Floor Installation Prep

I did a little more preparation work on the floor pan after work today. I only drilled more spot weld holes but it is better than nothing. It is amazing how quickly you can drain a cordless drill using a 3/8" bit. I've about 60 holes drilled now which is about 40% done.

The following pictures are of my blank canvas which will hopefully one day be a floor. I'm going to post on the Vintage Mustang Forum for tips on installing the floor. This is very different from anything I've done so far so I might be able to learn from a few others before I start. If I get good tips, I'll add them here.





I did not receive many responses on tips for the floor. The consensus was to start at the back of the floor. Use self tapping screws to hold everything in place while you weld it up. There was also someone who had large vice grips to hold it together. I'll probably try a combination of the two.

Subframe Connector Tabs & Other Random Tasks

I worked on the Mustang for a few hours yesterday.

I stripped some of the interior side of the firewall. The firewall was in really good condition and I did not have any surprises. I'm going to go ahead and coat what I've done with Rust Encapsulator. I don't plan to strip anymore and only stripped what I did as it was easier to do without the floor installed.

Once this work was done, I added tabs to the subframe connectors. I've mentioned this a few times and I'd be surprised if anyone could interpret what I mean. The following picture will help.


I'm using TinMan subframe connectors which are shown above on someone else's vehicle. You will notice there is a gap at the top of the connector. I made a flat piece of metal to attach which will seal up the gap. It is nothing special but something I would only be able to do while the floor is out.






I then welded one of the two parking brake brackets onto the bottom of my new floorpan. I need to media blast the other one (passenger side) as it is a little rust. Since I had the floorpan pulled out of the box, I started drilling holes for the plug welds. I'd test fit it a few weeks back and marked the location of all the panel overlaps while it was installed so I would know where to drill the spot welds.

The last thing I did was clean up the garage a little. Its been a few weeks since I last cleaned up the garage so it needed some work. I then called it a day.

Transmission Crossmember & Rear Seat Pan (Cont)

It took me a little longer to finish up the transmission crossmember and rear seat pan than I expected. The front cross member just needed a second coat of Rust Encapsulator. The area was not very rusty except for the two sleeves which the transmission supports go through. However, I like using the Rust Encapsulator as a primer and for added insurance. I'll coat this later with Extreme Chassis Black but I'm waiting on this for now.

There is were numerous holes on the driver side of the rear seat pan. I welded in a small square of metal to completely replace the section filled with holdes. I smoothed it out with a grinder and then put a little body filler on it. This is obviously not necessary but why not make it look nice and practice on areas like this. If you can't tell from the slight waviness, the holes were two the right of the seat belt mounting point.

This corner of the passenger side rear seat pan had several small holes. I ended up filling them with weld which I believe is a little unconventional. I then grinded it smooth. Since I had a little body filler still mixed up, I used it here also.

Remaining tasks until I install the floorboard:

- Create Tab for Sub-Frame Connector

- Strip and Paint from Frame Rails

- Strip and Paint Firewall

Transmission Crossmember & Rear Seat Pan

I started today with the holes in the rear seat area where the seat belts mount. I believe these were from previously mounting exhaust hangers in this location. The majority of the holes could be hammered smooth and then filled with weld.

There was one section with a larger hole with thin metal around it. I tried unsuccessfully to fill it with weld but kept burning through (even using a backing plate). I cut a little square patch panel and welded it in to fix the hole. I only had a little difficulty with the welding. I'm getting much better.

Once I was done with this patch, I grinded the welds down smooth and decided to put a really thin layer of body filler over it to make it disappear completely. I've yet to sand the body filler smooth so I'll attach a picture once I finish it up.

While waiting for the filler to dry, I decided to go ahead and strip the transmission crossmember. I used a wire wheel and a sheet of 120 grit sand paper to clean up the inside of the crossmember. Once cleaned up, I painted the cross member with Rust Encapsultor.

If you are keeping track, I'm down to the following before installing the floor:
- Create Tab for Front Subframe Area
- Strip Front Frame Rails & Prime
- Finish Work on Underside of Toe Boards

I'm going to remove the finish work on the underside of the toe boards. I'll do this when I'm doing installing the floor. However, I'll add that I want to strip the firewall before putting in the floor. It will be much easier with the floor out so I'll do it in the next few weeks.

- Create Tab for Front Subframe Area
- Strip Front Frame Rails & Prime
- Strip & Paint Firewall