948 replies to this topic

[Viktor]

 

Third layer is the rear valance

He's shown it removed in a photo back up a few posts, looked pretty intact, so maybe it's the remains of a previous valance or a boot floor as it looks like it's had a boot floor repair panel in the past..

 

Hi both, thanks for the comments. It might be an old repair as Colin said. It was very rusted in some areas and the layers were all bonded together. It was a pain to separate them!

[Viktor]

Today I started to remove the rusty area at the end of the boot floor, looking to get the repair panel in place. Some photos of the process:

 

 

I also cut out the battery box, to make it easier to drill the spot welds.

 

 

Quite a difference between the old and the new...

 

 

That is the rusty boot floor removed...

 

 

I still needed to clean the rear panel to remove the rest of the rusty metal from the old boot floor

 

 

Once I did that, I decided to try the repair panel. I have to say that I'm very dissapointed about the fitting and the quality of this repair panel.

 

 

 

 

It doesn't fit well, but also it seems that the thickness of the steel is less than the old panel currently in the car. Now, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I don't want to replace the whole boot floor, firstly because it is in a reasonable good condition and repairable, and secondly because a new heritage panel is nearly £300!!!   

 

I will give it a thought on the next few days, but any advice would be very welcome!

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

Edited by Viktor, 22 December 2021 - 07:24 PM.

[Ben_O]

You are probably going to need to splice, cut and modify this new panel to fit.

 

This type of repair panel is designed to fit over the existing panel as a cover panel which of course you dont want in a restoration.

 

Line your bumper mounting holes up best you can and make sure that the ends meet the back of the arch tubs as best as possible and then try screwing the repair panel to the existing floor across where you need to join it.

It should pull in pretty close.

Once it's as tight as it can be, you can mark your cut line and then remove the repair panel again.

Once you have cut along that line you created, you can then remove that piece of floor and offer back up your repair panel.

This is where you can do any slitting required to allow the new and old to line up.

 

Once that's sorted and welded in, you can the trim the back edge where your bumper bolts.

 

It's going to be trial and error as each one differs slightly bit with patience, you will get there.

 

Good luck

[sonscar]

You have two choices really,cut the new panel or cut the floor to achieve a good fit.I would use as much new panel as you can here(this is not always the best option)the corners where the subframe fits are three separate layers sandwiched together.Cut carefully and sneak up on the fit,it looks to be quite close to me.A small overlap holding it off in a few areas can make it look worse than it is.Trim and try lots of times.Tedious but rewarding.Enjoy,Steve..

[colinf1]

If you take a look at the upbuild series on YouTube, you'll see how he fettles the panel to fit.

Not looking forward to this section either, although I don't think I'll get away with a repair as I've rusty bits along the wheel recess and rear seat base...

Keep up the good work

[Viktor]

You are probably going to need to splice, cut and modify this new panel to fit.

 

This type of repair panel is designed to fit over the existing panel as a cover panel which of course you dont want in a restoration.

 

Line your bumper mounting holes up best you can and make sure that the ends meet the back of the arch tubs as best as possible and then try screwing the repair panel to the existing floor across where you need to join it.

It should pull in pretty close.

Once it's as tight as it can be, you can mark your cut line and then remove the repair panel again.

Once you have cut along that line you created, you can then remove that piece of floor and offer back up your repair panel.

This is where you can do any slitting required to allow the new and old to line up.

 

Once that's sorted and welded in, you can the trim the back edge where your bumper bolts.

 

It's going to be trial and error as each one differs slightly bit with patience, you will get there.

 

Good luck

Thanks Ben, that is good advice. I will give it a go to see if I can make it work. I have lots of time and patience, so I guess it should be okay. Thanks again.

[Viktor]

You have two choices really,cut the new panel or cut the floor to achieve a good fit.I would use as much new panel as you can here(this is not always the best option)the corners where the subframe fits are three separate layers sandwiched together.Cut carefully and sneak up on the fit,it looks to be quite close to me.A small overlap holding it off in a few areas can make it look worse than it is.Trim and try lots of times.Tedious but rewarding.Enjoy,Steve..

Hi Steve, yes I noticed the 2 layers of reinforcing steel (sandwich) where the wheel arch ends. I was hoping to keep those in place, while removing the boot floor layer underneath. Thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

[Viktor]

If you take a look at the upbuild series on YouTube, you'll see how he fettles the panel to fit.

Not looking forward to this section either, although I don't think I'll get away with a repair as I've rusty bits along the wheel recess and rear seat base...

Keep up the good work

Thanks Colin, I will have a look on YouTube, that always help! My boot floor panel is not too bad, although it would need a few repairs here and there.

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

[Viktor]

Good progress today with the boot floor repair panel. I took the advice given and tried the panel 100s times, adjusting it as I went over it, cutting here and there for the best fit. Some photos of the process:

 

I used the exisitng holes in the repair panel, to align it with the rear panel. I also used the subframe mounting holes to have additional reference points. Some bolts to keep it in place.

