do i need to replace whole trunk pan?

[joshb1983]

heres my trunk pan in my 1970 belvedere...i new it had some scaling but didnt expect the rust that i found and the holes that it had...some are pretty bad and some are smaller...not sure best route to go...do i replace the whole pan, or just cut out the whole center section of pan and fix that area..or patch the holes and leave pan in just fix hole by hole...any help on this id appreciate..i never delt with trunk pans before or replaced one so any pointers,,advice,,how to or any other way to help feel free to post... i cleaned alot of the rust off with rust stripper to see what i had to work with and this is it..

 

[hunt2elk]

Sometimes you can change just the center section, but it looks like yours has some decent pitting over the frame rails. Without seeing more pictures, I am guessing you will need to replace the whole thing. Take a pick and dig out the seam sealer around the inner and outer wheel houses to check them also.

 

[joshb1983]

Sometimes you can change just the center section, but it looks like yours has some decent pitting over the frame rails. Without seeing more pictures, I am guessing you will need to replace the whole thing. Take a pick and dig out the seam sealer around the inner and outer wheel houses to check them also.

it does...i got lucky and its just the pan...quarters and everythings ok...previous owner coulda got a $30 decklid weather strip kit and could have saved me alot of work and money,,,whats best way to go about it scrape seam sealer out now and see whats there

 

[joshb1983]

Sometimes you can change just the center section, but it looks like yours has some decent pitting over the frame rails. Without seeing more pictures, I am guessing you will need to replace the whole thing. Take a pick and dig out the seam sealer around the inner and outer wheel houses to check them also.

go ahead and dig sealer out...i fig ill park car for year and start on all this stuff and have ready for next spring..

 

[greenmachine]

trunk

I am debating on same issue with my trunk. doesn't look quite as bad as yours, but who knows how bad it really is under the pan. good luck.

 

[roadrunnerman]

the pictures you showed us seems like the rust is pretty set in the metal.Is the outer sides of the trunk floor like that also? It might come down to you having to replace the center floor or maybe to the frame rails.Can you take a picture of the whole trunk area?I know my trunk is worse then yours in the center so i'm going to sit back and see how i can repair mine.Good luck on yours.

 

[joshb1983]

frame rails are ok quarters are ok and under seats ok it stops at edges of seams...its from them stupid rubber mats with foam on em they held alot of water...i just now pulled the whole interior out and i need to replace the front center of floor pans also...the guy let the heater core leak and ruined the front floor boards...the centers on front boards are shot...

 

[joshb1983]

heres front floor boards...very depressing when i seen how bad it was...that rubber floor with foam was the worst idea other than torsion bars mopar ever had..

 

[roadrunnerman]

i am replacing my floor on my RR.I went with the 2 halves.I know other guys have used the one piece.When you get the time you can check out my thread in the projects forum,also propwash,the swede.sgtpaul.and 68 charger nut and bolt restoration in the restoration section too name a few.that might give you a better idea on what you want to do.

 

[roadrunnerman]

I was typing when you put up the photos.those floors do look bad and in my opinion they would need to be replaced,less chance of rust coming back.

 

[joshb1983]

heres some pics of frame rails there in good shape...my camera sucks so pics a lil crappy

 

[joshb1983]

ill get some more pics and better ones tomorrow..the rust seems to be isolated just in truck pan,,,and both floor pans in front of car...other than that the cars very solid...i spent all day today going over every inch...big question is replacing trunk and front floor pans how hard is it..and how expensive is it...my dads a awsome welder and gonna come here from ohio to help cut them out and replace...

 

[roadrunnerman]

you're frame rails look good,which is a plus on your side.Maybe give it a few days and wait to see if other chime in.that will give you time to check out other members work.I'm only one opinion and i'm getting back into the body work/replacement after 20 year vacation.

 

[Donny]

Yes. This pan is junk, as are the floors. You can't fix this properly, patching is not a good option.

 

[snakeoil24]

I would replace the entire floor. This is not a hard job. All spot welds get drilled. You need to leave overlap to old floor for trunk extensions. This is easily done. You will need to remove fuel tank also while doing the repair.

