Jazzman Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Gents,After a full inspection of the car I found out that although the floor panels of the car are OK (no rust) they are very thin. Is there an easy way to strengthen them without cutting and welding a new panel?Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferny Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 What do you mean by "thin"? Proper panels will have ribs in them which give them strength. If they have them then I can't see any need to worry. If they haven't them it sounds like someone got some biscuits for Christmas and used them to repair the floors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THe Maestro Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Could be rust damage even if the rust has been removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toomanyprojects Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Yup, I'm with Ferny, if they're thin then they've either been repaired with the wrong thickness of steel (I'm pretty sure all replacement floors are the correct grade of steel) or they've rusted in the past, been cleaned up and painted.How are you judging them to be thin?Are you sure there isn't glass fibre mixed in there?Is there evidence of earlier repairs?This is the best picture of a new floor pan I can find at the mo, I put mine in during the days before digital cameras and blogs..... As Ferney says they have pressed downed ribs for stifness.Infront of the crossmember is pretty much the same.As for repairs, if your floor pans are dodgy there's no proper way to repair them other than cutting out the bad metal and welding in repair sections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BODSGT6 Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I had a similar problem and we used fibreglass resin on a well key , rust treated floor plan , worked a treat. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzman Posted February 3, 2009 Author Share Posted February 3, 2009 The panels have the ribs and I recon they are the original ones. I just think a previous owner cleaned and painted the panels hence the problem.Does it make sense to use fibreglass to strengthen them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toomanyprojects Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 This is just my opinionI would consider the use of fibreglass to strengthen a rusted floorpan a bodge and would never do this myself as a permanent repair. If the floors are rusted the only correct thing to do is to replace them.However, as far as I am aware, technically the floor pans are not a structural (except in the area around the rear trailing arm mount) so there is no MOT issue with strengthening the floorpans with fibreglass.So, no but if it means you get more years out of the car before serious welding repairs then do it as a "temporary" repair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JensH Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 jazzman wrote:Gents,After a full inspection of the car I found out that although the floor panels of the car are OK (no rust) they are very thin. Is there an easy way to strengthen them without cutting and welding a new panel?Thanks in advance!What exactly do you mean by "very thin"?If not holed and otherwise in good shape (clean edges, structual sound at the seatbelt mount/heel board etc) I wouldn't bother.Give them a good rust protection if necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTsixCA Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I say that if funds allow and you have the time i would replace the floor, the new floor sections are pretty good these days so you should not have to do a great deal of pounding to get it to fit, also if the sills are on their way our do it as a job lot.I would avoid the "temp" repair as they always turn into the long term repair.The reason for my opinion is that i personally hate to do things twice, it will take extra time in the short term but in the long term it will take less as you'll only end up having to do it sooner or later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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