Floors welded in, with regret

[CEgg11]

Everytime I convince myself I am not really an idiot, I do something like this....

I was concerned with my inability to weld, so I took my 240 to a guy on my road that I was told was "an old-school" welder, that he could weld anything. I figured that welding was welding, so I trailered it over to him, showed him EXACTLY what I wanted, and left it in his capable hands.

Four days later, I get a call that it is ready. I head over to see it, and see visible gaps between the new panels and the old, and thick, very thick metal welded in some of the larger gaps. The work does appear to be structurally sound, but I didn't see that attempts were made to grind welds down or try to make those small gaps filled in.

I asked, and he said "those aren't problems, you can just bondo in those holes. This floor is stiffer than the stock one was." He does have a point about the strength - you can beat on these floors with hammers, and there is no flex. He also custom-made new seat mounts out of the same metal (big box, a bit taller in front, drilled for the Z seat).

He is going to charge me 600.00. I haven't started arguing money yet, but is he right? Can I just fill in these small gaps between the panels? The largest of the holes is maybe 1/2 inch tall and 3/4 inch wide.

Any help is appreciated. I am eager to get started on the rest of the car - engine ready to go, trans, pumpkin, etc.

Thanks all!

[SteveJ]

Fat Cat Fabrication :: Home

Used by at least one member here. Just ask Pete Thomas - aka Thomas461.

Edited October 9, 2013 by SteveJ

[CEgg11]

That doesn't really help too much...

[psdenno]

Filling the floor holes with Bondo is not the best idea. The $600 sounds a little pricey. Did he give you a price prior to doing the work?

Dennis

[CEgg11]

He told me 500-700, and I had already gotten estimates from other companies that were over 1200.00. I guess I bit too quick when I heard that price. I am not a great welder, but I suppose I can hammer some stuff tighter and finish the job myself. The "big" stuff is done anyway.

[John Coffey]

I used to charge $600 per side for a complete floor pan install and there were no gaps, no need for bondo. For that price I also cleaned the underside, painted with high zinc rust proofing primer, sealed the seams with body seam sealer, primed, and painted both inside and out. You got what you paid for if you paid $600 for both floor pans.

[CEgg11]

I used to charge $600 per side for a complete floor pan install and there were no gaps, no need for bondo. For that price I also cleaned the underside, painted with high zinc rust proofing primer, sealed the seams with body seam sealer, primed, and painted both inside and out. You got what you paid for if you paid $600 for both floor pans.

It was a full install on the passenger side, with the hole already cut to match the zeddfinding pan. On the drivers side it was a 10 X 5 hole patch.

I didn't get anything except welding done, I will do the rest when the car gets on the roto. I imagine I'll do the rest of the welding then.

[Patcon]

I agree with John, the price is too low to be able to take your time and do it right. It took me 40 hours to do my first floorboard all sealed and painted. I could do it faster on the next one. Bondo is a terrible sealant, it is not waterproof and will wick moisture to unprotected metal. If you decide to fill it and the gaps are too wide for a good body sealant, fiberglass "cat hair" would be a better choice than bondo. If it were mine I would think anything over 3/32" was a big gap, just my opinion. I hate it that you are in this situation, it can be hard a pain to fix a sloppy repair...

Charles

[CEgg11]

It will be ok. The floors are a lot better than when I started. I think I can do the rest with a hammer/dolly and a roto. The frustration is that I told this guy that if he did a great job, I would recommend him to people in the Z club here in Georgia. He asked me after I saw it if I would, and I said, ummm...no. I had to tell him why, and he told me he would make it solid, but he'd also charge me more, and I figured if he wasn't willing to do it right the first time, I'd be a fool to do let him get a second try. Now I just have to rent/steal a MIG welder. I have one that I can borrow, but it isn't a MIG. Its just a M...there is no IG attachment...

[SteveJ]

That doesn't really help too much...

It does if you want the job to be right in the end.

[Kurbycar32]

I took welding in high school so i knew how to function a MIG but i wasn't exactly "stacking dimes" with it. I am pretty good at grinding though . between the two skills it took me about 40 hours of work like John said (though im sure his came out nicer) and produced a result with basically no gaps. What gaps did exist were filled with body sealer and after painting you could hardly see the work. I think in the case of the floors an amateur welder can do a pretty decent job if they really spend the time to do it right, and it also seems that in this case dedication pays off more than skill. Here's a photo journal of my experience: https://sites.google.com/a/thecomputerrehab.com/260z/body/floor-replacement

[CEgg11]

I don't know which is better - to do all the welding then grind, or grind what has been done, and then finish welding. I imagine I will grind some, then weld, then grind, if only to give me a break. What I can't weld, I will glue with Dymax 800, which is waterproof and has a structural strength of 3500 psi. Then I will seal all the seams, paint it, and hopefully all the hard metal work will be complete. Then on to assembly, then a drive for a while, then disassembly begins for paint. I think that is the best way to do it, but it is slow.