To get the new floor mounted properly, there's quite a bit of prep work to do. Because the new floor needs to be trimmed to fit, it will be missing the edge-flange that normally gets welds to the box sides. So, first up was measuring for angled pieces that will be installed to support the floor perimeters in place of those edges.
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With the new metal measured and drawn out, I got out the sheer to cut the metal into the pieces needed.
Once the pieces where all cut out, I prepped them with 80Grit on the DA.
Each piece was then bent to 90 degrees in the brake -
Next up was to drill holes for the rosette welds that will attach them to the box sides.
The new pieces where then treated with Rust Bullet
to make sure they last longer than the original metal did.
With that done, I turned back to the box, to prep all the areas
that needed attention prior to the floor going in.
The weld-areas will be marked and the Rust Bullet removed to ensure metal-onm mtal weld penetrration is possible.
The box's rear cross member needed some more work before being welded back on
and this pounding kit was just the ticket -
One side of the box required a patch panel, which was cut, drilled for spot welds and treated as well.
As I mentioned above, the Rust Bullet is removed in the weld-zones -
If you look closely you can see the spots where the welds will be have been marked in order to clean the Rust Bullet from them prior to welding.
The patch, welded on and ready for finishing.
The box is now very close to being able to get the new floor installed.
Using a mask in the shop really shows how dirty (bad) this hobby can be! Oh well, I've been sucking it in since I was a kid in my Dad's shop. Its good to know that guys like George Barris (Batmobile, Beverly Hillbillies car, etc) lived to be 89...
and one of the Gods of rod-building, is still at it - at 83!
