64 floor pan

[R1bobby]

I bought a 1964 thunderbird and the floor pan has a few rust holes and im trying to replace the whole floor. I have no idea where to start, ive looked online and it shows me just pieces not the whole floor pan, any leads on a trusted website are much appreciated.

[dgalietti]

Have you removed the carpet and cleaned the area?

The very first step is to get the area down to bare metal to see what your working with.

Then, if you decide that you need a floor pan still,... Lay it down, trace it out and start cutting. I found a sheet metal saw and cutoff wheel most useful.

I'm about halfway through doing both of my front pans. I will take some pics when I get some time.

[R1bobby]

I haven't yet, i just bought the car today and looking from underneath i seen some light shining through. there isn't much carpet left from the previous owner.

[David Langhorne]

You can't buy a one-piece floor like you can for a Mustang. All 4 pieces are available from Classic Sheet Metal which seems to be the cheapest.
However if the rust isn't too bad do what I did and weld in some home made repair patches. After all who's going to see? I cut the old rust out with a thin cutting disc and made templates with cardboard and cut the new metal the exact size and seam welded them in. Easy job since you are welding from above although takes a long time.

[Terry64HT]

Because these cars are a unibody construction, there is no complete one piece floor pan available. If the rusted and weakened areas aren't too large, you can do as suggested above. Almost all suppliers offer the complete pieces for each side, front and back, as well as the trunk. Shop around, there are also independent suppliers such as Classic.
Hope this helps
Terry
64HT

[R1bobby]

thanks for all the ideas, I know what I got to do now and I will look into the website that was recommended.

[sseebart]

When I did mine, I discovered that the rot had extended up the transmission tunnel. For that, I had to fabricate a few small pieces to use in addition to the pans I bought.

Also, the floor pans are spot welded onto a structural brace. You'll need a spot weld chisel to break them apart.
https://www.jbtools.com/steck-20015-sea ... 10EALw_wcB

~Steve

[JamesR]

Like Steve, I found more rust the more I investigated. My rust didn't go very far up into the tranny tunnel, though, and I'm guessing it probably doesn't on most cars. I removed all the rust I encountered...kind of important.

There are replacement pans available in quadrants of the floor, as you've probably seen. I only needed to replace the front pans on my car. The units from Macs and other such places are shaped more like the original, with corresponding structural contours, but they're a little more expensive and lighter gauge steel. There are also less expensive front pans available for the T-Bird from C2C Fabrications that have less of the original contours, but they're noticeably heavier gauge steel. The originality folks my prefer the more contoured units, but I don't see one type being more or less functional than the other. Just my opinion.

The guy who did my welding was easily able to fabricate portions of the floor removed that the replacement pans didn't cover. I prepped and etched the exposed metal of the replacement pans after installation, then applied a couple of coats of POR-15 per instructions. Be sure and get the weld joints, as they like to rust. The gaps that kept the new pans from being sealed from underneath were filled with POR-15 paste. Definitely not a perfect job, but I'm confident in it's structural integrity and it will be covered with new sound mat, jute and carpet.

[Terry64HT]

Classic Sheet Metal in Charlotte, NC make pans with all the proper contours. Their prices are very good and the quality is excellent. I used them for the trunk sections I needed.
Terry
64HT

[dgalietti]

Found some more pictures so you have a better idea what to expect. I'm using the complete pan section. Many people only use the part that needs to be replaced.

[R1bobby]

thank you everyone for all the helpful advice, I will look into all the sites and recommendations. see what one best fits my budget. being 24 and in college don't help

[Rt.146]

I used POR 15 with fiberglass mats, to repair my floor pans one needs to follow the instructions as they are to get the results, POR states will happen, I went one step further doing the underside the same way, both my fronts were rusted through, the back was OK.