Hello again--
Before the fiberglass thing gets out of hand, as it appears to be doing,
let me clarify something:
I do not recommend fiberglass as a structural repair of shock towers or
driveshafts. I also do not recommend trying to rebuild a complete floor
out of fiberglass. However, for stiffening an oil-canning floor panel, or
for covering small holes in the floor until the owner can raise enough cash
or develop the requisite skills to do a weld repair or complete replacement
of the floor, then fiberglass is perfectly adequate. As I pointed out
previously, I used fiberglass to cover several small (i.e., up to about an
inch in diameter) holes in my floors, and the repairs lasted until I
removed them 10 years later.
If Allen finds that his seats are about to fall out when he removes the
carpet, then he should park the car until he can afford to get it repaired.
If he finds several rust holes in a non-critical area, then fiberglass
will do the job until he's ready to do it right.
>How about cutting the suspect floor back to the inner sill and the
transmission tunnel (or wherever the rot ends) and >weld a new replacement
floor in its place? (Please hold the applause, I was not the first to think
of this.)
A final point: not everyone has the skills or tools required, or can
afford to go immediately to a professional level repair of everything that
is wrong with their car. If you always rely on someone else who does
have the skills, then you will never learn how to do anything yourself.
I'm assuming that if Allen had the skills to cut out and weld in a new
floor, then he wouldn't have asked about repairing it with fiberglass. He
already said he wasn't financially ready to go this far.
There is nothing wrong with doing your own repairs with the resources you
have at hand at the time, and using those experiences to develop your
skills. Hey, that's how most of us who can weld and do body work started
in the first place.
Steve Byers
Havelock, NC USA
'73 Midget GAN5UD126009G "OO NINE"
"It is better to remain silent, and be thought a fool
than to speak, and remove all doubt" -- Mark Twain
----------
|