Rear floor rust removal

[nad]

I'm in the process of sanding down and patching holes in my floor so I can do Herculiner. Here are some pictures of what my floor currently looks like. I'm a noob at this kind of thing, and all I have is a MIG welder, so I need some tips on what I should do.

Here's the super nasty rot on my drivers side that I have no clue where to begin on. It's the same way on the passenger side, but all the rotted metal hasn't fell out yet.

Me representing the CK5 shirt and using the wire wheel to take off some surface rust.

I might as well make this my "build thread" even though I've done the lift and everything already. I have a lot of body work planned out, and plan on getting new lift springs and doing a rear shackle flip rather than lift blocks.

 

[nad]

Wow this got bumped to the bottom really fast. Any suggestions on where I should begin with the cutting out the rust and welding?

Also, I'm guessing I should drop the gas tank and use some type rust proofing on the underside of the floor as well? I didn't really think about that until recently. Seemed like a pretty small project, but that's quite a bit of work.

 

[nad]

I also need to know if it is necessary to grind all the original paint off even if it's not rusty. I have been grinding it all off and laying rustoleum primer down on it for now, until I'm done and can start rolling on the herculiner. I don't know what else I need to do otherwise.

 

[TripleJ75]

You shouldn't have to grind all of the original paint...just grind around where there is noticable rust and where the paint may be bubbled. Just make sure to grind enough of an area to get all the rust! Grind everything right down to bare metal and then fab up some metal to weld in. Use paper or poster board to make the templates...and then transfer those to the metal (just easier to trim paper a bunch of times!)

 

[nad]

Good idea. Well today I took my front seats out and ripped the carpet out of the front. The big hole in the drivers side extends up past the drivers door. But the rest of my floor pans in the front are like brand new.

Also, the metal where the bolt holes for the rear of my drivers seat are have actually cracked and are falling through, which explains why my drivers seat was always leaning back. What would be the best way to fix that? Just weld a plate over both holes and drill new holes in the plate?

I'll have more pictures up of my progress tomorrow.

 

[nad]

Okay, well I'm progressing slowly, but as I get closer to the front, I'm getting to the holes where the front seats mount. I need some opinions of what I should go about doing to fix them properly. I've had a few different opinions on it already, but I want to know what you guys think. Here are some pictures. Help a brother out.

 

[TripleJ75]

I'd weld a plate over it...but first drill out a hole and weld a nut to it so you can still put your seat bolts in easy...

 

[VegasBruce]

Nad, your floor looks like mine use to. Its not hard to fix if you think it out first. You need to cut out all the bad metal and weld in new. Like TripleJ75 said make cardboard patterns, trim them to fit then transfer to metal. Tack everything together as you go, that way if you need to change a piece its easier to get apart. After you get it all fitted and tacked then you can go back and weld it all. Once you get started it goes pretty good.

Heres a link to mine:

http://www.4x4mecca.com/forum/4x4-tech-talk/1562-floorboards.html

 

[ShiftyK5]

Damn its too bad your 4.5 hours drive away from me, i'd love to come help you out with that floor. I have to do the same thing to mine soon so the practice woulda been great.

 

[TripleJ75]

Nad, your floor looks like mine use to. Its not hard to fix if you think it out first. You need to cut out all the bad metal and weld in new. Like TripleJ75 said make cardboard patterns, trim them to fit then transfer to metal. Tack everything together as you go, that way if you need to change a piece its easier to get apart. After you get it all fitted and tacked then you can go back and weld it all. Once you get started it goes pretty good.

Heres a link to mine:

http://www.4x4mecca.com/forum/4x4-tech-talk/1562-floorboards.html

Good advice...just take your time...even if your welds look horrible your learning and you'll only get better!

 

[VegasBruce]

Good advice...just take your time...even if your welds look horrible your learning and you'll only get better!

Welding is all about practice, just make them strong. If they're ulgy you can allways go back when you get better and fix them to make'em pretty.

 

[adamforsythe]

Dude your floor looked just like mine. I spent $500 bucks on metal and went to work building a custom floor.
http://myk5.net/floor-replacement.html MY ARTICLE
But if you just want to path them I would grind around the bad areas to find good metal and put a patch in.
Thanks
Adam

 

[nad]

The thing I'm worried about is how I'm going to get the holes drilled into the replacement sheet metal in the correct spot. It's hard to tell where they're supposed to be right now since the floor is caved.

 

[VegasBruce]

The thing I'm worried about is how I'm going to get the holes drilled into the replacement sheet metal in the correct spot. It's hard to tell where they're supposed to be right now since the floor is caved.

After the floor is replaced you just set the seats in and trace out the holes. You also have to reinforce the holes so it doesn't tear out again, with some 1/4" plate or something.

 

[nad]

Yeah, I have some 3/8" steel that i was going to weld right under the holes and just drill all the way through. I wasn't sure how to go about mounting the nut under there either. Could I just cut the old nut off and weld it on the new metal?

Also, anyone have suggestions on that drivers side hole in the wall/floor?

 

[VegasBruce]

Just cut and patch, or maybe you can find a junker to cut patch panels out of.

 

[nad]

Well that side panel is where the bottom of the seat belt is supposed to bolt down to. I guess I just need to use like 12 gauge sheet metal on that part so the seatbelt can be attached and won't rip through.

 

[hammermachine]

K5 tubs

It's amazing how these trucks rust out, and where. The first pic looked like the tailgate area, but it's in the mid body. Wow, that's some rust, I'm also a neebie when it comes to restoration, but I'm learning fast, and this site does help alot. Good luck!

 

[nad]

Yeah, my tailpan and body mounts have already been replaced by the previous owner. You can see where they had to weld new sheet metal in where both body mounts are, and also, they welded a piece of truck bed on the back over the replacement tailpan. Thank god that stuff was taken care of already.

 

[BGKYK5]

Post up when you get it fixed. My seat mounts are torn up just like yours, I'd like to see how you do it and how it turns out. If I beat you to it (very unlikley) I'll post my fix up.