Re: front floor pan thoughts

Posted by BH On 2008/1/18 12:02:22

Hank -

All sheetmetal will "move" to some degree - depending on thickness. (Watch how the inside door trim flexes when a power window reaches full stop in most cars.) That's why there are reinforcements welded to and/or ribs embossed in the stampings of most structural panels, but even those only hold up so far.

You might be in a better postion to decide how to proceed with rust repair once the car has been dipped. On the other hand, some guys like to scrape/sand/blast then repair such damage prior to dipping.

They key is to excise all the "diseased" steel; some of the metal adjacent to the obvious rust may have become brittle, as well. A hole the size of a quarter could opne up to a few square inches. Probing with a pocket sized flat-blade can often be quite telling.

Yet, before you go removing any metal, make sure to take enough good pictures, notes, and measurements so you (or your favorite body shop veteran) can fabricate a proper patch. With a MIG or TIG welders and some quality metal finishing work, no one will be able to tell there was a repair - even one exterior panels.

As for starter (or any other elelctrical problem), I'd be concerned about pushing your luck and wind up with a vehicle fire with the original harness in such bad shape. (Years of exposure to heat do take their toll.) You might do better to disconnect the starter dorm the harness and try wiring it up to a battery and jumpering the solenoid to check the starter. Download the shop manual electrical section from this site and review the wiring schematics.