Floorpan replacement

[Force Fed Mopar]

Does anyone know what the proper way to cut out a floorpan? I need to replace the one in my '87 GLHS, and I'd like to know how exactly to do it w/o the body flexing or warping, and w/o cutting through frame rails or rocker panels and such. I can post pics of my floor if needed to show how much I need to replace. Essentially the whole pan.

[shelbymonster]

in my sc ive changed it all almost , even redid the crossframe where the front seats are bolted , i just cant find those pictures to show you ...

[135sohc]

The proper way would be to take it apart where the factory spot welded everything together. Drill out the spot welds and separate everything. So it doesnt look like you patched/replaced anything when you put the new metal in.

Brace across the door openings and some type of cross bracing spanning the interior tying each side together and the opposite corner. The body must sit on the suspension at normal height or on a very secure stand to keep everything as level and stable as possible.

[Force Fed Mopar]

in my sc ive changed it all almost , even redid the crossframe where the front seats are bolted , i just cant find those pictures to show you ...

Yeah I need to do that crossbrace also, mine is fubar'd. Car was wrecked pretty badly in '90 and sort of half-assed fixed, drove and looked straight but looks like hell under the carpet, floorpan has rust holes in it, a patch piece in the driver floor board, crossbrace is rusty and wrinkled up. Here's one pic.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/ForceFedMopar/GLHS/DSCF2385.jpg

[Force Fed Mopar]

More pics. BTW I have a parts car w/ a complete, perfect floorpan, firewall to rear seat, this is what I want to swap in. Can it be done all at once, in one piece?

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/ForceFedMopar/GLHS/DSCF2379.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/ForceFedMopar/GLHS/DSCF2380.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/ForceFedMopar/GLHS/DSCF2382.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/ForceFedMopar/GLHS/DSCF2383.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/ForceFedMopar/GLHS/DSCF2384.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/ForceFedMopar/GLHS/DSCF2420.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/ForceFedMopar/GLHS/DSCF2421.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/ForceFedMopar/GLHS/DSCF2422.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/ForceFedMopar/GLHS/DSCF2423.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/ForceFedMopar/GLHS/DSCF2424.jpg

[jory]

cut the rusty metal out and replace with the new floorpan. I overlapped wherever possible and welded it in. would I do it again? not to anything this bad.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d75/jvory/84%20Laser/floorpan1.jpg

[supercrackerbox]

Yeah I need to do that crossbrace also, mine is fubar'd. Car was wrecked pretty badly in '90 and sort of half-assed fixed . . .[/IMG]

You might do well to find a reputable body shop with a good frame guy, discuss the project with them, and have them check the car on the frame machine before and after to make sure everything stays straight. There's a good chance it needs some adjustment now, and will neeed a minor amount after.

If the shop you talk to seems even remotely uninterested, then keep trying.

[Force Fed Mopar]

I know an excellent body shop that will do it, he's right next to my friend's shop where the car is. Problem is, I can't afford it :D Anyway, I like doing things my self, and learning how to do things. The whole car looks like this right now:

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/ForceFedMopar/GLHS/DSCF2222.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/ForceFedMopar/GLHS/DSCF2223.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/ForceFedMopar/GLHS/DSCF2224.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/ForceFedMopar/GLHS/DSCF2225.jpg

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/ForceFedMopar/GLHS/DSCF2226.jpg

... only stripped further down. So it can't get much worse :) The body guy will lend us the frame puller, I have all the factory measurements to ensure it's straight. I was just hoping someone on here had done this before and could give some pointers. I don't expect it to be perfect or show quality when finished, as long as it is straight. It will be getting a cage of some sort, and I'm going to stitch weld all the seams when it's straightened. The rear frame will get reinforced where it's slightly buckled still from a previous wreck.

I had considered re-bodying this car, but ultimately couldn't bring myself to do it to a numbered car. I thought I had more current pics, I'll get some.

[thefitisgay]

heh have pics of the parts car? might be more worth it

[fuzz's84Daytona]

Do you have pics of the parts car? The reason I ask is because I have a floor from a 89 Omni that is as clean as a whistle and I would hate for another car to be departed to save another one. You can do what you like with the parts car, but it really sucks when another car bites the dust. Maybe we could do some swapping, as I'm restoring a 87 Shelby Charger that might need some parts.

Fuzz

[Force Fed Mopar]

Parts car :)

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b331/ForceFedMopar/GLHS/DSCF6664.jpg

Nothing really wrong w/ it, other than needing an intake gasket. Clean title, carbed auto non-AC car. I've been selling parts off it here and there. If an Omni pan fits a Charger I can do some swapping, I also hate tearing apart clean L-body cars :)

[shelbymonster]

why dont you use your parts car shell ? thats what i would do in your situation ... your floor look better than mine before i fix it , be sure to take the insulator behind the pedals they all rust bad in the corner of the inner fender(very bad on my 2 shelbys)

[WickedShelby88]

That old charger parts car looks like a clean southern car, but I applaud you for taken on the effort to save a numbered car. This is no different than what a few local guys were doing in barns where I grew up in Indiana in the late 80's/90's to the Mopars of the 60's and 70's. I'd seen far worse get a new birth. It is a lot of work, but it is definitely a labor of love for the cars enjoy most!
If you take the floor out like you want to I recommend bracing the rest of the body in the inside to prevent things from flexing out of whack. You may even want to put it on the frame rack to do the majority of the work to make sure everything stays in alignment.

