to move the floor forward. As far as I can tell the tail panel hangs enough below the frame rails that it will not work on my car. If you have done a 1 piece pan this way on a 69 coronet and can tell me what I'm doing wrong I'm all ears, otherwise I guess this is info for anyone in the future looking to use this method on a 69 coronet or super bee.

Today was very frustrating, wishing I had just split the pan or removed the tail panel from the start, since these are the 2 options I have now. I'm leaning toward just splitting the pan along the center of a frame rail so I only have to dress the top but would appreciate any input. Not doing a full resto, the rest of the car is far from perfect.



A couple photos the floor contacting the trunk extensions

 

[eldubb440]

step by step here.......

just a little off the back and sides please