Looking for advice replacing my floor pans.

[Basketcase]

I'm in the process of replacing both the passenger and driver side floor pans. I have new panels from Wildhorses that extend up to the firewall. My existing toe boards (panel from the floor to the firewall) are in good condition with no rust or corrosion. I am considering cutting off my new floor panels just above the floor itself and welding a seam at the bottom of the toe board. Is this something that seems reasonable or should I cut out the existing toe boards and use the entire new panel? I'm not trying to make a concourse restoration, but I also don't want to end up with something that looks hacked together. I'm open to any input here.

 

[Rbuddy98]

I did mine like you are saying. Here are some before and after photos.
Hope this helps.

 

[RH]

Ive done it both ways, in my opinion it is easier to replace the entire panel.

 

[jeffncs]

I did the front section of the pass floor yesterday. I should have replaced the whole thing as I found a thin spot in the rear section. Now I have to take the time to do that when I could have knocked it our at once - shame on me.

The silver clips you see below are a huge help making butt welds.

 

[Wild horse 75]

Replacing at a factory seam would be easiest since you can cut out the spot welds and use the existing flange to plug weld the new panel to. But if you don’t want to go that far for whatever reason make sure you find where the thin rusty metal stops and go a couple inches past that. You’ll be thankful when you’re welding similar thicknesses of sheet metal over new thick metal to old sketchy thin metal.

 

[Madgyver]

Use new panels as you need them. you may cut off 25%-50% off of the new panels the replace the rusty portion of your floors. There is no commitment to use the whole replacement piece. Do what's easier for you.

 

[Basketcase]

Thanks for the input all! My toe boards are really solid, so I'm going to try to install the new panel with a good overlap and secure with plug welds. Weld through primer on all mating surfaces and follow up with seam sealer on both sides. You can probably tell that this is the first time doing metal work like this, but I have a pretty solid tub. If I screw it up and have to do it again to get it right it will still be less expensive than paying a shop to do this work.

 

[Basketcase]

I did mine like you are saying. Here are some before and after photos.
Hope this helps.

In your finished photos I can't see any line where the patch panel sits on top of the original toe board panel. How did you do that? In your fabrication/fitting photos it appears that the patch panels go up the toe boards about 2-3 inches, but in your finished photo there is no visible line where they mate. It looks great by the way!

 

[Rbuddy98]

That photo you are referring to was a test fit. I trimmed the replacement panel down ( about a 1/2 wide) to make it look like a factory seam even though there wasn’t a seam there. The replacement over laps the original floor board and I plug welded them together.

 

[jeffncs]

I know this question was asked of someone else but I’m jumping in anyway….

If you overlap, plug weld them so the panels super tight. I also solid weld the overlap seam. After cleaning up the welds, shoot some epoxy primer and over all of it and seam seal smoothing with a clean rag saturated with paint thinner. Your seams will disappear.

Personally, I’m a fan of butt welding to eliminate the overlap pocket which can harbor water and rust. Look at my pics above and you’ll see the tools, gap and spacing.

 

[Wild horse 75]

If you’re going to lap weld get yourself some quality weld through primer. Spray both pieces and weld them together. Then go back with the epoxy primer. Then hit it with seam sealer. Seam sealer isn’t always 100% it’s pretty easy to leave a tiny gap somewhere and the primer under will help insure you don’t end up with more rust. The more time you spend on your prep and fitment the better the end result will be.