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Peter D.
Samba Member
Joined: February 25, 2004
Posts: 718
Location: Stamford, CT
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 Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2018 11:18 am Post subject: "Massaging" Pan into place? |
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After doing a search on thesamba I can't find an answer to my question to so here goes:
I'm going to install these aftermarket floor pans from Volkstorybkk into my Ghia.
They are really great actually, much sturdier and better made than the Dansk pans. I did a quick test fit and they seem to nearly fit out of the box with minimal trimming.
However, the two circled areas is a spot where the pan is riding higher than the lip on the tunnel. The rest is sitting flat. It's maybe two centimeters too high.
And in the front, the flange is too narrow to fit onto the frame head.
What's the best way to "massage" these two areas into place? I hear that term all the time but what should I do specifically? I have a grinder and body hammers but not much experience so I don't want to butcher these things.
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Mike Fisher
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Joined: January 30, 2006
Posts: 17969
Location: Eugene, OR
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| Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2018 4:38 pm Post subject: Re: "Massaging" Pan into place? |
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I had to grind the wide spots/test fit/grind/test fit etc until the part fit & was ready to weld in.
If you have to fab small patches to weld in so be it. Use solid VW metal for your patches.
I didn't have to do much hammering, but don't be afraid to as it will all be covered by carpet & never seen again. 
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Peter D.
Samba Member
Joined: February 25, 2004
Posts: 718
Location: Stamford, CT
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| Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2018 7:41 pm Post subject: Re: "Massaging" Pan into place? |
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Okay, cool... so basically it's test just fitting and careful grinding. Makes sense!
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theKbStockpiler
Samba Member
Joined: July 07, 2012
Posts: 2316
Location: Rust Belt
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| Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2018 4:53 pm Post subject: Re: "Massaging" Pan into place? |
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If the geometry permits, it is not that difficult.
-Cut the corner off where it goes straight up.
-Place pan without corner back onto tunnel.
-Take corner section you cut off and place it so the extra metal from the height overlaps the where it was cut off from.
Either butt weld it back on or do overlap joint.
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Peter D.
Samba Member
Joined: February 25, 2004
Posts: 718
Location: Stamford, CT
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| Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2018 7:37 pm Post subject: Re: "Massaging" Pan into place? |
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| theKbStockpiler wrote: |
If the geometry permits, it is not that difficult.
-Cut the corner off where it goes straight up.
-Place pan without corner back onto tunnel.
-Take corner section you cut off and place it so the extra metal from the height overlaps the where it was cut off from.
Either butt weld it back on or do overlap joint. |
That makes perfect sense. Going to see if that edge still sticks up once I clamp or screw down the rest of the pan and then I'll figure out the rest.
The other thing that makes me hesitate is welding an 18 gauge pan to the thick tunnel lip. If the heat is too low the welds will pop off. If the heat is too high I'll blow a hole through my new pans.
I read that one technique is to drill half-way into the tunnel at each weld point. Then when welding, start in the middle and draw the welding puddle up onto the edge of the new pans.
I have a scrap tunnel that I'm going to use to patch my car so maybe I'll practice on this before hand either using that technique and or tek screws all the way through on every other weld point.
Thanks for the tips, everyone. I'm pretty handy but this is a pretty steep learning curve.
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theKbStockpiler
Samba Member
Joined: July 07, 2012
Posts: 2316
Location: Rust Belt
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| Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2018 5:25 pm Post subject: Re: "Massaging" Pan into place? |
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I think almost everyone uses the 'fill the hole' method of spot welding the floor pans in. You know that you don't get a cold weld because the red heat zone will travel past the pool. If the heat zone does not go past the pool ,it is a cold weld and will easily come apart. If you have a Whitney Punch it will make things go much better and faster.
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| I read that one technique is to drill half-way into the tunnel at each weld point. Then when welding, start in the middle and draw the welding puddle up onto the edge of the new pans. |
I believe that this is being over thought. 
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Evil_Fiz
Samba Member
Joined: May 06, 2011
Posts: 1045
Location: Jacksonville, FL
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| Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 11:39 am Post subject: Re: "Massaging" Pan into place? |
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I know I am not the only one who will benefit from this; where did you get that tape measure? A brand, part number, and vendor would be most helpful.
Thanks,
Emil
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