Man, last weekend we pulled up the carpet on the Valiant and saw that the newer carpet had just been layed over the original carpet and sound deadener. So, we figured we'd pull it all out, and just get new carpet.
Well, after fighting with the carpet and pulling the two sets of carpet, and the sound mat stuff out, guess what we find? A 6x10" piece missing from the passenger side floor in front of the seat, and on the other side, pretty much the whole floor from in front of the seat, all the way up to the gas pedal, and over and around the dimmer switch.

Boy, was I pissed about that!

So, we're going to cut the bad metal out probably this weekend, and see about finding some sheet metal to weld in.

My questions are these:
-How hard is this to do (welding in floor pans)??

-The junkyards around here have a lot of 73-76 A-bodies...Can I cut the driver's floor pan out of these and make it work in a 1961 Valiant??

-What can I use to spray the inside floors of the car to make sure the other rust on the floor (mostly surface rust) doesn't spread out??

Any tips or tricks for welding these patches in?

Thanks guys, my $1000 Valiant isn't looking like such a great idea right now...

Nick,
Pissed that he didn't notice the rust when he bought it...

_________________
1981 Dodge D150--225/727/8.25 w/ 3.21s

Going TBI fuel injection SOON!

Mopar or NO CAR!!
www.Moparsoflasvegas.us

Moosman,
my 60 had mildly rusted floor on the right side but the outer body is super solid.I replaced most of the right side with fabricated 18 guage cold rolled steel(the stock floor metal is more like 20 guage) and migged it in but after looking at later a-bodies (63-66) the floors look almost identical and I would bet that a floor patch from Laysons or another aftrmarket supplier would work fine.I have to replace the floors on my wifes 63 Dart and am going with the Laysons panels.As far as paying a $1000 for your Val ,Ipaid $1200 for mine and it was disassembled but had a fresh 170 and had a 95% rust free body wearing 90% of its original paint.I think you still got a good deal.
HyperValiant

_________________
1960 Hyper-Pac Valiant(rolling test-bed)
1963 Valiant V2OO(Son's summer project,- he just turned 15 )
1972 Valiant 4dr(Daughter Kelly's repair in progress)
1974 Valiant (v8) daughter Kelly's work in progress

Join the club... One of the joys of owning an old "Mopar"!

Like H/V said - fabricate. Or just lay a bunch of pieces of stray airplane skins under the mat/carpet remnant like I've been known to do...

D/W

_________________

If it ain't broke, fix it!

Or try por 15, I used it on my 62 valiant, with great results, the carpet also rusted some of the floor, not to the extent you have but it wasn't pretty, I used the matte piece & applied the product, both floors are now rock hard & the black finish looked great. I did this about 2years ago & have no problems with the floors. if my new 65 valiant has this problem I'll probably also use some type of coating (e-z to use & I have no welder).Good luck with your ride!!!!!!

You can always redneck it and cover up the little holes with roofing tar. Hey, it worked on my Ford, and that was 5 years ago.

_________________
82 D150-225/727
02 Dakota-3.9/5 speed
87 GMC C7000-8.2 Detroit Diesel/5+2

You can "redneck it" just by owning the phord!

Just Kidding, Y'all
D/W

_________________

If it ain't broke, fix it!

Sorry to hear about your "discovery"...

Went through the same deal with a "nice one-owner" '62 Falcon, about 20 years ago...( in retropsect, it wasn't that awful; still a disappointment though)

Check the cowl (front section of cab) for water leaks...many cars developed leaks around the windshield rubber, cowl vent (pre-1956 MoPars), and the fresh-air intake for the heater box/ vent...this causes the carpeting to get wet frequently, and stay wet...thus your floor rots...

My '64 Valiant doesn't get wet (needs a new ragtop), so I can't say for sure if they're prone to shipping water around the front...but my floor pans are very solid...only rust in the car appears to have been the front inner fenders and the rear quarters...


Good luck with the rust repair...I have to put a new floor in my '41 De Soto (no ready-made patch panels... ); can't wait to open that can of worms!

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De Soto Frank

The best cheap patch panels I ever did where made from some old metal shelves. They were free, and very strong/easy to work with. I made new floors and rockers for a 76 dodge pickup. (now dead, but saved my life from a speeding blind guy in a now totaled Intrepid)

Try to bend and weld to a flat spot rather than welding an inside corner. Good bends make the patch material more rigid.

Here is a link to a discussion some of us had about mig welding a little while ago.(not just welding, but you can skip the other stuff)

http://www.slantsix.com/UBB/Forum11/HTML/000267.html

I bet you still got your moneys worth, but rust sucks.

_________________
1980 Aspen 225 super six

Fords can't be as bad as the Chevy guys who have huge egos.

_________________
82 D150-225/727
02 Dakota-3.9/5 speed
87 GMC C7000-8.2 Detroit Diesel/5+2

I paid $150 for my donor floor, cut from a 65 Dart. $50 for the sheetmetal,$100.00 for the labor to cut it out. I envy those that can weld and fabricate without a second thought, for now some caulking and pop rivets and a dash of POR-15 will have to do.

_________________
Troops on the battlefield have a far better view of the battle then the generals who lead them

I got some posterboard and made a pattern transfered it to sheet metal
(16 gauge), cut and bent it into a floor pan leaving a couple inches all the
way around for trimming. It took me about three weekends before I had
a good fit. I have begun welding it into the car and have it about half done
- meaning the tack welds every two inches are finished. Just need to go
back and weld the sides up solid. There are two things I plan to do
different next time. I will NOT use weld through primer where I need to weld - I will mask off the areas where welds are needed. The weld thru primer kept the MIG from giving a hot arc and penetration was bad until
I sandblasted off the primer. The other thing I plan to try is a "pre made" floorpan from http://www.classicfabrication.com/ They have one for the
early valiants. I have measured the 63 dart floors comparing them to the
61 Valiants and the front pans are a very close fit. I have a few pics that
can be emailed - PM me with your email if interested.

It is nice if you can find some good repop patch sections or solid metal out of a donor car, all the little bends and bumps in the factory stampings adds a lot of stiffness and strength.

I have a solid floor section out of my old dragcar, no rust but it does have some roll bar plates welded to the outer corners, up on the "sills".
http://www.slantsix.org/parts/list/body ... oor-cl.jpg
PM me if you need the whole floor piece or just sections of it.
DD