Welding One Piece Camaro Floor

[Eric67]

I'm looking for some inspiration or for someone to knock some sense into me.

I'm fairly new to welding, I just bought a Hobart Handler 140 and have been practicing a bit. My 67 Camaro has a number of rust spots in the floor and I have decided to install a one-piece floor. I would like to think I can install this myself, but I don't have any idea what I'm really getting myself into.

How much is really involved with this? Are there a lot of really critically important alignments to consider, or is this more of a time thing? Should I bite the bullet and save the money and have a pro do this? I'm a field service technician by trade, so I've got mechanical skills but I've never welded on my car.

[another69]

I did a one piece on my 69 last winter and glad I did it. It was also my first time for a full floor, but really not that difficult, it just ate up alot of time. I would definitely recommend doing it if you're patient and a decent welder.

[MrQuick]

Very easy to do. Invest in a good die grinder, drill, spot weld cutter bits and practice buttt welding 16ga sheetmetal.

[ho428]

I did a full pan in my Firebird, first one I'd ever done and not to bad a job. Measure and mark the location of the subframe nuts for reference. Take the front subframe out. Cut the old pan out in pieces, don't attempt to remove it whole.
I'd go ahead with new seat pans as well, they don't cost much and trying to remove them from the old floor pan and car will cost you more time than it's worth.

I cut the biggest chunks out very quickly with a Sawsall to give me working room, then I used the spot weld cutter, air chisel and cut off wheel to take out the rest. Go ahead and get an Air Chisel if you don't have one. A China Cheapie will work fine and save your butt.
Also use ear protection, it's a very noisy job.

[63SW]

Where you located Eric ? Maybe there might be someone close to you that could lend a hand or advice ?

I did a 69 Camaro last winter and thought it was pretty basic , I WOULDNT DO IT ANY OTHER WAY AGAIN ...no more welded seams replacing pieces !
I have 3 69s and one is waiting for all new sheetmetal..I have it , just havent got time to do that one yet.

Like ho428 , i cut the bigest chunks out very quicly with a plasma cutter , Then got down to trimming and clean up ready for the new floor...

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A NUMBER OF BRACES IN PLACE TO KEEP FROM Moving !

I used the original seat pans , Saves a few bucks , does take a little more time , but i got a STEP DRILL BIT and just blew threw the spot welds... I took about 15minutes per side for me but im not new to this work.

MARK THE ROCKERS WHERE YOUR SEAT PANS LINE UP BEFORE YOU REMOVE THE OLD FLOOR FOR REFERENCE POINT !

[Eric67]

Thanks a lot for everyone's pointers and advice. I'm new to this (or any) site and it's really cool how this works! I'm looking forward to some more of this as I'm just about to start my first car restoration (restification?).

Hey 63SW, Stunning car, by the way, how and where should I brace the car? Do you mean to somehow prop up the rockers so the car doesn't sag in the middle when the floor is removed?

Does the new floor just basically rest on the toe-boards and trunk and wedge between the rockers? Should it install from the bottom? I haven't ordered the floor yet so I don't have a really good idea of what all comes with it.

Does anyone have an opinion on a good source for a high quality floor? I am looking at the one from Rick's First Gen.

BTW, I'm loacted in NW suburban Chicago - Arlington Heights.

[63SW]

Hey Eric Your not but a couple hours from me , Im in IN by SOUTH BEND right off 80/90.
I get all my parts direct from Goodmark and can probably save you a bunch over some of the dealers.
I even have a full floor here at the house right now!

I have heard the floor comes in through the front window but i'll be dammed if i could do it that way....
I brought mine in from the Bottom but i had 1'' square tube braces at the back of the rockers from side to side , and X in the middle , and a few braces inside the car , One just under the dash fron side to side...
Just to keep things from moving around.

If you look at your floor there is a lip in the front of the floor pan where the toe boards and the floor OVER LAP .. thats where all the soptwelds need to be removed , and along the rear going up nto the trunk area.
and yes , thats what the floor rests on.

