Just when I thought with repairs to the wagon, I noticed that the drivers floor seemed a little soft. Sure enough there was a large area rusted out probably going back to when the firewall was rusted out. I should have pulled the carpet back to check when I found the firewall rusted out, but I didn't. This is they area after I removed it.

So once again it was time to make the trip to Pa and cut a piece to graft in. Fortunately they had a 4 door with a decent floor. The down side, the rear window had been broken, so I had to drain the lake behind the front seat, before I could start cutting. I used my trusty chisel that I had brought along with my cordless saws all , to cut an opening in the rear section to drain the water. Then I started cutting only to break a blade and then a second one, with only one blade left, and resorted to my trusty hammer and chisel to cut most of the rest. I ended up with a nice replacement section and was surprised that they only charged me $12.

Since the area about six inches behind the front cross brace was still solid I decided to use that for rear edge of the area to be cut out. The front cross brace was rusted badly, including the mounting studs for the seat tracks, so I drilled out the spot welds holding that in. I also did the same with the cross piece on the donor floor since I would have to be welding the new piece underneath it. I laid the donor piece over the rust out area and marked where to cut the section in the car, allowing for overlap. The replacement section was stepped flanged along the edge to make a good fit and the edges were sprayed with zinc rich primer. With the cross brace temporarily bolted to the new floor section to help suspend it in the right place, the new piece was welded in and then the cross brace was welded in and everything was painted with Zero Rust, to protect my new floor.

Before I finished putting the carpet back, I checked and sure enough, the previous owner had punched three holes in the right side floor to act as drains. These were welded up and the small amount of corrosion was wire brushed off and Zero Rust was applied. The underbody was undercoated, completing the repair.
Most of this could have probably had been avoided if I had taken the time to pull up the carpet to check to see where the water leaking from the firewall had gone, when I replaced the firewall two years ago.

One other note, the wire attached to the cross frame, near the door sill, is the fuel pump ground. I had forgotten it's purpose and when I went to move the car after I removed the cross sill, I couldn't get the car to start. After I realized the fuel pump wasn't running I ran a jumper to ground to get the car started. It's one of those things you don't think to check when you have a no fuel problem.

Nice repair , Frank


Doug in P.R.


92 Pontiac Sunbird LE, 2.0, AT, Red / Black with Grey 155K miles. Hurricane Maria Survivor ! ( It takes a licking and keeps on ticking ! ).....in Salinas, Puerto Rico!

GREAT Job!!

Frank, what you do amazes me!

I'm not able to weld, but if I did I'm sure it wouldn't be anywhere near your abilities!

It is great to be able to cut out something already heading to China and save an able runner! It is wonderful to have someone on here to show what can be done!

Keep WOW'ing I Love it!!



.

One other benefit of using a flanging tool, is that you can always use rivets and have the panel fit flush.