 

 

 

I cut the panel in the rear wheel arch for a better fit and fold the panel for now.

 

 

I also used the battery box hole to fix another reference point.

 

 

Quite happy with the aligment on this side 

 

 

On this side it needed a bit more of adjusting, but quite good as well.

 

 

So the moment of truth, marking up the line to cut the panel 

 

 

And that is the panel cut. I tried the repair panel slighly over and it looks good. I need to cut a bit more here and there, but looking good.

 

 

I still need to think about what to do with the corners, where the reinforcement plates are.

 

 

It might be easier to create a template and fabricate these with clean metal. 

 

So that was it for today.

 

Have a good Christmas everyone!  

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

Edited by Viktor, 23 December 2021 - 06:48 PM.

[colinf1]

Looking good Viktor!

I would remove the reinforcement plates and make up some new ones, they look pretty straight forward to make.

At least that will let you treat any issues that may be hidden between them...

Have a Merry Christmas and hope to see some more updates soon!

[Viktor]

Good progress during Boxing day, I managed to get the boot floor repair panel in place ready for welding. Some photos of the process:

 

First, I removed the reinforcement plates on both sides, trying to get them in one piece so it is easy to use as a template for the new ones I will fabricate later on. I drilled the spot welds from the stiffeners, to release them from the old boot floor and reinforcement plates.

 

 

 

 

That the first one out...

 

 

Then I cleaned up the area of rusted old metal ready for the new panel to go in.

 

 

 

And to the other side...

 

 

A bit of masking tape on the welding areas and zinc primer underneath the stiffener.

 

 

Same on the other side...

 

 

And that is all done, ready to receive the repair panel 

 

 

Repair panel aligned and ready for welding...

 

 

 

There's this area marked up in red, where the panel is not really adjusted. I will give it another go tomorrow before welding...

 

 

And this is how it looks from inside. The old floor where the spare wheel goes needs repairing as well. I will do that after welding the repair panel to make the area stronger.

 

 

Also the battery box edge needs a repair panel along the junction with the boot floor repair panel. Another thing to the 'to do list'

 

 

So that was it for today. Other than a bit of adjustment the repair panel is ready for welding.

 

 

I will give it a go tomorrow, hoping not to do any holes as I weld the new metal with the old floor. Fingers crossed!!!

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

[sonscar]

Nicely fitted,go steady welding tacking first then filling in spreading the work.Steve..

[Viktor]

Thanks Steve. The welding went well, with only a couple of holes, but these were not too big and I managed to close them out. Some photos of the process:

 

I started doing some welds between the welding clamps to secure the panel in position, and then I removed the clamps to continue welding along the line.

 

 

A bit of wleding after, the whole of the panel was completed.

 

 

Then I started grinding down the welds with the angle grinder first and then the belt sander for the final touch.

 

 

I realized that when having the correct gap between the two pieces, the weld penetrates better and then after grinding it is perfectly flat.

 

Especially proud of this area here, the finish is just superb!

 

 

 

And that is the whole panel done. I still need to grind down the interior of the boot floor and check for any small holes, but other than that this is now completed.

 

 

I'm not going to weld the boot floor repair panel to the wheel arch stiffeners just yet, as I want to fix the new wheel archs first. Also I need to do some repairs in the boot floor along the wheel arch, up to the back seat and the companion bins.

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

Edited by Viktor, 28 December 2021 - 07:33 PM.

[Viktor]

I guess all the projects have their ups and downs. Today was a big down for me   

 

I grinded down the interior of the boot, and all looked good as shown on these photos:

 

 

 

 

But then I put a light underneath the repair panel, and spotted a few small holes along the line of the welding. I marked them up with a permanent pen, with the idea of closing them with the welder...

 

 

And that was a big, big mistake!!! I started welding and making holes in each attempt    I tried to fix it, but I only made it worse. Now the panel is full of welds and completely distorted. I didn't take any photos, because I was very angry about it. I decided to stop working and take a few days off the project.

 

I need to reconsider my strategy with the boot floor. The repair panel is now ruined, so perhaps a new complete boot floor might be the solution, even though is £300!

 

Anyway, I will think about it during the next few days...

 

Happy new year all!

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

[colinf1]

Had you a piece of copper behind the panel for filling the pin holes? 

 

I wouldn't call it a disaster just yet, after all, it is the boot floor where the distortion won't be noticeable. 

 

I have been looking closely at your boot floor and its pretty much the same repairs that I need to do, and I too would like to just put in a full boot floor panel, but at £291 (€340) + probably €60 shipping and DHL import fees to Ireland, probably looking closer to the €450!

 

I have just watched "Project Bruce" over on youtube and Keith mentioned that Bullmofit offer free shipping orders over £100 if thats any help to you.