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1958 Rambler super WELDING NEW FLOOR COMPLETE.

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sweatlock View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote sweatlock Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jul/23/2021 at 6:28pm
Instead of two buses, do they have Uber in B.C.? 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 1958 rambler super Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Jul/25/2021 at 11:42am
Yes 6pakbee I often think of moving away from the amc, but after a day or two I'm cool again and enjoying the progress of such a simple old car, and sweatlock I think there is Uber but I'd rather not deal with the whole thing of organizing a ride on the web and having a possibly crappy convo with a awkward person.
Bit I done loads of hitchhiking and talking to strangers was always a part of the journey and I enjoyed it no matter who it was, good convo or bad.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 1958 rambler super Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/08/2021 at 5:51pm
Here is a current pic of work I have to do to restore the floor for a new gas pedal to be put in....


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 1958 rambler super Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/11/2021 at 11:29am
Last night a three and a half hour try at bending a piece of sheet metal with three changes in angle didn't go terribly but not to well either, I only had a 2.5 inch tiny vice clamped to a old dinner table, I cut some wood to make the holding area wider and tried to bend it that way, but with no other force holding the metal at the other side left the metal bends being too wide and not sharp. Also, the table started o break when I tried pushing the sheet metal, 16 gage by the way, instead of pulling it, which was absurd, having to brace the wood holding the metal with both feet, while pulling the sheet with my hands while sitting in the chair infront of my work... Kinda felt silly, not gunna lie. It did bend but not very well, and am concerned the clearance the gas pedal will change, I think maybe I could take it to a shop, but without the car her I don't know if I'll be able to check it very easily, to see if the bend needs to be adjusted, once or twice. Maybe the fasteners will be able to pull the metal to form on the remaining metal that's there.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote hassyfoto Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/11/2021 at 12:18pm
Tom, I usually make a template out of poster board. Also instead of trying to bend all contours at once, try the cut relief lines in conjunction with the bend method. 
With the poster board you can easily cut the angles that you need. The poster board will overlap itself at the cut marks and you can trim for a butt joint or overlap joint. ( depends on the fact that you want the floor to be functionable & safe or functionable, safe and original looking from the underside of the car. )

The other method is to make the floor with a lot flat pieces of metal. But this involves a lot more time welding. Each contour will be it's own piece of metal. 
 In the end, your project will be a combination of multiple methods.
Murphy's Law:
Any given mechanical job you decide to solve alone will imminently require a third hand, at its most critical moment

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 1958 rambler super Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/13/2021 at 10:37am
Making the template out of poster board, in a flat one dimensional outline of surface area is easy for me to picture and understand, but, the shape and rise and height of the changes in floor shape is harder to do, the floor around the clutch and brake pedal is flat, but as it continues to move along closer to gas pedal and then the transmission hump it rises to accommodate the movements of the exhaust pipe when it's being moved up to the exhaust manifold for that installation, I remember wrestling it up there and there definitely needs to be a rise in that area of the floor so it can move up and around ect ect. 
Yesterday I spent around another six hours working at it, using a ball peen hammer and a 2.5 pound sledge to bang out this rise... But the metal reacted strangely and deformed horribly, and it looks aweful, and is not acceptable... I really need to be able o do this properly with tools and skill, so I think I might have to hand this job over to a person who knows what they are doing.
Another member gave me an idea of using cardboard pieces that are put on the floor verticaly and cut according to changes in floor elevation so give a sectional reference perspective on how the floor is shaped... I also have a annoying problem with the new carb, that needs to use a new throttle linkage set up, that is looking like it requires a new gas pedal and a new spot for the cable to go through the firewall, the area of firewall available is making placing the pedal difficult because of clearance issues with the movement of the new gas pedal going down to the floor, the floor is too close to the gas pedal and stops it from being depressed with a foot unless it's somewhere else, one ideal spit last night revealed itself to be problematic because the new hole in the firewall had the cable passing almost right behind the mechanical shifter rod for the tranny....I'll take another look today, but it's a big mess of a problem.... I didn't have experience to know that what I read on tomjs website about the Weber 32/36 carb being a very good carb for a stock 195.6 engine, but I didn't have experience to think what would this new carb do to the throttle linkage adjustment it needs to be used?? This has turned into a big problem for me, not knowing if a simple new gas pedal and diff spot for the pedal will be able to be implemented, or changing the shape of the floor by the tranny bump to accommodate the travel needed for the new gas pedal......
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote hassyfoto Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/14/2021 at 6:03am
How to make and replace Floor Pans in a vehicle - Bing video
The article is very basic and he only spot welds the patch panel in place. I like the video because he touches base on all aspects of the job. Even some very basic hammer/dolly techniques for shaping the floor. 

Making your floor pans will require several pieces of metal. Create the large floor pan and part of the firewall (under the pedals) first. Then start working on the multiple contours under the gas pedal. You can work on several different small patch panels until you create all the contours. 

The fun of custom work ( your new gas pedal) will require some ground work. Use cardboard ( stiff enough to hold the pedal & cable) as a template. A lot of small cardboard pieces held together with masking tape. Cut, redo, reshape the carboard until you know how the metal will need to look for the gas pedal.  Custom metal work requires this process all the time. I can spend days on templates, depending on the size of the project just making a final working template.

Usually when I am repairing floor pans, I need to address the floor cross braces and reinforcement ribs as well. I will create the flat floor pan and weld that in place. Then I come back, create a more templates, mark & cut out my metal, add bends and/or hammer & dolly work (I use a sand bag when applicable) and weld each patch panel in place.

  Creating the patch panels can be completed in smaller sections so you can work the metal easier, it will just require more welding seams & grinding the welding seams done.  I guess that's why I have repaired many cars with fiberglass patches, pop-rivet patches and in the last 15 years or so, many glued on floor patch panels.  Folks took the least amount of work method and they simply did not have the tools & experience. 
  Adhesive bonding of the floor pans will work, but that requires the metal to overlap the original floor and a clear understanding on the preparation and application of the adhesive bonding materials. ( Note: Adhesive bonding materials are expensive and require specific guidelines for application, thickness of application, preparation of the metal and curing considerations. It is not "gluing". 

Sound like you are on the right track, just work with smaller pieces of metal and shape the metal to the best possible "part of the contour and weld that in place. I would not worry about how many pieces of metal it takes.  Example: I had a rusted out trunk floor in my Javelin. I bought the only floor pan available on the internet. (Lousy contours, missing contours, etc...) Just to top it all off the contours were in the wrong place. Best of all the photos on the internet showed a one piece unit. The floor shows up in numerous pieces. I had to remake some of the pieces, make some additional pieces and spend a whole lot of time grinding down all the lengthy welds so that the floor looked like the original.

 

   
Murphy's Law:
Any given mechanical job you decide to solve alone will imminently require a third hand, at its most critical moment

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote scott Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/17/2021 at 11:29am
If you truly have 16 gauge metal, it is too thick to form by hand. Get something in a lighter gauge & you'll have better luck. Something roughly the same thickness as the original floor. Have any old hoods, trunk lids or fenders you can cut metal out of?
"Prolly" is not a word.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pacerman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/17/2021 at 1:26pm
Rambler floors were 18 gauge for years I beiieve.   Joe
Happiness is making something out of nothing.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Trader Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Oct/17/2021 at 7:42pm
Duct tape the holes, wax paper the area and make a mold out of paper maccha. Then you have something to work with off the body that makes things much easier. Fiberglass works also, but much more expensive.
Just another option.
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