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Thicker floor pans ?

R

RedNeckCummin

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About to replace the floor pans in my 90 k5 and inwas curious are there any on the market that are thicker gauge then stock ? I'd fel alot better about seat mounting and other things with thicker metal so just curious if anyone knows of anything out there ?
 
I have no help here, but I just wondered about what to do for my '90. I was looking at the damage yesterday....
 
Same here. I pulled carpet from the front noticing it was wet and found some rust I'm not happy with so I'll be giving the truck and was hoping to find a thicker floor pan but hell can't even find a one piece floor pan have to do it in sections I guess. I'm going to replace it all, put a coat of chassis saver on it then a coat of monstaliner and then start work on the cage
 
You could buy two floor pans and double them up,paint or undercoat them good so rust wont form in between the two layers,or weld them together around the edges ..doubt any aftermarket ones thicker than the originals exist..

I have always made my own floor patch panels,the 73-87 square bodies floors aren't that hard to make patches for,having less stampings and curves than older ones like the 67-72 years..the toughest ones to make are the panels that go from the rocker panel to the side of the "hump" where the seat belt bolts to the cab floor that always rots away--you can buy those, but they are pretty thin metal..
 
I think what I'm going to do is replace the floor pans in the entire truck and then paint them with the chassis saver and then the monstaliner and then just avoid mounting anything to them, I'm goin to weld in cross bars along the floor and tie them into the cage and mount the seats and harnesses directly to that and be done with it
 
If you replace the OE ones all you really need to do is weld in some support brackets if you want them thicker, otherwise most of the K5 line did really well as long as it didn't become water logged (in the carpet and jute linings). I've never heard of there being any problems with seat brackets or anything coming undone from the floor without there being some massively comprimised metal already existing. I think if you just replace it prep and seal it really well it'll be as good as new and no worries!!! :k5:
 
I replaced the 76 chalet in 90 ,panted,undercoated,thought we did a good job,,but 9 years later it's has rust holes,so the sub, I put in,3/16 dimand plate,so it is a flat botton gril now,, put rust guy paint,but it will take a long time to rust,though .
 
I can't explain it, but I have seen two 1990
K5 trucks with no corrosion, (compared to Midwest standards) broken floors from around the seat mounts, I have a 3rd that is the same, had an '89 that was cracked badly, but my black '90 isn't showing much yet and it had the most rust. (I have 2 '90 K5s here)
I would guess that it has something to do with how the truck is used as well.....
 
I think the stock floor pan is decent but watching mine rip out my harnesses that I had bolted to the floor scared me a little lol
 
Many vehicles built after the 80's used high strength steel in the body structure,which has a harder composition more likely to stress crack,and requires a MIG welder to repair it--brazing or other welding methods make it brittle,and crack again in short order..this is why MIG welders started becoming the norm about the same time..
 
diesel4me said:
Many vehicles built after the 80's used high strength steel in the body structure,which has a harder composition more likely to stress crack,and requires a MIG welder to repair it--brazing or other welding methods make it brittle,and crack again in short order..this is why MIG welders started becoming the norm about the same time..
Click to expand...

Got any information on that one?
 
diesel4me said:
Read this a few decades ago in the "Welders Handbook" by Tom Monroe..(the part in gray outlines the high strength steel issues--also note the paragraph under the picture for further info-)..View attachment 217387
Click to expand...

Very interesting... I was quick to quip BS to myself but then again I wasnt even conceived yet when said changes would have been implemented. Id really like to know what combination of elements is in this "high strength steel" because Ive never in my short time on this earth heard of any mix of steel that hardens with heat exposure and slow cooling. Odd.
 
It is probably like the steel used in pallet racking and other high stress applications--it has a hard "skin" to increase resistance to flexing or bending,it wants to crack rather than bend...heating up the hardened surface draws out the temper and ends up creating enough internal stress to make it crack..

I have still brazed floor and body panel patches on my 80's trucks without much trouble--the high strength steel does love to warp though,if you use a torch..you have to be quick when brazing it and dont get the metal too hot in too wide an area or it'll warp up pretty badly..I use a wet rag to quench the brazed area to prevent excess heat transfer..not all at once,I apply the rag several times about 5 seconds apart..dousing it all at once usually cracks the braze..
 
So I don't know how to post these so that anyone can see them, but I pulled the trans out of my spare '90 and thought to take a picture of the floor. The driver side is patched and not easy to see. Here is the passenger side and a picture of the driver rocker panel to show how much rust it has.

I thought that I would show what I have found on some....

20161016_164345.jpg

20161016_164402.jpg
 
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