Well it finally happened. To make a long story short, when I bought my Z I was informed that it was rust free. Well come to find that was not exactly true. (go figure). Under my battery tray, I'm guessing right at the top of the floor board there was a large chunk of rust. It wasn't bad at first, well it is now.

Today in Tucson we had a bit of a downpour. Making my way to school I sadly had to drive the Z through a rather length ankle deep puddle. (by long I mean oh, a eight of a mile or so). Well when I got to school I checked my floor board for moisture. Well come to find, tada its wet. (Oh no:disappoin). When I arrived home I went straight for the rust spot. And come to find, I felt the bottom part of the carpet through a nickle or so sized hole.

So two questions. What is the best line of action here? I'm meeting with friends tomorrow to get their opinion on the situation but I would like your guys too. Should I replace the whole dam floorboard or should I just patch the hole that is there? Which is easier? I personally can't weld at all (never done it) but I know people who know people...

Thanks

Jan

Best get some pictures up here first. Much easier to tell how best to excise the cancer with pics.

Good luck.

As mentioned, pictures will go a long way towards giving you a good guesstimate.

How big a patch (and a floor pan replacement IS a patch, just a bigger one) will depend on just how much has rusted beyond repair.

Surface rust can be cleaned up, but pitted rust is an indication of a bigger patch needed. Pitted rust next to a rust-through hole is just more metal that should be cut away.

If you still have the tar-mat on the floor pan, you may want to remove it and get a good look at what the metal is ACTUALLY like. I've seen floor pans with the tar mat that looked good until you removed the tar mat, then serious cancer.

By the way, a small patch fashioned by a competent welder is an easy fix. Replacing a whole floor pan is more involved and expensive, but the end result is you don't have to worry about the integrity of any repairs.

FWIW

E

This was what it looked liked when I bought the car. Back then it was still sturdy enough to hold the water away. Now the middle of the rust is pretty much non existent and water just pours straight in.

Jan

There are epoxy type materials that bond to metal to give a very good repair, even on a floor pan. In fact, new automobiles are more likely to be glued together than welded. The materials aren't cheap and the applicator gun is pricey, but compared to replace/repair by cutting/welding this might be a more attractive solution, especially if you need to use the car. You might try cleaning and bonding some metal patches to the floor pan using one of the 3M Automix Panel Bonding Adhesives, Medallion RS-7160, or a similar SEM, or Lord product.

Battery acid got between the firewall and the right engine compartment weld up point. Very common rust spot. Lots of examples in the photo section of how to do this from squared out sheet metal to full on transplants. Search "battery tray" in the photo section. To fix yours, I'd get some of the firewall metal and some of the battery tray metal cut out and repaired, not just the firewall...

http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=33213

Right side drive...

http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=27308

Here is mine, I was lucky, surface rust...

http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=32234

My favorite is Diseazed' transplant of the left side of the engine compartment. Probably not what you are looking for...

Edited October 6, 201014 yr by GreenZZZ
type-o

If you still have the tar-mat on the floor pan, you may want to remove it and get a good look at what the metal is ACTUALLY like. I've seen floor pans with the tar mat that looked good until you removed the tar mat, then serious cancer.

I agree, pull up the tar mat so the repair can get what you see now in the battery tray area and anything you don't see yet. Pull the seats out and chip out the floor tar. About a 5 hour job with a good scaper.

FYI. This is what these cars look like nakid... Yours is a bit different since its a 280, but basically the same.

http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=33702&ppuser=14083

http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=33700&ppuser=14083

Use the dry ice technique on the tar mat. It works QUICKLY and it removes the majority with a simple rubber mallet strike.

Get the dry ice from an ice cream shop. Baskin & Robbins is usually a good place to find it. Put it in a rag or heavy plastic bag and lay it on the tar-mat that you want to remove. Wait a couple of minutes (it doesn't take long) and then give the metal a quick rap with a rubber mallet, ideally from the other side than the tar mat, but even on or near will usually do. The tar-mat will usually shatter like glass (it has hardened because of the cold). Move on to the next area.

Then you can scrape off the little pieces that may have survived this process and then clean up the rest with Mineral Spirits.

FWIW

E

Battery acid got between the firewall and the right engine compartment weld up point. Very common rust spot. Lots of examples in the photo section of how to do this from squared out sheet metal to full on transplants. Search "battery tray" in the photo section. To fix yours, I'd get some of the firewall metal and some of the battery tray metal cut out and repaired, not just the firewall...

http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=33213

Right side drive...

http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=27308

Here is mine, I was lucky, surface rust...

http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=32234

My favorite is Diseazed' transplant of the left side of the engine compartment. Probably not what you are looking for...

Did you use just some spare sheet metal or did you actually buy a floor pan and cut it. If you did use metal what gauge is it?

Jan

Bit of an update.

I pulled the carpet off the floor the other day. Found that I had a massive surface rust issue on the floor board. Before heading of to get a heat gun (or ice) i started chipping away at the tar mat. Came off like paper. Didn't even have to force it at all.

I sanded it all down and found that most of it except for one area was just surface rust. The seam between where the floor pan meets the fire wall (there a bit of a dip there) has straight through rust (:mad:).

Going to meet with the metal guy pretty soon. Should be an interesting day.

Jan

Fixed. Pictures included.

Jan

Nice!

Now get some good paint on it. POR-15 or similar and it should be sealed for a life time.