Inner kick panel rust opinions wanted

[BigBlueBronco71]

Hey guys I'm in the middle of floor pan replacement and have gotten most of the old ones cut out but have found some rust where the floor brace meets the inner kick panel on both driver and passenger sides





I have a bit of a dilemma because the only reasonable way I can see to fix it right is to cut and remove the brace, fix the kick panel, and then weld it all back in which will take way more time, or my other thought was to use some sort of rust stopper/ converter, but the rust is between the two pieces so I couldn't be sure it was all contained

I want to do it right, because I don't want to put these new pans in and have them rust in a few years, but at the same time its not alot of rust and will set me back a while longer to fix

What are your guys thoughts, options, opinions?

 

[Bucky66]

Always best to get rid of it but if you really don't want more work, maybe rust encapsulation from Eastwood. They have a flex able nozzle attachment that and be inserted a long ways (think24") and when u spray it soaked the hell out of everything around it. Might be what your looking for?

 

[bobscott]

Mine was similar but a bit less rust. I cut mine out and patched sheet metal in. Not the best looking but I just ordered the speaker pods to cover the patch. Can't even see it with the speaker pods and weather stripping. I didn't feel comfortable leaving the rust as I knew it was rusted on the inside too.

 

[BigBlueBronco71]

thanks for the quick replies, ill look into the eastwood stuff,

If I decide to do it right and cut out the floor braces do I need to brace the body at all to prevent shifting or will if be ok with just the door posts and rocker still in place, everything is pretty structurally sound, no other rust than what Im dealing with

 

[Lunar-tic]

I replaced everything on the drivers side except the inner rocker. The part of the inner rocker that protrudes past the floor brace was swiss cheese with rust so I cut it off completely and I POR'd the rest. As for the passenger side, I think I am in the same boat as you. I thought I might be able to patch them, but after trying to weld some rusty parts (with bad results) on the drivers side I have decided to replace all of the passenger side as well. It is expensive, but I shouldn't have to deal with it again.

 

[BigBlueBronco71]

For those with rust in the same area, has anyone cut the floor brace out, repaired the area, then welded it back in or has everyone taken the fender off and worked from the outside in?

I don't think there is any rust other than right at that corner so I cant really justify chopping into solid door posts and rockers to get to it

I think I've decided to do it right and fix the rust now so it won't haunt me later, just have to decide to go from the outside in or from the inside out

 

[bigbird337]

I have a 76 and just replaced the drivers side pan. I too had that joint rusted out. I cut out the bad and re welded everything from the inside and underneath wasnt that big of a problem.