There is a triangle shaped brace UNDER THE FLOOR PAN that welds to the Front of the frame rails , THIS HAS TO BE REMOVED and is already on the NEW floor !
BELIEVE IT OR NOT < I saw one where they didnt remove the original and just set it on top --- WONT WORK!

Anyways , If you had time and wanted to , You could stop by and i could run you through the process and show you some photos of the one i just did...

I also have a bare shell sitting in the garage done so i could show you on that as well.

Plus , like i said , i have some new parts here as well and can order anything you need from Goodmark .( A LOT LESS THAN THE RESTO COMPANIES )

hope that helps...

[ho428]

I couldn't get the pan in through the windshield either, turns out the people that told me I could had never done one.
So go ahead and pull the subframe, it'll be in your way anyhow.

The one lip you can leave if needed is the rear, it has a ga-zillion spot welds and to try and seperate the trunk from the floor can really tweak it out of shape. I talked with two local resto shops and they sometimes just trim it real close and lay the new lip on the old, which is what I did. The little 22 gauge lip thickness won't be noticed, but again it depends on how hard the old peices are to seperate, and whether you're going for perfecto.

If your toe kicks are rusted those came be bought seperate, for some reason single side pans have them but the full floor doesn't. I had to splice new toe kicks in mine. I put those in before putting the floor in to make the front lip overlap continuous.
Use your rear spring perches to help relocate the frame rails before welding them to the pan. The perches bolt to the pan and frame and help you locate the frame better. Install new frame nuts.

It was actually a fun job to DIY, I probably could do better next time but I've also seen a lot worse done by "professionals"

[63SW]

LOL at ho428 .... You hit the nail on the head there !
the word PROFESSIONAL is used way to lightly .... Just because they have a building with a sign out front doesnt mean squat !!!

a friend had a 66 Nova painted recently by a PROFESSIONAL shop:
we took it there after being media blasted and in bare metal with etching primer on it...MINIMAL BODY WORK WAS NEEDED !
It came back RED , but was worse than when he started ...$8900 for a PROFESSIONAL job ...

THE DAY HE BROUGHT IT HOME - i took a gringer to it , did some body work - a friend and i blocked it , I then re-painted everything seperate and then we reassembled it and then we wetsanded to 2500 and buffed for a quality job... AND NO TAPE LINES !

I think the ones that step up to the challenge to do it on their own deserve much more applause !
You get more satifaction out of it as well knowing YOU DID IT !

By all means , search out some assistance or advise like your doing !

The rear does have a lot of spotwelds , and you probably wouldnt notice the lip if you left one but take the time to do the hard work and the job will be as nice as any PRO !

No matter how good of a trim job you do , YOU WONT BE ABLE TO GET THE NEW FLOOR TO JUST LAY PERFECTLY IN PLACE ....
I used 1/4-20 bolt & nuts ( NOT SLEF TAPPERS - they'll strip befor tightening sometimes) in key pales to pull the floor tight..
I used them at the REAR as shown in picture , i used them at the TRANS TUNNEL where it comes down on the sides and then i had 20 clamps along the rockers by the time i was ready to weld..But the end result was better fit than factory ( But we all know cars werent perfct fits back in the day ).
Once welded , i removed the bolts and welded those holes !

I also used 1'' square tube and made a frame holding the rear frame rails in place ( along with reinstalling the spring perches just before welding it up )
i put a piece between the rails , and a piece connecting each side to the rockers , and a full length just in front of the rails then a V from that one back to the rails...I had no movement ...( IF YOU DONT DO SOMETHING THERE , THEY DO SPRING A BIT and getting them back correctly isnt easy !

It really isnt a bad job and if you like drilling spot welds ( I HATE IT ) you'll have a good time..haha

[Eric67]

SW, I have to agree. I would feel better about my own car if I did the work myself. Hopefully it will be passable, but luckilly it's on the bottom where a lot fewer people will see it! Also, you have a PM.

HO, yes my toe pannels are rusty towards the bottom, I did plan on installing new ones. Good idea, I will do them first.

[63SW]

good talking with you today Eric , im sure we'll get together and BS a bit.
Later.
Jeff