Ok my Pinto has rusted floors.The drivers side is the worst side. The hole goes just about up to where it starts curving to go under the pedals,and back to the front of the drivers seat. And from where it starts to curve up on the outside edge,to the flange or seam part of the transmission tunnel.
That seam has some light bubbles like,but not rust color and I think its pretty solid.From underneath,I could see a cross section that goes from side to side of the body just behind the front seats,its good.And the front,the there are two channel sections that run in front back direction.one on each side theyre both good.
Now the questions I have. How do I tell if its past being safe if the seats could go through? Or are the seats held up by more than the floor pan?
Can I just put in some sheet metal like 18 ga with sheet metal screws going into the rocker side, and into that flange or seam part? I dont have electric saws or welders,and I guess I cant hope for too many more years from the car,but the motor is still doing so well and the transmission was replaced with a rebuilt one.all the brakes were done recently,master cylinder and front hoses. Can I get 5 or 6 more years,or should I not be thinking that way?
If it were my 78 Sedan (family owned since new) I would do it. Hey, you never know, you could find a friend or someone who will weld in new sheet metal for cheap! I have a floor pan for my driver side, which has some quarter inch holes in it, but I haven't found the time to weld it in since I have my station wagon project as well.
How attached to the car are you? It sounds like you have a decent amount of work put into the car to keep it going, I would say go for it!
If you think you can get another five or six years out of the car, then it would definitely be worth the cost of having someone weld in either a replacement floor pan or a fabricated patch. I'd say go for it!
Dwayne :smile:
P.S. - Your profile shows that you're in St. Louis - is that right? If so, get someone here to help you with contact info for Pintony - he's a true Pinto guru and could probably help you or would know someone who can!
It is my old friend :) I bought it in 1986 and had the motor rebuilt in 1988.It cost $600 to do it and for me back then it was a lot of money but I know not anymore.It was rebuilt by a race car driver out in the country,and I still remember when I picked it up,after just 3 days I was a little suspicious,but I was sure happy when I got in it.Every time I touched the gas it threw gravel from his yard lol.
But to the point,does it have to be welded no sheet metal screws? Is the floorpan what holds the seats,so new sheet metal would need to be tapped threads into? And if I just patch it it might not be safe? What is areasonable cost expetation to do this type of repair if I pay someone?
I ask here because I have seen a few people discuss some serious work theyve done on Pintos,and know theres lots of good knowledge here to help me out with my old friend.
Please,everyone who has some input all share on this :)
The seats have studs that go through the floor & are held on the car by nuts. As the floor is a structural part of the car it is best you weld them in for structural integrity. This is a unibody car so the floor helps give the car strength. Depending on how long you plan on keeping the car & how bad the other parts of the floor are you might be able to get away with screwing in the floor for now.
I strongly recommend having it welded. Ask around, there should be someone in your town capable of doing it. Make sure you cut any rusted metal out and paint it after it's patched. If you leave any rust, it will spread.
I don't know for sure exactly how bad your rust is as far as, is the whole floor gone, or just some rust holes here and there? If it is the later, then you could also use fiberglass to help make it more solid. My hubby did it all the time with VW Bug floor pans and has done it to fix my rusting floor of my VW Bus. It dries hard so makes a pretty solid surface. Kind of like a boat! LOL Just don't go in the lake! LOL
Hope that can help you. It is a somewhat cheap and easy fix to holey (have no idea if that is even a word lol) floors!
i was into demo derby a while back and the sheet metal screws held the car together prety good. welding is better but for the short haul i would use the screws. just make sure they dont interfer with the peddels. on one car the gas peddel got stuck on a screw, made things interisting.
If you can not get some one to M.I.G. the panels get a flanger and a spot weld gun and spot weld it togather using screws to hold the panel in place the weld the spots. BTW fiber glass IS not a good way to go , the whole car is not a V.W. ie on the Pinto the body is the frame so use metal to replace metal, the V.W. uses a body on frame(pan) so the body is rigid by itself. BTW I have seen some floor pans for a Mustang II on Ebay and a little work they should fit......It might be pricey but it's better than seeing the road from in side the car.