Another floorboard repair.

[Tony Hanna]

I finally got around to pulling up the drivers side carpet on the Sundance the other day. I knew there was a rust hole growing around where the emergency brake cable comes through, but was completely unaware of how large it had become in a really short period of time. This hole started out not much bigger than the rubber gasket that is supposed to seal the cable to the floor and grew to the size in the pics in less than a year.:eek:
Personally, I blame the carpet padding. It was soaked and with the non-porous backing on the carpet the moisture couldn't evaporate easily.
Anyhow, I started by removing all the rust and cutting out any metal that had rusted thin. The camera took a fit and so I lost the pics of the final size of the hole once I got it cut out to solid metal but it ended up being just slightly smaller than the patch itself.
Due to the compound curve in the floor and the fact that I was using 16ga for a patch, I ended up having to make the patch in 3 pieces and weld them together. I also did some welding underneath to tie the patch into the frame channel since one edge of the final cutout overlapped it. Once that was done I cut a hole in the new metal and welded in a piece of box tubing that had been cut at an angle to serve as a pass-through for the emergency brake cable. With that done I gave it a shot of "cold galvanizing" paint top and bottom, sealed all the seams and e-brake pass-through top and bottom with asphalt roof tar, and then gave the inside a coat of grey paint (mostly to keep the tar from sticking to the carpet padding).
Here's a few pics of the process minus the ones of the final cutout.
Enjoy.:)
Floor repair pics. (http://mysite.verizon.net/vzetqi9w/)
Tony

[devlish]

looks great all fixed up! asphalt roofing tar... good idea!! i used silicone.

for those interested... my floor repair pics here: www.projectglh.com

[Tony Hanna]

looks great all fixed up! asphalt roofing tar... good idea!! i used silicone.

for those interested... my floor repair pics here: www.projectglh.com

That looks great man especially considering how far gone it was to begin with.:thumb:
I'd have been really tempted to try to find a donor car and transplant a complete floor pan, but I'm lazy that way. I can only imagine how much fab work was involved making the patch panels yourself.:eek:
The asphalt roof cement seems to work really well. I figure if it can keep a metal roof rust free for years, it ought to do decent on a floor.:nod:

[Speedeuphoria]

Man that work sucks, I redid mine and it was a pain. The wheel wells are the worst. I cut mine out and forced some new ones in. While I was there I cut the firewall out and moved it back ~7.5"

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n314/speedeuphoria/Picture.jpg
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n314/speedeuphoria/Picture073.jpg
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n314/speedeuphoria/Picture072.jpg
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n314/speedeuphoria/Picture077.jpg

[Tony Hanna]

Looks good man!
Yeah, anytime you get into having to work with coimpound curves (especially if you're forming your own panels out of flat metal) it tends to be a pain.

[Speedeuphoria]

I dont have an english wheel or many metal working tools, shoot I just bought the welder for that job and it was my 1st time. I cut all the peices w/ snips by hand(wow that sucks)The metal only wants to bend one way, then you have to force it another. I'm deff not into metal body work where it has to be perfect, mines all but hidden so its alright

[Tony Hanna]

I hear ya.
Yeah, when it comes to floorboards, as long as it's solid and sealed up good so it doesn't rust back out, that's all that matters right?

[Speedeuphoria]

yep
but again I dont plan on doing anything like that again soon, if ever

actually you know what the worst part of all of it was. It was the very tops of the wheel wells on either side, that is the firewall right behind the strut towers from the engine bay. I couldnt get the welder in there nore the grinder to clean it up, but I did the best I could standing on my head w/ the dash out and painted the crap out of it w/ por15after some jb weld

[Tony Hanna]

yep
but again I dont plan on doing anything like that again soon, if ever


I may be a little crazy, but I actually enjoy it. That is provided I can approach the project at my own pace. I did the repair on the Sundance over a week working on it 15 minutes to 1/2 hour at a time. When something is a rush job because I'm doing it for somebody else, or I'm in a hurry to get the car back on the road that's when it seems too much like work.
I do alot of really similar stuff when I'm working like patching up rusted out sections of ductwork or boiler casing. It gets irritating because the plant people and contractor always want it done yesterday and would rather it be half-assed and done on schedule than take the time to do it right.:banghead:

[devlish]

i agree. i worked on mine more like 1-2hrs per day, about every other day for a week or so, but it wasn't so bad. not that it was the most enjoyable thing i've ever done, but i could handle that again if needed.

[Tony Hanna]

The really neat thing is that every time you attempt a repair like that you learn something or come up with a new idea to try out on the next one. I've got to do a really similar repair on the floor of my old Chevy parts hauler plus completely rebuild the bedsides for the stepside bed that's going on it. I picked up a few neat tricks for forming sheetmetal without the right tools from the Sundance that'll come in handy on this project.

[devlish]

do you really think i need POR15 on my 20+yr old omni? or is the spray on truck bedliner going to hold up decent enough?? i silicone caulked all the seams, laid it on thick. after it dried, sprayed a good coat of bedliner on all seams, let it tack, then sprayed the whole floor. i used galvanized sheet metal too. once the car gets on a hoist in the next week or three i plan to undercoat the bottom with bedliner too. (and silicone first as well)

[Tony Hanna]

do you really think i need POR15 on my 20+yr old omni? or is the spray on truck bedliner going to hold up decent enough?? i silicone caulked all the seams, laid it on thick. after it dried, sprayed a good coat of bedliner on all seams, let it tack, then sprayed the whole floor. i used galvanized sheet metal too. once the car gets on a hoist in the next week or three i plan to undercoat the bottom with bedliner too. (and silicone first as well)

The really important part is sealing the seams which you've taken care of with the silicone. Any open seam is a place for mud and road salt to build up and start the metal rusting. Aside from that, the idea is to completely encapsulate the bare metal in an airtight layer of paint. If you can keep the oxygen away from the metal, it becomes impossible for the metal to oxidize (rust). It's kind of like how a fire can't burn without oxygen. Take away one of the necessary components and it stops the reaction.
So to answer your question, you probably don't need the POR 15. Don't get me wrong, it's good stuff, but if you take your time and make sure there isn't any bare metal where the rust can get started, you should be fine with the silicone/bedliner.
The fact that you used galvanized metal for your repair will help too. The repair itself should last the life of the car, it's the original metal around the repair that you'll want to pay really close attention to.
HTH,

[devlish]

that's what i figure... the rest of the car will go before my repair does probably!!

[Tony Hanna]

Well, if you keep the mud/road salt washed off, and keep a good coat of paint on everything staying ahead of rock chips and other damage that gives the rust a place to start, there's no reason why the car shouldn't last a lifetime as far as rust is concerned.:thumb: