Listers,
I'm getting ready to replace floor pans in my '60 TR3 (TS63103LO) as part of
a total restoration. I have replacement pans, rockers, sills from TRF. My
car has the occasional seat shelf behind the seats (not the earlier style
indents behind each seat). I'm planning to do the work below before taking
the body off the frame so that the body will be better able to take the
forces from removing it from the frame (unless listers suggest taking the
body off BEFORE doing the pan/sill/rocker work?). I have a portable sand
blaster and a MIG (gas) welder. My plan is to do some of the metal
replacement in the less critical areas, get the body off the frame,
disassemble the frame/chassis and have it blasted, epoxy primed
(suggestions?) and painted. Then reassemble the chassis to a rolling
chassis. With the body off, then I plan to do some of the simpler work
myself, and probably have some of the more difficult work done by my local
body shop who has experience with some classic and hot rod work. Below are
some near term work areas. After these, the rest of the car is not too bad,
but I'll probably ask for some suggestions when I get to those areas.
(1) The floor pans don't seem to have any spot welds, but they don't appear
seam welded either. What is the best way to remove the old (rusted) pans?
Cut/grind away the floor and leave the old vertical part? Or what? The
fronts of the pans at the footwells are pretty much gone so that area will
have to be reconstructed from some new metal. The new pans have sidewalls
like the old pans so it appears they would have to be seam welded to the new
rockers/sills I have to install? Any suggestions? The rockers/sills are shot
with rust--see (3) below.
(2) Where the occasional seat shelf lip lays over the old floor pans is all
rusty. Most of that overlap flange will be gone when I remove the old floor
pans. Any suggestions for restoring that area? The new pans have a
depression for the occasional seat flange (but since that won't exist any
longer, any suggestions about this region?).
(3) The rockers/sills are shot. I have to install the new ones from TRF.
Should I just carefully whack away all that old stuff and refit the new
rockers/sills? And then put in the new pans?
(4) The occasional seat shelf is reasonably intact (except for the flange
joining it to the floor pans and a good bit of the vertical surface from the
floor pan up to the shelf). Any suggestions on rebuilding this area? I'm
assuming I'll just have to weld in little pieces where needed until it's
ready.
(5) On the driver's side, the rear wheel well area outside just behind the
driver's door (that dogleg section from the rocker up to the tonneau area)
was body filler repaired by a previous owner. There is filler contouring the
exterior surface and oozed through a number of holes into the inside of the
region between the exterior skin and the interior skin. What is the best
method for removing all this junk/filler? I would like to keep the metal and
do any metal repair to bring it back to a decent condition.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Roy
'60 TR3a (TS63103LO) in restoration
techman@metrolink.net
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