[6pack] Floorpan replacement and Rust repair quote...

Tue Jun 9 18:02:22 MDT 2015

Hi James, 

I'm in the same boat needing to replace my drivers side floorpan. I started investigating as well and at first was pretty discouraged by the cost and recommended approach of pulling the body off. I spent some more time researching and made a few calls and found other opinions and options. Granted my car is not perfect nor will it every be and I don't plan to show it. I want it safe and drive able. 

What I found is you can replace the floorpan with the body on, some people even just replace the front half of the floorpan or just patch it and others use products like POR-15. Depends on the final result you are looking for and what you consider acceptable. I am going the route of replacing the whole floorpan and have stripped everything down so I can see where the previous welds are for when I cut it. I found some good posts and pictures on the process. 

I've done some welding in the past so I may tackle that myself or just hire a professional. The quotes so far are few hundred dollars assuming I have all the prep done and everything ready to. They are mobile welders and basically just show up and do the welding and some basic adjustments. Can speak for the quality of work at this point but from what I understand for a seasoned welder this is not a tough job as long as the fit is good. I attached a forum post below I found useful. 

By the way pulling the body off and sand blasting does sound awesome and ultimately would be fantastic if I had more time and money. 

Chris 

http://www.triumphexp.com/phorum/read.php?6,868323 

----- Original Message -----

From: "James_ via 6pack" <6pack at autox.team.net> 
To: "James_" <jattr6 at hotmail.com> 
Cc: 6pack at autox.team.net 
Sent: Tuesday, June 9, 2015 2:46:13 PM 
Subject: Re: [6pack] Floorpan replacement and Rust repair quote... 

One thought I have is to locate a good inner well arch for drivers side or at least the flat triangle section to cut out and use that to replace my bad corner. It is the worse of the rust 

The. The floor pan issue. They are shot! 

If I could get it all fixed for say under $4k I'd be happy. 
Well, 
I have two other places to call. 

If I sold the car I know I would not be able to buy a different one. Probably just flat out done with classic cars. I'll probably need therapy over the 
Mere sight of classic cars now! Hah. 

—Sent from my Atari 2600— 

On Jun 9, 2015, at 1:55 PM, "James_ via 6pack" < 6pack at autox.team.net > wrote: 

Hi all… 

First…. I am so depressed - I may sell the TR6 and walk away….seriously…even after 22 years of my entire adult life. 

I just met and got a quote from a guy that generally works on Austin Healey's…and I gather he does very high end work….and accustom to people with deep pockets. 
So that was probably my mistake, but still is probably the best approach to have work done 100% thorough and correct. 

First: I was told floor pans require the car body to be off the frame to replace. 
First overwhelming thought…body of the car? ugh. 

Second: I have a few bad spots of rust that need panels fabricated and welded. The worse is under the master cylinder and rust has 
eaten through the inner and outer wheel arch. It affects the pedal box too. 
(I can send a picture if anyone is interested) 

So the guy was really wanting the body removed, sand blasted, panels repaired and powder coated. 
Sounds awesome. But it all gets down to time and money. a LOT of money and the rest of the year. 
Roughly, looking at $10-20K. for a TR6. yikes. Not sure I love the car that much. I know repairing old cars will ALWAYS cost more than a car is worth. 
I know that. Don't lecture about that. But... my rust is not a 'rust bucket' by any means. And for $20K I can find a car that comes close to showroom condition!!! 

I guess I am so depressed / disappointed / overwhelmed / sad / hmmmm….what else… 

…I am at a loss as to what to do. One option: Say screw it and live with the rotten areas, put the car back to gather and drive it. 
or: 
Sell the dang thing and walk away. Maybe I finally reached that "mercy…mercy…no more…make it stop" stage. 
- I doubt I could bring myself to buy a TR6 again….I mean, what's the point. Mine isn't THAT awful and I know the history of THIS car. 

Or: 
another option….(my original desire/thought) is to have the areas repaired and new floor boards installed by someone that does a really good welding job 
but not nearly as intense of a procedure or expensive. I know … you get what you pay for. 

This winter: I removed everything from the engine to detail it out and everything is ready to go back in once the rust was fixed and engine bay painted. 
At this point, I may as well sell off all the PARTS - they'd be worth more they the car as a whole at this point. And everything is removed! 
(only half kidding….) 

Oh, one more thing…. 
this guy is DEAD set against my thought of switching to Silicone brake fluid. I mean, DEAD set against and talking about warranty being voided if I use it. 
I looked at him and said: "What Warranty is that?" "It isn't like there is a dealership I can go to" "I buy parts, I put them on." I am the warranty department! 
He mentioned the warranty of the parts I buy from Moss, etc. hmmmm….They void it if the silicone falls the parts. 
Really? Moss SELLS Silicone brake fluid. 
I suspect all this is because his DAD is against Silicone and he just follows what his dad hates. 

I was recently curious why auto stores don't seem to carry DOT 5 Silicone as much as the other types. So now with this restoration guy's comments … is Silicone THAT bad/poorly rated? 

Well, any advice or words of comfort? 

James 

1976 TR6 

<blockquote>

_______________________________________________ 
Support Team.Net http://www.team.net/donate.html 
Suggested annual donation $12.96 
Archive: http://www.team.net/archive 
Forums: http://www.team.net/forums 

6pack at autox.team.net 
http://autox.team.net/mailman/listinfo/6pack 

Unsubscribe/Manage: http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/6pack/jattr6@hotmail.com 

</blockquote>

_______________________________________________ 
Support Team.Net http://www.team.net/donate.html 
Suggested annual donation $12.96 
Archive: http://www.team.net/archive 
Forums: http://www.team.net/forums 

6pack at autox.team.net 
http://autox.team.net/mailman/listinfo/6pack 

Unsubscribe/Manage: http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/6pack/jollycj@comcast.net 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://autox.team.net/pipermail/6pack/attachments/20150610/d6b0a88b/attachment.html>