Trunk Floor Replacement

[TexasStroker]

Man, just couldn't resist starting a new thread in a virgin forum

I've got a few threads across the net on 69 Charger trunk floor removal/installation...I'm at a different point on it now, debating what to do...

Just wondered how many guys cut and spliced the trunk floor on/around the upward bend/jump over the rear axle?
Where did you pick for the splice and why?
Did you butt weld, or overlap?

How did you handle the wheel well housing on the splice? Just spot weld the flange and then fill the seam?

I still have the floor at the point where I can pretty much pick from the shock tower back to just about a 1/2" up from the flat floor...(Simply trimed the peppered sheet metal).

For those who have been there, let me know...Thanks in advance!

 

[69 Runner]

This might help. It's a friends 500 undergoing a lot of work including the trunk

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?topic=33799.new;topicseen#new

 

[flypaper]

i replaced the whole pan as one.
you get alot better results not making any splices.
if you do splice, butt weld only
overlap is shoddy work imo

 

[flypaper]

 

[TexasStroker]

Thanks for the quick replies...I'll check out that thread.

I'd like to do the whole pan, but the top section (above the rear axle) is in really good shape (not to mention that portion of the RH side pan was beat up pretty bad during transit). I'm by no means a body guy, just a do it yourselfer
hoping to get this done to the best of my abilities and pick up some skills from it. Also worth mentioning is the car is in-tact. The quarters are on, the car is painted, the extensions are good...All that is bad is the trunk floor (it is a royal pain to get back up in there and work on the top section with everything in-tact, lol).

For what it is worth, if I was replacing the quarters or something, I would no doubt do the whole pan...Being a novice body guy, I think the splice is best for me...

Here is a shot:

Still need to clean the frame rails up a bit and then get the old floor's flange off the whell wells...

 

[TexasStroker]

This might help. It's a friends 500 undergoing a lot of work including the trunk

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?topic=33799.new;topicseen#new

That is a HUGE thread!!

 

[flypaper]

if that much of the floor is gone, if it was me, do it right and do the whole thing.
trust me, it will be alot easier to fight to get in there
then trying to splice or make a splice look nice exspecially if your a novice.
just take your time.
where you are doing it will slap ya in the face when you look in the trunk.
you are not that many spot welds away already.
is the replacement a one piece floor or a two piece floor?
for a novice i would say you are doing a pretty damm good job so far...

 

[TexasStroker]

if that much of the floor is gone, if it was me, do it right and do the whole thing.
trust me, it will be alot easier to fight to get in there
then trying to splice or make a splice look nice exspecially if your a novice.
just take your time.
where you are doing it will slap ya in the face when you look in the trunk.
you are not that many spot welds away already.
is the replacement a one piece floor or a two piece floor?
for a novice i would say you are doing a pretty damm good job so far...

Thanks man! I got slowed down by installing an air compressor and plumbing the whole thing (ie the shop...should have just run a hose and in-line filter to a cheap cut off wheel, gotten the car done, and THEN plumbed the complete system). If that would have been the case the car would be on the street and I'd just be plumbing a system; live and learn

My floor is a two-piece. I have had it for 5-6 years just waiting to be installed. At the time I ordered no one piece was available to my knowledge...

I may wind up doing the whole floor, who knows? I've gotten the hard part of it done.

If I can ask, what did you do with your bumper mounts (the wedge shaped piece that is tacked to the floor and spot welded to the tail panel)? Did you cut the new floor around them? Pry them up and slide the new floor in? Totally remove them?
I currently have one as is and the other I cut the tack welds...It does not want to pry up enough to warrant getting the floor removed, however is enough to slide the new floor in. I'm kind of at a loss on that one...Most have told me to just cut the new floor, a few have said to pry them up.

What is the best way to remove them from the tail panel? Mine is finished on the exterior, so I'm not wanting to go thru the panel or warp it etc...The spot weld seems smaller than 5/16" also??

Again, thanks for the replies and any help!

