Wood or Metal floor in your HOT ROD ??

Do you guys mostly use a floor in your HOT ROD, fabricated out of wood, and if so what kind? Or do you fab up a metal one? I have seen a lot of wooden floors lately but I am not to "keen" on them, don't think they would be very durable??? What are your thoughts, maybe some wood with a fibergl*** coating??? just wondering since they seem SO popular lately? or maybe it's just ME?!?!?...Ken

 

Termites and vermin generally prefer organic materials for their "craft"...so I vote metal.

 

I'm going with steel, but my car is channelled so it isn't going to be flat.

If I were mounting a floor to the stock lower lip and above the frame, I guess I'd consider wood (pressure treated, I suppose). What I'd be worried about is the wood absorbing moisture and causing adjacent steel to rot.

 

Cheaper than steel?

Seems to me, that if you have enough bracing framed up for the floor, attaching a piece of steel isn't going to do that much for structural integrity. Wood seems alright for something early.

Then again, not too sure what It'd do in a crash, or if the driveshaft broke loose. But..then again, you got your framework under the body/cab.

Early cars had wood anyway, or atleast a wood insert in some cases. And I've seen some "T-buckets" (one up close) with a wooden floor made out of plywood (pretty thick stuff). Seems alot better than rivited in thin sheet metal.

 

i thought it was mostly fibergl*** cars that use wood floors. the ones i have seen were plywood coated with fibergl***

 

My current project has a wood floor. What kind of wood? I don't know, it's whatever they used to make the ceiling in the garage of my rental. Seriously! Instead of one thick piece, it's two thinner sheets, cut so that the grains run opposite each other, it's stronger that way. It's in a fibregl*** T-Bucket, and it works just fine for now. I wish it was metal, but I can't afford to make a steel floor right now. I'd love to make a steel frame, then rivet aluminum over that. Maybe If I ever re-do it.

 

Im using aluminum for my roadster and plan to add sound deadner to it, but I know it is going torattle like a som ***** but with a gl*** pack muffler and a early quick change I probably won't be able to hear it anyway. One thing that I am doing as my car has an aluminum interior is that I am using velcro along with fastners to hold the panels in. Still going to rattle like hell.

Rex

 

3/4" Cdx.

 

I thought about using wood in the floor of the '37 I hope to put together one day.

Pretty much, building a frame-bracing/floor support back. Sheetmetal would do nothing for structural integrity...so I thought...why not?

 

I've used both but I like wood. Much stiffer than steel even with beads rolled, and a much better insulator. When I redid the floor in my model A I framed it with 3/4" steel square tube, welded steel sheet to that...on top of the framing for firewall and trans tunnel, and to the bottom on driver and p***enger side floors and toe kick. Then cut 3/4" plywood to sit atop the sheet. I'll never do an all steel floor again.

 

My roadster had a thick plywood floor in it for a long time. The new one is aluminum sheet, but was changed only because the new transmission needed more clearance. I am pretty sure either will work well given a little thought, planning, and workmanship.

 

I used 7 ply 3/4" plywood in my '27 Chrysler tub. It is deeply channeled and there is a large sheetmetal transmission hump and driveshaft cover. The floor is stained and varnished to match the wood backed deco-era movie theater seats that I used. I used a rubber Indian motorcycle kickstand pad for a heel cup under the gas pedal so my foot doesn't slip on the varnished floor. Also, no need for insulation, the wood is a pretty good sound and heat insulator.

 

I can see where it might be a problem on larger cars, or Uni-Bodies (obviously) though.

But seems like once your body is framed up, kept square, and attached to the frame, sheet isn't going to do much (if anything) for the structural integrity of the body.

And should be a little less ex*****ve, and easier to mount than metal also.

 

Steel!

 

wood was ok, back in the day, still is if your car is kinda close to stock. was easy to remove, good heat an sound deadener, and cheep. I had a stocker with wood floor. [1st car] and also in my 1st hot rod, in 57'. [31 A sedan built with early ford runnin gear and 265 sbc].

 

All late model corvettes use two sheets of smc plastic and a piece of balsa wood sandwiched in between them for sound deadening. It is some amazing stuff. Sounds crazy as hell but works great. Glues directly to a channel that is mounted to the frame.

 

Marine Grade Plywood; protected from water, highest grade plywood available, strong as hell....but not cheap.

 

Plywood cdx gl***ed on bottom side for protection for my 27 rpu

 

I like wood, no welding, just some sealer or use marine quality..also it is a great sound barrier..
Duane

 

Made mine out of metal. Started building a frame around my trans and cut and shaped metal sheets to it. Also made it removeable so when I have to replace the clutch or trans.

 

I think wood is good on early cars at least. I just finished the floor in my roadster and I decided I'd go back with wood, it would (wood ) have been easier really to do it in steel with the plasma cutter, but like others said, I like the stoutness and insulating properties of it, it won't oil can, thats for sure , I got the welting that you wrap over the edges and tack into place. I also formed a steel transmission tunnel with a flange around it. The tunnel sits on top of the wood and mounts with screws through the plywood and into the steel frame that also supports the plywood. I can easily get to my 4 speed or clutch linkage or the master cylinder, I know you can also do that with steel, which I did do on the 37 Ford, but I think the wood is cool, gives the car a vintage flavor, and properly sealed is gonna last a long time. My grandpa's 1941 Chris craft is proof of that. I've been kicking around staining mine on the top side, I think it would look cool, and who knows when i'll get around to carpet.

 

Go Steel!!!!!

 

I run wood in my A, seems to work just fine

 

I used wood for my floor and trunk in my austin. 3/4 pressure treated, painted with Rustoleum, solid and quiet. It's been in there 8 years with no problems. It's all framed in steel, small car.

 

I don't see anything wrong with wood but on my T I think I'll be using steel. I plan to attach it mostly with structual adhesive rather than spot welds, this will get rid of a lot of the squeaks and rattles plus it will keep a watertight seal between the sheetmetal and the crossmember it's attached to.

 

I like wood too. like was said, it's much better sound deadener than metal. I made mine out of exterior grade birch plywood. came out very nice. don't think I will even put a rug in it. maybe just some rubber mats.

 

I am going to use wood in mine but running out of time fast for the round up so I dont really know now.

 

I am lucky and still use the wood floor Henry put in it 75 years ago. Just another detail that makes me feel like my car is an old hotrod and not a streetrod. I don't need no stinkin' Dynamat sound deadener. There were more old hotrodders in the 50's that had saber saws than had sheet metal breaks.

I remember talking with a guy that had a nice 50s style Deuce roadster, when the 50s trend was still new, when a streetrodder walked up and said something stupid about the varnished plywood floor. We just looked at each other and grinned. He said that is what they came with! To me it's just part of the flavor.

 

Exactly. I used it in the last Model A hot rod I built: strong, weather proof, and makes a great heat/noise insulator. I'll be using it in my current Model A project, too. Probably the best benefit is the insulation. Besides the noise, it keeps the heat off your feet in the summer. I'd done road trips in a bare metal floor car before, and after a couple of hours that metal aborbs all the heat coming off the pavement and it's misery.

 

Metal???? I've never even considered using it for floors in my early cars...never even thought about the possibility. My question is always "planks or plywood". So far, I have always used planks. I like the look, and even though Ford used plywood for floors in some cars as far back as the late Teens/early Twenties, I think the planks look more period.

And whoever it was above that said that they thought that only fibergl*** cars use wood floors...I can only ask, "Huh?"