Floor Pan Blues

Well, I was hoping to skate by on the floor pans, but it turns out a smallish chunk of the right (passenger) side needs to be replaced.  I jacked up and blocked the car a little higher, so I could get in there and wire wheel some of the old undercoating and surface rust off.

Here's a pic of the left (driver) side.  Looks bad, but it's solid.  My guess is that on the right side, someone used the floor drain or rocker as a jacking point, as this area is a little bent up.  That's all it took to make room for that nasty tinworm to move in and eat up the steel.

I was only intending to do the areas around the subframe mounts and rockers (that area beneath the door).  There was much more damage to the right side than I saw earlier.


The nice thing is that the damage doesn't extend up into the rocker itself, or up into the floorboard of the car.  It's localized right at along the edge where the rocker meets the floor pan.  So I should only have to replace a single section of the panel.

It's not a bad thing, all in all, except for having to be crawling under the car to cut/fit and weld in a patch panel.  It will be good practice for the rear quarters and roof replacement.

Note how I have the car blocked up.  I wanted a little extra security, so I used a 6"x8" pressure treated beam held up on some jack stands.  This is fine for inspecting the area, and pretty safe for working as well.  But when I replace the floor panel, I'll have to do something else.

This is one of those times you wish you could afford a rotisserie.  But, I actually have an idea for doing the work on the floor from another online camaro restorer.  Looks like he put some heavy-duty stands on the back axle, and then made a brace between the subframe mounts on the cowling.  Then he jacked the whole car up with a cherry picker.  I may try that out.  Or not.  It ain't the best idea.

Could see about renting a rotisserie, but I'm not sure there's anyone around who would have one.  That might accelerate the process, as I'd have to completely strip the car and mount it up.  Have to think on that.  I guess I could build one, but my fabrication skills are mediocre at best right now.

Oh, and the garage is MUCH cleaner.  I spent some time straightening it up and moving out some trash.  It's awful nice to have a clean(er) place to work.  I was actually able to walk around the car and find some shit I was looking for the other day.  Incredible.

I do need to dump out my toolbox and reorganize it.


The repair panel for the floor is ordered.  Should have it in a couple days.  I will detail that process as it moves forward.