Patching a Floor

[blown240]

I have an area that I need to patch on the floor of my 51. I have a couple questions.

1. Some say weld, some say rivet, some say glue the panel in. Whats best?
2. one of the seams is going to be directly over the frame rail. Does that effect anything on how I do this?

[phat46]

I'd say weld, with no overlap, I fully weld mine, but i know guys that just do skip welds and use seam sealer for the unwelded areas.  Or you could do like someone did before I bought my '46, just chuck a shingle or two over the hole and tar it right in place!!!      

[Sean]

just chuck a shingle or two over the hole and tar it right in place!!!      

Nah, license plates work better than shingles...

I have heard good things about that automotive glue. If I were going to weld it though, I'd butt weld it. Lap welding it would be easier, but it would also leave more places for water to collect in.

[Rayvyn]

I have an area that I need to patch on the floor of my 51. I have a couple questions.

1. Some say weld, some say rivet, some say glue the panel in. Whats best?
2. one of the seams is going to be directly over the frame rail. Does that effect anything on how I do this?

Here's another lowbuck solution: Use old metal signs like this guy did.

Top notch ride-weld and grind so the carpet fits flush.

low buck ride-stainless rivets and a little gutter caulk.

Really low buck-plexiglass glued down like I found in my Chevelle after I bought it.

[Arnold]

I'd say weld, with no overlap, I fully weld mine, but i know guys that just do skip welds and use seam sealer for the unwelded areas.  Or you could do like someone did before I bought my '46, just chuck a shingle or two over the hole and tar it right in place!!!      

  TOO FUNNY!! Thanks for the laugh..I needed it..
 HAHA.. Heavy cardboard.2 reasons Thick absorbent cardboard too.Reason for that too.
    Cardboard  in place.Do not drive,  or get it wet! Get some of the extremely heavy fiberglass cloth..I forget the weight of it but man oh man is it heavy! No..this is not mat.It is cloth.Very soft,thick and heavy.I think they refer to it in the trade here as "gun cloth".You will need to get this from a plastic supplier.
  Get the cardboard area as level as possible.You also need some sort of a border to control the resin.
  Oh yeah..you need a good heater in the beater if it is cold.And gas in it.
  Start beater.Heater on high.Simply pour resin over the cloth and cardboard.Have beer and chcken wings..go to sleep.Wake up and job is done.
  Plywood..licence plates..sheet metal.NAaaaa...tricky to seal the edges from the bottom. to keep the water out.
  The resin will soak into and through the cardboard.Giving you a double layer.

  On a more serious note.I did a very good job on a truck cab floor a long time ago that was not easy.In a similar fashion.Get some heavy duty window screening.Some of this stuff is rip proof and super strong.You can use this as a base.Attach..or find a place to attach this and cloth and resin it and away you go.Tint up the resin if you want.The resin will soak into and through the screen hiding it.You can of course thicken the resin.
 I was telling someone else of this who was going to get into some floor work..there were no structural or safety issues..and this person wasn't in a position to cut/fabricate etc.He talked with me and the plastic supplier and decided to do this in a Kevlar cloth,epoxy.
  Restoration work aside..doing it "properly" etc. The quality of this job..done obviouslly without cutting/welding..was * near perfect.
  If there is a serious drawback to the Kevlar/epoxy resin route.It is the sheer hardness and strength of some of the different mixes.This plastic supplier has some demo's in his shop of bullet proof work.All kinds of bullets.If you get carried away with the strength..you could find yourself with a gooey.. hard as glass..next to impossible to grind or cut spot.This stuff ain't fiberglass.

  There were experiments in the early 1970's of using some of these types of "plastics"..in the manufacture of engine parts.A best buddy of mine was into this stuff.Pistons,rods.First the stuff ended up so hard they couldn't machine it.Then for the pistons as an example there was no thermal expansion.They tried coating some crank journals..but the stuff ended up so hard that oil couldn't stick to it.The rms rating way off the scale.I think they did get some rods going..a bit of a softer brew..but the machining process produced noxious fumes.
  It was thought the plastic engine block..stamped blocks and parts were coming..