[Knifed]

how's the rocker panel and subframe look underneath? are you thinking of installing a roll cage for rollovers or just to strengthen things up?

[Force Fed Mopar]

why dont you use your parts car shell ? thats what i would do in your situation ... your floor look better than mine before i fix it , be sure to take the insulator behind the pedals they all rust bad in the corner of the inner fender(very bad on my 2 shelbys)

Few reasons, mostly related to it being a numbered Shelby :) I could've re-bodied it using the parts car shell (particularly since it's also an '87), I even got a price on swapping the roof over (to keep the sunroof), but lots of people don't like that, they feel it's not the same thing. I'm kinda on the fence about it myself, but the shell is also a carbed non-AC car, so I'd have to cut holes for the LM harness and the AC lines to make it look right, and if I didn't it'd be a dead giveaway to a re-body :p It'd just be too hard to claim it as a real GLHS afterwards, even if I documented it and gave good arguments for it.


That old charger parts car looks like a clean southern car, but I applaud you for taken on the effort to save a numbered car. This is no different than what a few local guys were doing in barns where I grew up in Indiana in the late 80's/90's to the Mopars of the 60's and 70's. I'd seen far worse get a new birth. It is a lot of work, but it is definitely a labor of love for the cars enjoy most!
If you take the floor out like you want to I recommend bracing the rest of the body in the inside to prevent things from flexing out of whack. You may even want to put it on the frame rack to do the majority of the work to make sure everything stays in alignment.

Yeah I really want to save it, 1) it's a numbered original '87 GLHS of which there are probably less than 750 of left (if that many), 2) It is my first turbo Dodge car. I had wanted a Shelby Charger since seeing one when I was 14, then when I was 22 a friend said he'd sell me this car, best of the best of Shelby Chargers, on payments. I worked hard to get this car :nod: so it has some sentimental value also.

I will probably be working on it in my friend's shop, on flat level concrete so we can accurately pull and measure it. I was think to put jacks under the 4 corners of the rockers (which are pretty solid) and maybe under the 4 corners of the frame also, to keep the weight of the front and rear ends from pulling down on it.

Would it be better to do the floors before or after straightening the nose? Maybe I should pull everything back into place first, before doing the floors and quarters?


how's the rocker panel and subframe look underneath? are you thinking of installing a roll cage for rollovers or just to strengthen things up?

Rockers are solid, so's the frame rails. As for the cage, both reasons but hopefully the rollover never occurs ;)

[TheCanadian007]

I've recently replaced the floor pan in my L-body with 16ga galvanized steel panels. Pics and full details are in my buildup thread! http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41403&page=2 The tear out begins on page one. I didn't end up bracing the floor much, as I didn't cut out any supporting structure or crossbeam. Let me know if you have any questions or need any help!

Cheers, TheCanadian

[shelbymonster]

heres what i did in my daytona if it can help you


http://i31.tinypic.com/rsxv0p.jpg
http://i27.tinypic.com/2m6ahyb.jpg
http://i32.tinypic.com/5kk6qb.jpg
http://i26.tinypic.com/29pbx20.jpg
http://i30.tinypic.com/w1bsm0.jpg

[JohnnyIroc]

heres what i did in my daytona if it can help you


http://i31.tinypic.com/rsxv0p.jpg
http://i27.tinypic.com/2m6ahyb.jpg
http://i32.tinypic.com/5kk6qb.jpg
http://i26.tinypic.com/29pbx20.jpg
http://i30.tinypic.com/w1bsm0.jpg

umm what are u going to do for an e-break?

[Force Fed Mopar]

Well, nearly the whole floor is fuxor'd up, what isn't rusty is wrinkled from the 1990 wreck. The pass side is okay, I could leave it if I had to, but if I have to do the whole driver side and the tunnel, might's well do the rest. The crossbrace that the seat rails bolt to is totally screwed and needs to be replaced also. It really needs everything from firewall to the rear seat pedestal. I know when I did the floorpan in my pick-up we chiseled the old floor up off the cab frame, this looks to be spot welded the same way but I need to find away to get it chiseled off the rails w/o messing it up. I'll get some more pics this week, to show the condition of the old floor boards and what I'm talking as to removing the new one from the donor car.

Someone really needs to start making new replacement floors for these cars :)

[supercrackerbox]

Someone really needs to start making new replacement floors for these cars :)

Unfortunately, I really don't think there's enough of a following or even enough left on the road to make it profitable for any major company- and if they did it'd probably be very cheaply done. Thinner gauge metal, poor fit, and all that.

-Not that they even fit that well from the factory-

I think the best bet would be for a few VERY skilled metal workers to make them by hand as needed, but it definately wouldn't be cheap.

So that leaves us with pirating what we can from donor cars, fabricating what we have to, and making the best of it.

[shelbymonster]

umm what are u going to do for an e-break?

umm make a hole ... thats what it was and thats what it will be

[Force Fed Mopar]

I think I'm just gonna do the driver floor, pass side looks good. Driver side is rough though.

[WickedShelby88]

Well I did find you quarter panel skins. Scroll to the bottom.

http://www.showcars-bodyparts.com/charger.html

Someone on the other site said this. Don't quote me on it but worth calling around with the P/N.

"they still sell floor pans for a 1990 dodge omni the part number is 4512274."