Changing trunk floor and extensions

[soundcontrol]

Just started this, was actually easier than I thought to remove all the spot welds, I was prepared for the trunk floor to put up more of a fight. Started with removing the braces for the tank, since they looked good, I'm gonna save them and use on my other project, got new ones for this. Then I cut out most of the floor so I could sit there and remove the spot welds and not have to crawl around in the trunk.

I am very happy with my frame rails, they look great inside, just some surface rust. Will blast and 2k epoxy in there so it will last another 45 years.
Ran out of spot weld drills, gotta get some new ones tomorrow, they do not last long.

Now, how does everybody deal with the spot welds from the inner wheelhouse to the trunk floor flange? The only way I could drill those out if from the wheel house side, and I don't want big holes there, since I'm keeping those. For now I just made a cut, so the flange of the old trunk floor is still spotwelded to the wheelhouse. Was hoping someone here had a great tip for me....

[Cuda Cody]

Do you have a photo of the area that you can't reach with the spot weld remover drill bit?      I'm not understanding where you are talking about.

[RUNCHARGER]

I would die grind it from the middle side and just make the remains of the trunk center really thin without touching the drop offs. Then wiggle the very thin remnants free from the drop offs. Then carefully dress down the balance, Don't actually touch the drop offs with the grinder.

[A.Gramz]

Die grinder with cut off disc.  Grind through truck floor side.  When starts to change colour the spot weld will pry off.  I might of used a 90 deg not my straight. It's been a while

[71GranCoupe]

        Now, how does everybody deal with the spot welds from the inner wheelhouse to the trunk floor flange? The only way I could drill those out if from the wheel house side, and I don't want big holes there, since I'm keeping those. For now I just made a cut, so the flange of the old trunk floor is still spotwelded to the wheelhouse. Was hoping someone here had a great tip for me....            

I had the same concern as you on the inners wh to the trunk. Looked at it for quite sometime and the decided to drill from the wh side. It will be an easy weld to join the the wh to the trunk and very accessible for grinding and any other cleanup details versus on the trunk floor flange.

Like the old saying, More than one way to skin a ct, now you have to decide which is "best" for you.

[soundcontrol]

The more I think about it now, I think I'll do the spot welds I can get to, (the ones towards the dropoffs) from the inside trunk and like 71GranCoupe says, the  rest from the wheelhouse, since its hard to get in between the frame and the wheelhouse with a drill and even with a grinder, its gonna be even harder to weld there.

Cody, here is the picture with the area pointed out. Didn't have a better picture right now.

Thanks guys, really appreciate the help!

[Cuda Cody]

   Get them spot welds out anyway you cam, but just be thinking about how you're going to put it back together.     You might need to drill out a side that you have to keep and plug weld it.  So just have that in mind when you are prepping the new metal.     I'm sure you're going to get it just fine.   

[jimynick]

Unless you're going to spot weld the floor to the inr wheelhouse, drill out the welds from inside the wheelhouse and plug weld them back up when you've fitted the trunk floor. It's simple and effective and, once ground, there' no trace of it happening. it's also easy to clamp up while fitting the floor. 

[soundcontrol]

OK, that  worked out fine, drilling from inside the wheelhouses, thanks for all the tips!
I got all the rusty stuff out now, time to clean up and fix a few patches in the wheelhouses before the new floor goes in.
I got some more questions though, (since this is my first big panel replacement, and I wanna do it right).

Picture 2, my old trunk dropoff and the new AMD, there is a bracket on the old one, not on the AMD, maybe I removed too much or am
I missing one from AMD? Mins has a rust hole anyways, I could fix that and move it to the new dropoff.

Picture 3, there is a hole between the wheel house halves in the center back towards the trunk, not a rusthole, looks stock, what is that for?
I have seen a lot of seamsealer there on my earlier cars, should I weld it shut? Or just seamseal it. Seems like all e-bodies rust there, the other side is rusted out.

Picture 4, what is the function of that bracket? (That someone broke the bold on and just welded it to the frame...)

Picture 5, the crossmember in between the framerails, is that supposed to be welded to the rails?.(it is not)

Last question, do I need to sand off the black AMD paint to bare steel before painting 2k epoxy on the parts I replace?
(I have seen some do and some don't)

[71GranCoupe]

If I am seeing things the way you describe, you are missing the extension pieces. One for each side. They do not come with any of the drop offs and are available at an extra charge. 

Here is a link to the missing part, and fairly inexpensive too.

http://www.autometaldirect.com/--p-5057.html

The welded bracket is suppose to be bolted on, rear bumper support. The captive nut welded inside the frame most likely came loose and it was welded back on versus trying to fix it correctly.

[A.Gramz]

Picture 2 is of cross member extensions.   There cheep probally easier to replace then to repair. 

Picture 3 my car had similar size hole:/ gap.  It was filled with seal sealer

Picture 5 welded to frame rail 

E coat (black coating) I scuff mine and prime over    

[soundcontrol]

The placement of the brackets for the tank, can I just use the measurements I took from my old trunk floor, is it very critical?
And can I trust that the center ridge actually is centered (2 piece floor). Or do I need to testfit my tank and make sure...
These measurements are metric (125mm are almost 5").

Do I add those to the trunk floor before or after putting it in?

I will probably make my own cross member extensions, don't wanna wait for shipping from the US.

[71GranCoupe]

The only sure way is to test fit the tank before welding. Seen a car once where a new trunk pan was replaced with new tank/floor supports and when the guy went to bolt the tank up, the braces were too close together. Never did hear what he did to fix it. I am sure it wasn't an easy fix. 

[soundcontrol]

The only sure way is to test fit the tank before welding. Seen a car once where a new trunk pan was replaced with new tank/floor supports and when the guy went to bolt the tank up, the braces were too close together. Never did hear what he did to fix it. I am sure it wasn't an easy fix. 

Yeah, better safe than sorry I guess. I'll try the tank first, gonna do a inspections door of some kind for the fuelpump anyways so I can measure and cut a hole for that at the same time.

[71GranCoupe]

The only sure way is to test fit the tank before welding. Seen a car once where a new trunk pan was replaced with new tank/floor supports and when the guy went to bolt the tank up, the braces were too close together. Never did hear what he did to fix it. I am sure it wasn't an easy fix. 

Yeah, better safe than sorry I guess. I'll try the tank first, gonna do a inspections door of some kind for the fuelpump anyways so I can measure and cut a hole for that at the same time.

It was a sad moment when the guy attempted to mount the tank. The one side fit against the brace, while the other side rode on the brace. Had they been a little far apart, no problem, but they were TOOO close, thus it sat caddywhompus.