Gary,
I have just done almost exactly this on the driver's side, and the
passenger's will follow in the same manner (hopefully before too long).
Here's my sequence of events:
1. Cut out the old floor along the transmission tunnel side, leaving about
3/4" beside the tunnel, but only in the back section where there is still a
tunnel after the removable part is removed.
2. Just at the place where the removable tunnel meets the rear part of the
tunnel, cut upward such that the lip, or flange, came out with the floor.
This section has a few captive nuts in it (four I think).
3. On the sill side, the original spot welds let go very easily, so I just
pulled sharply to disconnect them, or maybe used a chisel on some of them,
and left that flange attached to the floor that came out of the car. (This
proved to be a very serendipitous move, as holes in the inner sill were
exposed, and I then had the opportunity to be slowed down even further by
having to repair them, before proceeding with the floor again.)
4. In my case, the floor was only slightly connected to the firewall, so a
bit of chisel action there got it out.
5. Voila! Out came the floor. So at this point, the right side (remember
this is the driver's side) of the front half (or maybe 2/3) of the floor
still has the lip that receives the removable transmission tunnel. Cut this
off now, leaving about 3/4" of floor. Now you can take this piece and rest
it in position while admiring the big open space.
6. Run a tap through the captured nuts, since it's easy to get at them.
Weld the two sides of the cages that are just bent into position to the two
sides that are welded to the floor, if you are concerned about them
spreading in the future. This is all very convenient as this piece can be
held in a vise while you work on it.
7. Hammer the left flange of the now removed floor - the part that was
beside, and attached to, the inner sill - flat.
8. Use the floor to make a template: Put it on top of that sheet of
cardboard that you saved from buying the new fridge, and trace around with
a pencil. On the right side, add about 1/2" all the way from front to back,
as this area will lie on top of the lip that was left beside the
transmission. Be especially sure to mark the four holes where the bolts
went through to hold the floor onto to the inner sill flanges and the
outriggers - now that the floor is out this all becomes clear.
9. Fix whatever other problems you've exposed. I found that the rear inner
sill's "tab" or "flange" (that rests on the outrigger) weld had broken both
at the top and the front, and also was cracked across the top. This is also
a good time to stare at the frame for a while.
10. Now use the cardboard as a template to cut a new floor out of sheet
metal. I used 20 gauge which was extremely hard to cut with the tin snips.
Nice and thick though.
11. Bend its left side up, as this is the part that will go beside the
inner sill. It should be at just the same height as the top of the inner
sill, but it's not critical if it's a bit short.
12. Exercising GREAT CARE, position the floor in the car, and figure out
the precise position of the front part of the flange that receives the
removable part of the transmission tunnel. Be sure the four holes on the
left (that are over the outriggers) are aligned when you're doing this.
Fiddle and fit and re-fit until you're certain you've got it right, then
tack weld the new floor to the flange that was removed. Now take the floor
back out of the car.
13. Strengthening ribs: wherever you want one, place the floor over two
pieces of 1/4" masonite or similar, spaced apart by the desired width of
the rib, and hammer the metal down between them. This part is easier than
it sounds. I also depressed the area of the four bolts this way as the
original floor was like that. One caveat: watch the location of the holes
for the seat rails; they should all end up in a non-depressed area.
14. Finish welding the part that was tack-welded while the floor is still
out of the car, as access is so much easier with the floor out than in. I
ran a continuous bead because I wanted to practise MIG welding, but I'm
sure regular tacking is enough. Anyway, this will all be out of sight.
15. Paint the areas that will be inaccessable, like the inside of the inner
sills, with some kind of rust prevention stuff, locate the floor, and weld
it in. The front and rear parts of the right-hand flange get welded back
together now. As for the top of the inner sill, I ran a continuous bead
along the top and it looks great. This part is not really supporting much
because the floor is resting on the inward-protruding parts of the inner
sills, so they're taking the weight. I'm sure the original spot-welding
technique was even overkill.
16. Stand up, straighten out your back, and admire your new floor. Mine
cost $15, but I already had the welding rig.
My apologies for the length of this. I hope it was clear - if you have any
questions feel free to email me and I'll try to clarify further.
My floor is beautiful, and it's starting to rust already, so it's truly a
Triumph floor now.
Regards,
Jim Wallace
TS81417
********************************************
I am planning on cutting out the old floors while leaving a lip to position
and weld the new floor. As far as welding, I saw another TR3 on which the
owner drilled 3/8" holes every 1.5" on the floor flange and welded the hole
edges to the body, much like spot welding. It was done very neatly and
appeared to be quite strong. Has anyone ever done this, or is this
overkill?
Any opinions or advice on the above is greatly appreciated. Also please
advise me of any pitfalls to avoid during this process.
Thanks in advance,
Gary Bouffard
TS 58399
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