I need something to hold the carpet up

[jaybee]

Now that my 57 Chevy project is finally getting away from a dead stop again I'm looking a lot more closely at the upcoming jobs.  Before I can lift it off the chassis it's going to need floor pans and rockers.  Now, I'm all for doing things right, but a full set of reproduction floors will run almost $1000.00 delivered.  Looking it over carefully the floor is virtually flat except for the driveshaft/transmission tunnel and a rise under the front seat that doesn't seem to have any use (exept probably to stiffen the stamping).  Of course there are also ribs stamped in to stiffen it in various places.  Keeping in mind this is a 2 door wagon and therefore under no circumstances is it worth as much as a Bel Air Hardtop, will I ruin the value of the car if I fab floors, inner rockers, and similar "underneath" parts myself?  I'm not starting with enough car to be restorable, it's going to be a pure hot rod.

[Dirk35]

Fabbed floors are far worth more than the "easy access for littering" holes that the years of rust have created.

Of course, proper stamped is ideal if its stock restore.

If its not number matching, proper paint code restore, Id personally make my own, or use aftermarket stamped or fabbed stuff.

[rooster]

The son and took this on recently, no experience! we have the attitude of ,its better that
what we had, and it can always be torn out and done again. The second time we would
have some experience. The only special tool we used was a harbor fright ele metal cutter,
worked very good.

For metal on the floor we used what we had but ran out of the 16G (the red stuff) scraps
we scrounged up. We went to Lowes to checkout the metal they have for sale, a 2'x2' of
20G was 32 bucks .We also went to the metal scrap yard for a look, the guy there gave us
a  housing of a old window ac unit that was enough to finish the floor (pictured). We still
have to install a door to excess the master under the floor. The rockers are shot on his 49
so we are not going to weld the floors in at this time, probly should have done them first.

[jaybee]

Thanks.  That's the answer I was both expecting and hoping for.  Nonetheless there are some out there who will maintain that exact replacements for original parts are the only substitute.  Once you start smoothing firewalls and other serious modifications I think you've passed the point of restoration to original so why spend more money by insisting on original reproductions for parts you can't see?  In this case the car isn't a candidate for restoration (too many little parts missing) and it will be heavily modified.