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EMPIImp69
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Joined: April 17, 2006
Posts: 3374
Location: Dirty Jersey
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 Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 7:32 am Post subject: Ways to beef up pans? |
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Trying to see ideas on how some of you may have beefed up your floor pans? My pans are rusted and shot and want to try welding in thicker guage metal with reinforcements tied into the heat channels. Since this is a baja that gets beat I'm not looking to pull the body off and weld in stock pans and have the car laid up for months, so I'm looking for a quicker solution that is strong and sound, thanks.
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dirtkeeper
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Joined: February 19, 2008
Posts: 3200
Location: Left of everywhere
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| Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 8:03 am Post subject: |
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| replacement pan sections are certainly the easiest way to go. Its not going to be any harder than doing something custom and you shouldn't have to take off the body. |
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EMPIImp69
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Joined: April 17, 2006
Posts: 3374
Location: Dirty Jersey
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| Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 8:19 am Post subject: |
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| dirtkeeper wrote: |
| replacement pan sections are certainly the easiest way to go. Its not going to be any harder than doing something custom and you shouldn't have to take off the body. |
Problem is they are so thin and get dented up and rust easily. Besides aren't new pan halves + shipping more expensive than steel diamond plate I can get locally? I don't need the stock seat brackets either.
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modockid
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Joined: December 27, 2002
Posts: 168
Location: saint helens oregon
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| Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 11:35 am Post subject: |
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| EMPIImp69 wrote: |
| dirtkeeper wrote: |
| replacement pan sections are certainly the easiest way to go. Its not going to be any harder than doing something custom and you shouldn't have to take off the body. |
Problem is they are so thin and get dented up and rust easily. Besides aren't new pan halves + shipping more expensive than steel diamond plate I can get locally? I don't need the stock seat brackets either. |
I'd buy new pan half's ,try and find a local vw shop , and if you need more protection ,i'd get a roll on bedliner to keep the new metal from rusting and denting , also a good idea , use por 15 and then bedliner , just a thought
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EMPIImp69
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Joined: April 17, 2006
Posts: 3374
Location: Dirty Jersey
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| Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 1:30 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks but still want to see what people have done with their floors..
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pafree
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Joined: August 16, 2005
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Location: dayton, the one in texas
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| Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 9:59 pm Post subject: |
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when we did a fiberglass dunebuggy project, we used plate steel for the floor boards. we cut out the seat brackets from old pans and welded them to the new steel. my BIL did the same with his type 1 daily driver but he left just enough of the old pan so there was a ledge for the steel to sit on without removing the body.
Turtletime used diamond plate for his floor boards.
the problem with patching is that is leave little spaces where water can get in and start the rust process. if you patch then i recommend get your car up in the air and seal and paint any of these places and even paint the before welding it in and then repainting the welded places. oh yeah, if you patch under the pedal assemby then you have to heat and make a divot for the pedals and add a clutch and brake pedal stop. |
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dirtkeeper
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Joined: February 19, 2008
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Location: Left of everywhere
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| Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 8:19 am Post subject: |
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If you go for steel plate or such you need to go pretty thick..maybe 1/4" to be strong and not flex
I did a patch with some flat 1/8 " and in didnt seem as strong as the light metal pans that they sell because they have a stamped pattern/ridges that makes them strong. |
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EMPIImp69
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Joined: April 17, 2006
Posts: 3374
Location: Dirty Jersey
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| Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 12:40 pm Post subject: |
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1/8" would be alright with some steel box tubing going across to reinforce it. 1/4" would be way too heavy.
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knowitall
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Joined: January 08, 2012
Posts: 78
Location: Ramona, CA
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| Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 10:36 pm Post subject: Re: Ways to beef up pans? |
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| EMPIImp69 wrote: |
| Trying to see ideas on how some of you may have beefed up your floor pans? My pans are rusted and shot and want to try welding in thicker guage metal with reinforcements tied into the heat channels. Since this is a baja that gets beat I'm not looking to pull the body off and weld in stock pans and have the car laid up for months, so I'm looking for a quicker solution that is strong and sound, thanks. |
If you are looking for aquick patch like i was, just weld in some 16guage steel patches. Imho, unless you are a drag racer pushing over 400hp or an offroader who gets >10 feet of air on a regular basis, the stock replacement pans are fine. No matter what you put on/under there, if you plan on high centering on logs or rocks its gonna dent.
You may want to bolt on some skid plating or rock sliders UNDER the car if you are really that worried about it.
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Mal evolent
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Location: San Antonio, Nuevo Mexico
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