Floop pan repair.

[Striker2237]

So I have finally gotten around to fully inspecting and planning out what I am going to do to my 1988 Aries and among replacing every line on the car I also need to repair the floor pans just behind the front wheels. I was going to do this by fully removing the dash and interior carpets then hammering sheet steel into place where the holes are and welding it down.

Can someone give me a quick run through on anything that I might not be aware of when removing the dash and if there is any flaw with the strategy I have to repair the floors?

[contraption22]

That's pretty much how I've done it. Grind out as much of the seam sealer as you can before starting. Grind out all that you can, because it's probably brittle, cracked and shrunken, and likely the starting point of your rust.

[jonnyb]

You shouldn't have to take the dash out, but you would want to cover it so that it doesn't get damaged from grinding/welding the floor area. I've never torn apart an Aries, but for shadow's, spirit's, omni's, charger's, etc. you just pull the seats, remove the door sill guards from the edge of the carpet, remove center console (if equipped), and then pull the carpet. The only thing on the dash that needs to be touched is where the center console bolts to it.

[ajakeski]

I haven't done floors in an Aries, but I knw L and P bodies have a thick insulation pad on the insuide of the firewall. This insulation is made of shreeded cloth fibers and a thick rubber mat. It really likes to smolder for a long time when a few welding sparks get in there.
It's a pain in the --- because you have to remove the heater box to get the pad out, but that's better than trying to explain to your insurance agent how you burned down your shop.

[Striker2237]

I haven't done floors in an Aries, but I knw L and P bodies have a thick insulation pad on the insuide of the firewall. This insulation is made of shreeded cloth fibers and a thick rubber mat. It really likes to smolder for a long time when a few welding sparks get in there.
It's a pain in the --- because you have to remove the heater box to get the pad out, but that's better than trying to explain to your insurance agent how you burned down your shop.

This is about what I had in mind as far as the how was concerned. Is the dash separate from the heater box? Is there any "tricks" or odd parts of the dash on one of these that I should know about before removing so nothing is accidentally broken?

I have a 2 door so I was simply planning on removing everything inside so I can freely work without fear of burning anything. What gauge steel did you use in your project?

[ajakeski]

The dash and heater box are seperate. There are bolts and screws holding the dash along the defroster on top, by both kick panels and underneath behind the glovebox.
The steering column has to come out first. Once you disconnect all the wires for the column, there are four bolts under the gauge cluster, remove those and the column will be loose. If you pull up on the coupler, the column will seperate from the rack connector.
Most of the bolts for the heater box on accessed on the engin side of the firewall. There is a strap on the inside that will be obvious once the dash is out.
Be careful disconnecting the heater controls and vacuum connector. They break easily.