Any suggestions?

I have a79 F-159 4x4 and took the carpet out to redo the cab. Have a lot of rust & a weak floor!

Any ideas for an inexpensive fix?

 

*cringe* tiger hair and epoxy paint, or rivets...

 

Any more details on tiger hair and the type/brand of epoxy paint!

 

That's such a hack job, but basically, fix whatever you want with a liberal amount of tiger hair, then put some POR 15 or Hurculiner or Spray on bedliner, anything that, all over the floor.

 

Cut out the rusted areas and weld in replacement panels. Floor pans are available from many aftermarket manufacturers......

 

It's true.... It's Tiger Hair and expoxy jobs that make people like Dave and I curse people like you. There's nothing like trying to grind a floor down and realizeing 'Hey, this is all fiberglass. Lovely.'

 

I just replaced the floor pans in my '73. I wasn't too bad of a job. But you will need a sawzall or plasma cutter and a welder. I cut out the old floor pans and welded in new ones. I also had rusted cab mounts so I replaced them at the same time. Total cost was $150 for parts and a days work.

Keep in mind if you intend on keeping the pickup - it's always cheaper/easier to do it right the first time. I've learned that lesson the hard way - more that once...

Marty

 

go to your local big box construction store, find some 3 x 5 flashing material,take out seats,put tin in and beat and trim to fit floor pop rivit it in. works great cost was 20 bucks total.

 

Sorry I don't follow, 3 foot x 5 foot tin? How thick was it?

 

Pop rivet a piece of tin over a rusted out floor???? I suppose you could do that, but all it does is cover the rust. The rust will keep spreading and eventually the entire cab will be junk. Might as well just glue some fiberglass mat over the rusted floor.

If you don't have time to do it right the first time, when are you going to find time to do it over???? IMO, we should just leave the hack jobs to the chebbie boys.

 

On my 78, the rear structural support for the cab where it attached to the frame was so rusted it collapsed and the back of the cab dropped an inch or so. I cut about a foot or so of the floor out of the cab and welded in a 2x4 steel channel and new sheet metal. All of which I got from the scrap yard.

This past winter, I cut out the floor pans from the hump to the rocker panel and welded in 1/16" steel. That also came from the scrap yard. About 75% of my floor has been replaced now.

While cutting out the old stuff, I found just about every type of patch job you can think of. From aluminum siding riveted on, to bondo and fiberglass. Pretty poor job, too.

Kevin K.

 

You could try this. Get a newspaper and cut it into 2" wide strips. Youll need about 40 strips per square foot of patch needed. Mix up some flour and water and dip the paper strips into the mixture. Lay them perpendicular to each other until the patch is about 1/2" thick. Let it dry for 2 days then use some duct tape and cover the hole in the floor with it. Won't cost you any more than a Sunday newspaper and is really strong. Did you ever try to break a 1/2" piniata?

 

"You could try this. Get a newspaper and cut it into 2" wide strips. Youll need about 40 strips per square foot of patch needed. Mix up some flour and water and dip the paper strips into the mixture. Lay them perpendicular to each other until the patch is about 1/2" thick. Let it dry for 2 days then use some duct tape and cover the hole in the floor with it. Won't cost you any more than a Sunday newspaper and is really strong. Did you ever try to break a 1/2" piniata? "

ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!