Hot Rods Cost of replacing floor pans

Kruzin Karl, (Florida) Palm Beach State College offers a basic welding course

 

Kinda where I'm on my 39 coupe floors....not so bad....except under the back window - haven't found a vender that sells that patch panel....so all floor or ? Just add money sign here or....grab my units....and go !

 

Replacing floor pans 20 years ago was my excuse to buy a good mig welder. Mig welding could be learned pretty quick on your own. I did the full pans on my '68 firebird which at that time a reputable shop wanted $1000 per side. Different car but still a miserable task....I made patch panel floor pieces and 9 of the braces for my sedan delivery. Pretty basic stuff making floor pans.

 

how are you with glue?

 

If you have ever welded in floor pans it sucks 1500 is a good price I'm a body guy and that would mean the guy is making 10 bucks an hour it's a lot of work you may want to consider patching? Floor pans may open a new can of expensive worms

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Dude those floor pans look fine just weld them in better patch and move on unless you want a concourse restore forget it can of worms can of worms can of worms

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I finished the floor on my '50 Ford coupe just last week. I will never do it again. Pay the man.

 

I will be removing the body from the frame and will put it on a rotisserie. This could make it easier I would think. I wounder if there would be any body flexing though. I would think not. (Once I have the car apart I'll post pics.) The previous owner cut and patched the floor years ago and did a horrible job.

 

That's beautiful work though.

 

It'll flex like crazy, you don't want to weld the floor pans into the flexed condition. I make bars that go into the door openings, from the hinge pocket over to the striker. You make make pieces that bolt in so no new holes. Those bars are the exact distance of the doors. Now you'll need a couple diagonals, I make a bar that runs from side to side under the dash that attaches to the 'A' pillars, from the center of it diagonals run out to each structural member nearest the inner wheelwell, that is a very strong member supporting the roof etc. This diagonal I make with left & right hand heim joints so I can adjust the body and bring it all back to true. It helps if you make the door bars adjustable too. One thing you can be certain of, that old body is wracked and when you take it off the frame it'll get worse. It is you job to put it back to where it is supposed to be.
This is a simple brace so you can see how it works, you can see the bar under the dash and the one diagonal doubles as the door bar in this roadster. In this picture I am setting the door gaps on the passenger door, they are just sitting in the opening, the passenger door gap at the top was over a 1/4 inch and I used the diagonal adjuster to pull it as you see before welding in the new frame section. You can bet your car will have similar issues with worn out & collapsed body bushings.

 

Thanks oj, at least I'm asking the right questions.

 

Wow. I was imagining a clean Crown Vic with some floor rot. (People usually pamper Vics). But I guess you are going pretty deep. Isn't completely disassembling the car and putting the body on a rotisserie going to unveil a whole lot of things that will end up costing a bunch of $$$ ? (I don't know, I've never done it), or will the chassis separate fairly easily?

If it's a matter of $1500 in labor to properly install floor pans, is that not a drop in the bucket of a rotisserie restoration of a body? Again, I've never attempted anything like that, really just asking.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Dr. Dragon, floor pan replacements is one of the jobs I dislike the most. $1500 labor for floor pans installed properly would be a good price. The best shop I know of (honest, reliable and proficient) charges $40 an hour for labor. A full 40 work week equates to $1600 which should more then cover the replacement and almost the same as your estimate. Just make sure your guy is honest, reliable and proficient.

Gary

 

The car has already had a frame replacement. I believe all Crown Vics had an X frame? This one does not but the frame is in great shape. I have a high HP engine going in so I want all bushings, wiring new but it's not going to be a garage queen by any stretch.

 

HRP has the right idea, and the floors are the best place to learn. Sure you could take welding lessons and may find some cheap but I would say most of us amateur welders/restorers learned at home. Just get a decent welder and start welding. Sheetmetal welding is not easy, and butt welding (the way to do it, not lap welding) is even harder but with all the threads on the HAMB you should have plenty of guidance. You will need a welder at some time through the project and you will have another skill to fix the mower, swing set and other stuff. The one thing that I will never understand is how someone plans to build a customized car and pay for each and every weld. Everything will need welding, floor, rockers, bottom of doors, trunk, swapping in different cross members throttle linkage the bracket to hold the overflow bottle ...... you get the idea.
Try not to get one of the el-cheapo welders, they can be harder to learn with as some that I have seen do not turn the current off when you let go of the trigger, they just stop the feed. Much harder to fill gaps and holes.
don't mean to be an ass, just advice

 

you can learn on your own, that's how I learned to weld, but I was not very good at it...taking classes really helped, because it taught me some basics I was missing, and most importantly, it forced me to practice practice practice.

MIG welding is so easy (especially to do wrong) that taking some classes seems to me to be even more helpful.

Even if you only take torch and stick welding classes, not MIG classes.

but hey, whatever works for you.

 

Lots of good advice here. Here’s some from a moderately successful welding amateur.

Your $1,500 labor bid is a best-case scenario. I can pretty much guarantee that once your guy gets in there, he’s going to find issues that drive the price up at least 50%. In my experience, that’s how job bids work for hot rods and houses. Best to know that going in.

If you don’t have the time or inclination to learn welding, that’s understandable. But you if ever wanted to learn it, a floor is the perfect opportunity.

I leaned to MIG weld with a 4-hour crash-course from an experienced welder, reading a bunch of HAMB threads, and lots of practice on—guess what—a Model A subfloor.

I recommend getting a Miller Auto-Set. A little pricey, but as idiot-proof as you can get (says this idiot). You don’t even need to read a chart. Just set it for your wire size and material gauge, and let the machine make the calculation. Over time you learn to tweak the adjustments one way or the other—that’s what the practice is for.

Good luck to you, whatever you decide.

 

Howa bout a pic of your Vic?


Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

Did the pans in our '59 Elky, cost was $30 for the sheet metal. Get a Lincoln wire feed and you will be an expert in no time. Learn to spot tack every 1" or so then jump around filling in between spots. A small lap makes it much easier than true butt weld and once undercoated, can't tell a difference. Grandson did most of the welding on this. His car and his first welding experience.

Got a cheapo Harbor Freight bead roller to make it look fancy!

Oh, and forgot to mention we made them out of hunks of scrap sheet metal, didn't buy the $$$$ repops.

 

Lots of Miller Auto-sets online. Which one do you use?

 

I'll post pics of the floor when I gut it.
Willys 36, there is the smile of accomplishment. Well done.

 

nice looking car!
think how great it will be when you say "And I did it myself!"

 

I like that. You guys got me to thinking of all the welding jobs around the house. One is the frame under my 62 Y ellowstone camper.

 

I have a Millermatic 140. Nice little unit, but only120v--so pretty much good for sheet metal and brackets up to 3/16 inch. Next model up is the Millermatic 190, works with 120 or 240. If I had it to do again, I'd probably get that one. Check out the Millermatic line on their website.
EDIT: Just checked: the Millermatic 190 is 240v only. The 211 works with 120 or 240.

 

just don't forget, the costs don't end with the purchase of a welder. there are gloves, helmet, gas, "spares", clamps [i have dozens of different sizes] hammers, dollies, drill, bits, shears, snips, cutters, grinders, cut off wheels, sand paper and disks...................

 

Buy a welder. Spend a few bucks extra on a Miller. You will use it for so many things, you'll wonder why you didn't get one sooner. I'm a gorilla welder myself. Strong ugly welds are my norm.


Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

Check your local Vo-Tech schools. Most of them have an open entry/exit program available.

 

If you wear glasses, "cheater" lenses for your shield are available. Helped me a bunch. Nice car btw.

 

Love the car. Love the camper!


Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.