I've been contemplating replacing my entire floor pan and fire wall due to their awful condition.
While many suppliers offer these..ie LMC floor pan @ $600 firewall @ $300 plus $125 freight shipping for both..I think?

Someone happened to mention to me that these items are seized to matchup/weld to a piece of the existing floor and firewall otherwise there is nothing to weld to.
I was thinking of framing around the perimeter of these items and welding to that? Would this make any sense?? or stick with the idea of leaving some cab floor and firewall to weld to.

Anyone with this experience?

 

Dont cut anything until you get the patch panels, then you know what you have to work with.

 

In a month or so I plan to get on my cab also. Fire wall needs some minor patches, and I have the front half of the floor panel, and the rear corners to deal with after. #1 get replacement panels to see what your working with and come up with a plan for the best/ weldable joint/ area that achieves the repair work. Brace the cab and move forward piece by piece. If the whole floor is not junk, 18 ga sheetmetal smaller patches may work if there just flat areas, and it allows you to get some practice.

 

Remember it gets covered up with a floor mat or carpet so it doesn't have to look great.

 

If the panels are ordered, like already said, wait until they arrive before doing any cutting. Bracing the cab will be a must.



I used 14 gauge steel, braked locally for $ 90.00 because shipping seemed too pricey for me. Left as much of the original floor up the firewall as I could.

I did brace along each door from pillar to pillar with 1 1/2" angle iron to firm every thing up, then laid my floor on top of that.

 

Abe is correct. I cut mine back to good metal then I used structural adhesive and 3/16" SS rivets to attach the new panels to the old metal. The more of the old metal that you can leave the stronger it will be. Just make sure that you clean off all the rust then prime all surfaces, new and old, even where there is an overlap.

The SS rivets are very strong and eliminate a lot of grinding and potential warping of panels. Since I will be covering my floor with sound insulation the rivet heads will be hidden.

I bought my panels from Mac's Auto and they were significantly less that $600, including the shipping. As Dave recommends don't cut anything out until you get the new patch panels.

Also I would recommend the solid, one piece floor panel as structurally it is much more solid and goes all the way back over the seat riser. You can cut it to match the solid metal.







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Thanks Pete..just ordered this from Mac's $120..nice price for complete bed thank you.

Would you mind helping a bit further with these SS rivets you described..truthfully I've never worked with rivets before..where can I get them..what tools will I need to install them and how are they installed?
BTW..I like tip49's bracing idea..I think I'll try that also. (with 2x4's..don't know how to weld)

Also if you don't mind take a look at some issues I face with inside rear of my cab and rear cab corners..just ordered rear cab corners this morning however I'm not sure the complete cab floor pan is going to solve my inside rear cab issue. "What say you"..thanks



Your additional input would be extremely appreciated and helpful.
Thanks.
Rich
Delray Beach, Florida

 

Just realized the pan I ordered from Mac's is the front part of the pan only..opps!
Oh well another lesson learned in my journey.

 

 

Better LMC pic..outlined in Red..$599.99
versus Mac's pan..
No worries I can make this work and can save some $$ as well.

 

To be clear, tack brace your cab side to side, and cross support prior to doing any cutting of the existing floor to prevent the cab shifting. Remove the bracing after you have installed the floor. If you are going to rivet the new floor to the old by overlapping the edges, I would definitely try to seal between the two pieces to prevent ingress of moisture along the seam. I also applied rattle can bed liner (rhino skin or similar) over primer on the inner and outer cab floor surface.




I used 1 1/2" angle iron welding along the door openings, as mine were badly rusted. I would avoid using wood product as it will eventually rot out.




Good luck with your floor project.

 

I hear ya tip49..but as I said I don't know how to weld!

 

I thought you just udsed the bracing as temporary before installing the floor pan..but i see what you mean..thanks

 

If you don't brace it good, the doors may not fit

 

Can you provide some picture of what your floor looks like now, particularly the bad spots? I did not have to brace mine and it fit right back onto the frame just fine. But I replaced one rocker panel first before cutting into the floor. It all depends upon how far gone the structural parts of the cab are.

i'll get you more info on the rivets tomorrow. In place of welding you could use plywood panels and sheet metal screws if necessary.