mopardemon340
Well-Known Member
I need to replace the floor in the trunk on the 72 demon. How do i remove the old and install the new. It looks like theres an adhesive holding it all together.
Trunk floor pan
- Thread starter mopardemon340
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The "adhesive" is just a seam sealer. There's 3567 spot welds that have to be drilled out. Ok, not quite that many. But still a lot.
mopardemon340
Well-Known Member
thanks.. once the spot welds are drilled out i can then just pull it out?
Probably going to have to take it out in pieces. Not sure if the new one can go in, in one piece. I've done E-bodies and B-bodies. The two A-bodies that I did, it was basically a whole rear clip.
mopardemon340
Well-Known Member
Ok. Thanks
mopardemon340
Well-Known Member
What's the best way to remove the seam sealer. Just scrape it off or use a grinder to remove it?
Scrape/peel the big stuff. If you actually need to clean it, a wire brush on drill or angle grinder will make quick work of it.
If not going for originality, and the upper parts are OK, you can just get the tire well.
72Dart6pack
Harder Better Faster Stronger.
Just sell the car & look for something not rusted.
ESP47
Well-Known Member
I use a propane torch and a scraper to get the majority of the seam sealer off.
It's a bear to change out the trunk pan.
It's a bear to change out the trunk pan.
Cuda Al
Well-Known Member
I agree, if the rest of the floor is good then just get the spare tire well patch piece.
Alan
I am afraid. I am very afraid.
mopardemon340
Well-Known Member
Yea thats what we are doing.
I’ve got the same issue. Got the old pan out and now trying to find someone to weld in the new pan.
mopardemon340
Well-Known Member
I take it you dont know how to weld? if you do its really not hard all you doing is making spotwelds. Be sure to jump around so not to heat the metal up. Also usr smaller wite like .020 or .025 smaller wire will help .
Gdub310
Well-Known Member
This is a great first project to teach yourself MIG welding. I first got started with welding the floor pans of a previous project car several years ago, buying a decent welder and watching some YouTube videos. Once you develop even basic capabilities with a welder, you will wonder how you ever got along without one. And you will quickly recoup the cost of your investment in the equipment vs. what you would have paid someone else, plus the convenience of being able to work on your car on your own schedule, and the pride of knowing you did it yourself.
I'm working on a trunk pan right now, in fact.
If you are going to learn to replace a welded body panel, the A body trunk floor is about the easiest panel to replace.
For removing the old one. Here are some tips. I won't get into all the cleaning, painting, weld through primer stuff. Drill the spot welds at the lower edge of the tail panel with a drill bit. Helps to use a 1/8" first, then go up to a 1/4-5/16 to drill them apart.
At the rear crossmember and front edge of the floor, use a spot weld cutter and carefully drill through the top layer only, or use a thicker cut off zip disc and carefully "erase" the weld by grinding away only the top layer of the trunk floor, at each spot weld. I like this method to seperate the welds on the frame rails. You can use the zip disc to or an air chisel to cut just inside of the trunk extensions and then remove the leftover flanges once the old trunk floor is out. Once it's all out, dress the old welds etc to get smooth flanges. Drop the new pan in place and check its position. I go underneath, and mark with a paint pen where every original spot weld was located, and trace out the rails etc on the new panel, so I can place the new plug welds in the same spots as the originals.
With the new floor upside down and marked, I drill an 1/8" hole at every plug weld spot. And then you can put the new floor in place, use about 100 or so drill screws to hold it to the rails etc. Then once it is fully screwed in place, begin removing alternating screws, drill a 5/16 hole through the new floor, and let it countersink into the frame rail below a bit too. This gives you a clean, strong weld.
And make sure your welder is set hot enough to get good penetration. There's a lot more to it than this, but hopefully that gives you an idea
For removing the old one. Here are some tips. I won't get into all the cleaning, painting, weld through primer stuff. Drill the spot welds at the lower edge of the tail panel with a drill bit. Helps to use a 1/8" first, then go up to a 1/4-5/16 to drill them apart.
At the rear crossmember and front edge of the floor, use a spot weld cutter and carefully drill through the top layer only, or use a thicker cut off zip disc and carefully "erase" the weld by grinding away only the top layer of the trunk floor, at each spot weld. I like this method to seperate the welds on the frame rails. You can use the zip disc to or an air chisel to cut just inside of the trunk extensions and then remove the leftover flanges once the old trunk floor is out. Once it's all out, dress the old welds etc to get smooth flanges. Drop the new pan in place and check its position. I go underneath, and mark with a paint pen where every original spot weld was located, and trace out the rails etc on the new panel, so I can place the new plug welds in the same spots as the originals.
With the new floor upside down and marked, I drill an 1/8" hole at every plug weld spot. And then you can put the new floor in place, use about 100 or so drill screws to hold it to the rails etc. Then once it is fully screwed in place, begin removing alternating screws, drill a 5/16 hole through the new floor, and let it countersink into the frame rail below a bit too. This gives you a clean, strong weld.
And make sure your welder is set hot enough to get good penetration. There's a lot more to it than this, but hopefully that gives you an idea
If the car is going to have new 1/4 panels put on, cut a hole in the side of the 1/4 and slide the new pan in.
Easy job, but just time consuming to get the old pan out, I have found a grinder and a air-chisel works the best to remove old sheet-metal.
Easy job, but just time consuming to get the old pan out, I have found a grinder and a air-chisel works the best to remove old sheet-metal.
No need to. It fits right in the trunk opening on an A body.
And that wouldn't work anyway. You cannot put it in from the side
A complete pan would be hard to get in.
Not at all. A body trunk floors aren't very big. They drop right in from above easily.
Gdub310
Well-Known Member
Bullyjack
Well-Known Member
Is it possible to remove and replace just the trunk extenstions and leave the trunkpan in?
ESP47
Well-Known Member
Yeah the trunk pan doesnt have much to do with the extensions other than the spot welds underneath the car where the two panels pinch together.
TBACK67!
New Member
I am starting to repair my trunk pan and was wondering if you had any pictures of the area below the trunk lid catch assembly? Not quite sure were it's to be removed.
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