The Mite
Part 3
Floorboard and pillar replacement
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I cut out the old A-pillar sheetmetal and replaced it with a piece from Moss Motors. It fit pretty well and welded in OK after I removed a ton of rust and corrosion from under the skin. |
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The top seam that attaches the pillar skin to the cowl was actually lead filled! It had to be melted out with a torch and then carefully cleaned before welding in the replacement panel |
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The other side was only a little rusty, so a smaller patch was made and welded into the car. |
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These rusty, weak, thin floorboards have to go. The rest of the car is almost rust free, so I think this was caused by water sitting on the floor after rains. |
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Here's my new best friend, a plasma cutter. If you are doing any sort of fabrication or bodywork, you cannot afford to be without one of these. It cuts through steel like butter and makes very little noise and smoke. |
| Hobart Plasma Cutter Link | |
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The floorboards have been plasma cut out of the car and are ready for trimming and cleaing before welding in the new ones. |
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You can see all the surface rust on all the parts of the car. |
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A view of the patch panel on the a pillar |
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The car is on a stand I made out of some old beams and 2 x 4's. It really helps having the car at a comfortable level for work. |
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The shell in the driveway being washed and scrubbed prior to the new floorboards. |
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A nice dilute solution of phosphoric acid really helps to remove rust and creates a rust-resistant phospate coating on the bare steel. |
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New floorboard fitted |
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The new floorboard fitted and held in place with clecos. They are neat little clamps that go through a 1/8" hole and hold two panels together for welding. |
| Here's a link to some cleco's and cleco pliers | |
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Another view of the cleco'd panel. I elected not to replace the entire floor panel because it was much more work for little reward. This is not going to be a world class restoration, but rather a decent driver, so the patch panels will be fine. |
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Here's two of the panels welded and getting ready for finishing |
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Another view of the two patch panels. Notice that the center panel between the driver and passenger floors is in fine shape with zero rust. |