replacement floor.

[oakknight]

Need advice form those that know what they are doing. I am a novice rally at fabwork or metal work in general. my areas of knowledge are mainly electrical.

My 89 Blazer has its normal share of rust through . my main train of thought at the moment is to replace/repair the floor so that i can install a few parts i have already stored in the garage , to include:
essentially offroad 8 point cage
http://shop.eoronline.com/product.sc?productId=3&categoryId=-1

and a ORd 1 in body lift and energy suspension body mount poly bushings
and a new tailgate , as mine rusted clean through.

the rear threshold is bad from the water seepage around all the seals so i have those parts, the the rear section of the front floor in the corners where the back seat is. Also I had to repair thefloor under the drivers seat. it was torn through , im guessing when the P.O. wrecked it.


I have replacement floor pieces and can replace all of those things. my question is

is the floor still structurally ok for the roll cage to attach to it (after replacing the rusted areas)? or would i gain any structural integrity by lamanating the new pieces over the old.

My thought would be to cut and patch the rust , apply a good primer coat to the top of floor and bottom of the new panels. drill a series of holes in the new panels and weld the new panels down around the perimiter and on the inside mating surface of the holes drilled in the new pieces.

then sealing the whole thing up in a line-x type product.


then installing the lift and cage.

again . dont mean if this is a dumb idea. I am at the know enough to be dangerous stage really , and would love advice form those in the know.
thanks

 

[72blazerguy]

A. The cage would be strongest if you put a plate on the bottom side of the floor (sandwich) the floor between 2 pieces of steel. Then you could connect the bottom plate to the frame, either directly or with poly bushings.

B. You could also omit the kicker from the bottom plate to the frame and still have a fairly strong connection, but probably more likely to bend your floor up on the case of a rollover.

C. You could just make the rust repair and bolt the cage to the floor. Not as strong as either of the other options, but the cage will still provide additional protection (just not as much).

If you plan on bolting your seats into your cage, then A is the way to go. If you aren't going to bolt your seats to the cage, B or C will work. I used option B on my front cage (first generation blazer) and it made a tremendous difference in the stiffness of the body.

I wouldn't waste my time drilling the holes and additional welding. Cut the rust out and replace. If you welds are good around the perimeter, the floor will be fine.

 

[ryoken]

sandwiching metal is never a good idea... rust sandwich...

 

[72blazerguy]

sandwiching metal is never a good idea... rust sandwich...

How else do you bolt a cage to the floor?

 

[ryoken]

sheetmetal, not the cage...

 

[oakknight]

I don't do very hard core wheeling , but do enjoy mild to moderate. I am still fairly new to wheeling and still trying to find my comfort level.

Having the cage to the floor is more than what i have currently. My original thought is to use Diy4x' sandwich plates with the sheer pins through the floor.

 

[ryoken]

i use kert's staked flanges.. they're sweet... just either patch your bad spots or better yet replace the whole panel..

 

[doubletrouble]

If you put the new panels over the old floor without cutting out the old metal it will just rust out again in the same spot. Moisture and dirt will collect between the two panels and rust out even faster than the old floor did. You can go to the auto paint store and buy a can of weld threw primer, any place you plan to weld grind off the paint/primer and spray a coat of weld threw primer on then weld it. The weld threw primer won't burn off and keeps the metal from rusting.