I’m about to replace the floors in my Fleetline. I basically will need to replace the bottom 6 inches of the car inside and out. The car is bagged and I will need to build a driveline tunnel. I plan on fabricating the floor, floor support, inner rockers and firewall, and buying patch panels for the outside. I’m not sure where to start. I have some square tubing welded in the car to keep the body from flexing. Part of this tubing is in my way for the trans tunnel. Start at the firewall and work back…trunk forward… or inner rockers and floor first? Or am I reading too much in to this…and just need to cut it all out and go for it? I don’t want to weld myself into a corner. Thanks Darryl
Having the body square is key. They tend to sag if the rockers and body mounts rot off. Jack up the body until the doors fit nice, then weld in the rocker panels, yes inner and outer. If there is nothing left to weld them to, you must address that first. With the rocker panels fitted, and the doors fitting nice, you can go on to replace floors, body mounts etc. You are correct to start by doing the inside stuff first and moving on to the outer panels. I saw a Rolls Royce that someone ignored this advice on. They removed the doors and welded in new floors and rocker panels, doing an excellent job. But they forgot to true up the body. When they bolted the doors back on, none of them would close. Rolls Royces have NO adjustment in the hinges, and the doors fit very tight in the body. Basically the car was ruined. It had been sold in unfinished condition to a dealer I knew, and he wanted me to fix it. After much study I figured out how to true it up without cutting out all the new work, but he would not pay what I wanted to finish the body job and paint it ($5000).
Ok Thanks I will order the rockers. I have the doors fitting pretty good. I just need to tweak them a little and get some latches for them(or get the factory ones to work).
your basic line of thinking for body work is correct, for more tips, we have a write up on panel installation on our facebook page "facebook.com/EMSAutomotive" for panels www.emsautomotive.com or just call the shop 216-541-4585 for more detailed help ( i am hard to get , so be pushy to get the tech guy) thanks the ems guy
The main thing is the doors fit with an even gap all around (not wider at the bottom). The hinge pins must be tight and not worn, or you are wasting your time trying to fit a door.
Square the door openings up and check the gaps and once even, cross brace the body where necessary to maintain rigidity. As stated worn hinge pins should be rectified before you progress any further, open and close door and make necessary adjustments. Make sure the doors fit the opening with even gaps all around. Remove the inner and outer sills and replace one side at a time, only tack weld things in place in at this time. Hang the doors and double check the gaps again. Do the same on the other side and recheck gaps. I would then move on to the floor pan and braces making templates to ensure consistency. Not sure how you want to do this or buy patch panels / floor pan(s) weld them in and fabricate transmission tunnel. I worked in the industry for many years and saw and worked with some so-called tradesman that really had no idea how to undertake extensive work or repairs on cars, doors along with front and rear glass wouldn't fit openings after repairs. All because they didn't plan or execute a repair properly. More work and cost to employer as others (ME) had to fix their F*** **S before the car could leave the shop. Often fenders and other panels required rework after painting to fit properly, poor gaps, holes slotted to make fit. No adjustment factored in. A plethora of bad workmanship. Only when everything is fitting, opening and closing at the tack weld stage, gaps are even would I contemplate finish welding. Work off known symmetrical points rather than unknowns. Measure twice, cut once. Remember the 7 x P's, proper planning and preparation prevents piss poor performance.
The Jalopy Journal