 

[joshb1983]

i fig cut floor and trunk pans out at seams or a lil before...i only wanna do this once and fig all new is best way to go...so whats best welding Technic for trunk and floors? spot welds like original and seal seams or another way? id rather pay someone to do but fig it will be very expensive so my dads gonna do it and teach me how to weld better,,im just a beginner at welding...would u leave orignal tunnel and build off that? try to save all the good big peices of metal?

 

[Propwash]

I guess the questions are, how much experience do you have between you and your dad with metal replacement and what are your intentions with the car?

Your trunk pan(s) would run you 300-400 bucks. Floor(s) 300-400 or so. Floor pans are pretty straight forward. Drill out the spot welds at the lower firewall, to the rockers, to the rear pans, at the front rails and across the torsion bar x-member. One piece can be tricky to get into the car, two piece require more welding.

The trunk is a different ball game and requires more work. There are spot welds to the frame rails, shackle mounts, tail light panel, rear crossmember, trunk extensions, rear pan, trunk crossmember and inner wheelhouses. If you plan on ripping it out, plan on finding issues in any one of those areas it welds to. A one piece will not go in unless you either have a quarter off (marginal), or tail light panel/crossmember out. Two piece will go in through the trunk opening, but will have a weld seam down the middle. It's debatable, but myelf I would look into bracing the car if you're looking into a one piece floor pan and/or one piece trunk pan.

So, what are your plans for the car? Show? Driver? If you replace the full pans, less to worry about down the road and some other unknown issues would also be resolved, but a lot more work. If you're looking to show it, that would be the way to go. If you're looking to isolate the rust problem, looking for a quick fix and not worried about weld seams, patching would be the route to go. Especially if you're not really experienced in swapping out panels or major panel repair. Flatten the weld caps just a bit around your patches and cover over with seam sealer so debris don't settle/collect at the toe of your welds.

Myself, I believe there is no replacement for good OEM metal, flipside...what looks like good metal may be hiding something nasty underneath that will come back and haunt you. So, where does the madness end? Well.......It doesn't...LOL Welcome to old cars.

If my opinion counts for anything and it was my car, with no major resto on the horizon, I would patch them. One thing that should be put on the table with that is, down the road it is almost inevitable you will be changing out the full pans. Well, wasted money/wasted work, but 5...10..15 years later, maybe you were happy that got you by. Now if you were stripping the car down and planning an all around resto, changing out the full pans is by far the reasonable decision that should be made.

good luck to ya

 

[Propwash]

Best welding Technique? MIG....forget Flux-core, stick..no way. To re-duplicate the spot welds, drill a 5/16" hole and plug weld them.
If you're not replacing the whole pans, use as much of the good original metal was you can. It doesn't matter what kind of throne people put AMD or goodmark on, OEM is still better. Like Roadrunnerman mentioned, go check out the member restoration threads...Those will give you a real good idea what lies ahead for you weather you go patches or full panels

 

[joshb1983]

cars mainly a driver..maby a few shows but nothing big...it has a solid body and looks good so i prob wont be restoring for a long time...fig id enjoy for a good while and down road restore if i still own...mainly just wanna fix problem and have it look good,,a few welding seems is no biggie to me....id like to use patch panels if possible .my dads welded for 30 or so yrs but hasnt done it since his back went out so i dont wanna put to much on him..fig i can weld also and have him watch me and teach,,, just not sure were to cut the pans at..guess use new patch pans as templates?

 

[Propwash]

guess use new patch pans as templates?

That's one route to go..If your patch panels are a lot larger than the area you want to replace, cut the panel down to the size needed then superimpose over the repair area, make an outline around it with a light colored spray paint or marker. That will give you your cut lines. Myself I cut about 1/8" in from that cut line, just because with all the bends/curves in panels, it gives you some leeway that you won't be cutting out to far because of the offset geometry. Much better to have to trim the repair area down or patch panel a bit down to match vs. too much metal is removed. That can be a real treat trying to add metal. BTW..I'm reffering to buttwelding the panels. Some folks use the overlay flange method as well.

Sounds like you got a good teacher. Him having a bad back and you getting into old cars, sounds like a real good time to learn to weld. If you continue this hobby, you're gonna really want to have that skill