 

[flypaper]

i had taken the whole tail panel off as it needed to be replaced anyway.
so i totally removed them.
then from the old floor i stole the rear flange and spliced it onto the new floor going in.
i had a 2 piece also but i spliced the whole thing together before i installed it.
if you are not needing to remove the rear panel i would splice it in just before the end x member is before where you see the clamps holding it in the last pic and i would remove the braces off the floor side and try to snake below them,you could pry them up enough to do it and then beat them back down into shape.
its a good place to splice as it gets covered up by seam sealer anyway and you will never see it or know its there
the part i added on to the floor is the primed edge you see

 

[flypaper]

the hardest part of the whole thing was getting the splice down the middle good enough to make me happy. thats why i told you to try to do as least amount of splicing that you need to. its a pita to get a splice to look good when you can't hide it behind seam sealer and alot easier to drill out the old stuff then it is to splice.

 

[TexasStroker]

Thanks for the input and pics....I will hopefully get more time in on the car this weekend and see what I can't do with the bumper mount wedges...Cool you got to salvage your flange to fit onto the new pan (I'm still ticked my 2 piece doesn't have that ) The splice looks pretty good to me, I'd be content if I could dress mine out in that shape....

The good news is I will likely run a fuel cell which will cover most of the pan's center seam if it turns out to look bad...

Part of me wishes I had the extra space/better access that comes with other panels being off...yet the better part of me is glad I don't have to re-do them subsequently...

It is a shame the floor wasn't pulled and re-done right in the past at a repaint or something...makes it hard on the next guy...

 

[eldubb440]

i like to prime the pans and extensions first.....

 

[flypaper]

i just primed the areas that were/are hidden and blocked off and will do the rest all at once.

 

[eldubb440]

blah blah blah

 

[Darius]

i had taken the whole tail panel off as it needed to be replaced anyway.
so i totally removed them.
then from the old floor i stole the rear flange and spliced it onto the new floor going in.
i had a 2 piece also but i spliced the whole thing together before i installed it.
if you are not needing to remove the rear panel i would splice it in just before the end x member is before where you see the clamps holding it in the last pic and i would remove the braces off the floor side and try to snake below them,you could pry them up enough to do it and then beat them back down into shape.
its a good place to splice as it gets covered up by seam sealer anyway and you will never see it or know its there
the part i added on to the floor is the primed edge you see

I think this lower pic is the answer to your forward seam access. The back seat comes out pretty easily which would then give you access to that area.

 

[TexasStroker]

Yeah, I've known I could pull the back seat and have better access to the area if I wanted to...

I was always hesitant to that bc the car is complete, lol...This is all it lacks...It almost seems like I'd have to pull the seats (front and rear), carpet, panels, everything to keep it from falling victim to the rust dust, lol...

I suppose I could spend some more time in the neck breaking position and try to clean everything off prior to pulling that, then just use the front access to do spotwelds etc...I just know that when I pull the rear seat there will be stuff I want cleaned and painted, I can't stand to leave stuff like that untouched, lol...

I'll see how things go this weekend...

 

[TexasStroker]

Well, didn't get as much time in as I'd have liked...But the good news out of it is I'm fully single again, so more free time should be on my way

I mainly spent the time sanding on the frame rails, upper wheel wells, you know all the hard to reach areas that require me getting in painful positions for lengthy periods of time. I also started removing the undercoating from the wheel wells to finish them out nice and more importantly find the spotwelds.

Did have one question for ya'll though: What did you use as far as rust preventative coatings on the NEW floor?

I had my can of POR15 handy and saw how it doesn't like new/shiny metal...I want something of that quality that is going to keep the trunk from rusting, not just a spray that says it will...So what is the stuff to use here?

Also, for those that coated their frame rails...How much POR15/equivalent would you say you used? I've got one can right now...Trying to guess whether it will do the exterior and interiors of the frame rails? The stuff isn't cheap, so I want to get by with only what I'll need...

Thanks in advance for any input...