Rotten floor boards. Any ideas

[yarbeau]

So just bought the car about a month ago 87 grand national.
everything is mechanically sound got it inspected checked everything out seemed really solid and good to go so i purchased the car.

This evening i strolled over in my 80 regal to the garage where i have it parked for the winter to do some tearing apart of the interior as that was all the work that needed to be done to this car.

took seats out starting to remove carpet and..... rust... a few cracks right through and a whole wack of surface rust.


i couldnt believe it, the undercarriage was blasted with an undercoating tar that hid the damage from eyes looking/feeling underneath.

i now realize i should have looked deeper into the car before i bought and maybe peeled the rug back to see.

it seems as if water was just pooling in the low spot by your feet on both driver and passenger sides. the rear most pan for the passengers feet are in very good condition as is the wall all the way around the floorboards. might have just been a leaky t-top seal but thats beside the point.

where can one find perfect fitting/original looking complete floor pans that can be welded in place. i have a friend who owns a body shop so welding shouldnt be a problem. i just want it to look and feel original when complete.

anyone who has done this sort of work before please, i'm all ears and eager to learn.

Thanks,
Derek
yarbeau@gmail.com

 

[Topjimmy]

G-Body Parts has em:

GBodyParts.com Online

 

[V8Assassin]

Depending on the severity, there are other remedies. I used POR fiber patch to cover some small holes in mine.

 

[yarbeau]

They are pretty severe. Im going to try to head over to the garage and take some pics to show you guys whats up.

I'd really feel better just replacing them entirely and undercoating them immediately after the instal.

member Dwall said he has a set that hes looking to sell so I may be in luck.

 

[yarbeau]

Also,
How bad will the resale value of the car drop seeing if i get the floorboards replaced and they are no longer the originals? If they are done professionally I dont see it being a huge problem but you guys would know alot better than me.

 

[DailyDrifter]

Also,
How bad will the resale value of the car drop seeing if i get the floorboards replaced and they are no longer the originals? If they are done professionally I dont see it being a huge problem but you guys would know alot better than me.

I would pay more for a car that has new floorboards, instead of rusted out OEM's.

 

[usetaboost]

I'm s ure my car is worth a little more with cobbled up floor patches than huge flintstone holes in it and a body bolt poking up through the rusted floor.

I am never surprised to hear of a rotted floor in a gbody. I've only seen one locally that had a solid floor and it was the blue 87 limited I had.

 

[yarbeau]

Yeah these cars are notorious for rusting.
I have an 80 regal that is miraculously intact very well with little to no rust on the floor/frame and i drive it in the winter.

I just dont want to take away from the original aspect. but like drifter said what good is a rotten floor on an otherwise minty g-body.

 

[1986TR]

where are you located iam sellinga real nice GN body very clean california body:biggrin:

 

[whitecobra98]

i went (am going thru) the same exact thing...it looked great from underneath but there was one small soft spot on the drivers side...i pulled up the carpet to replace it, and found a nightmare....the pans were on back order, but ended up only having to wait a couple weeks (gbody) they came in and the car has been at the body shop for almost two months...my body guy said he would never take on a job like this again...he said the pans were "crude" but he made them work...the floors look awesome now, but still dont have the car back yet, having a couple other things done while its there....i don't believe anyone makes a true one piece floor pan...i got both sides(besides it doesnt cost more than a couple dollars to ship 2 over the price of one)....i'll take pics of the finished floor if I ever get it back

 

[regal81455]

Ive got a fairly decent passenger side front that I don't think Ill need. $125+shipping PM if your interested.

 

[turbonut85]

T top car+rusty floors=rust in the A-pillar in the corners of the windshield...better lift up the weatherstrip in the corners and take a peek. I'd bet a 12 pack there is rust there too. Ask me how i know. Anything is fixable so long as you can find suitable replacement parts.

 

[whitecobra98]

thats a project for another day...if I don't look, its not there right? i'm sure mine are rusted too, but it never sees the rain and gets dried completely when I wash it, so I have some time to save some dough up for the seals and the repair work

 

[getchasum]

As mentioned above...If you don't like what you've found under the carpet, you dang sure don't want to look under th T/Top weaher striping.

 

[yarbeau]

i figured as much with the rust under the stripping. ill get pics up. its not as bad as the floors. not rusted through but needs to be cleaned up for sure.

 

[counterman]

Well, I would not get too discouraged. If you look at some of the resto work done on other forums that feature older muscle machines, rusted floors are a small problem. This kind of trouble sent plenty of the older cars to the scrap yards in the last decades, because they were "too bad to fix" or "not worth the money" to repair correctly. Our cars are aging every day, and most have some issue or problem to deal with. I remember back in the eighties when a car with a rotted floor or trunk was put in the junk category. Now, cars that were not even a "good" parts car 20 years back are being looked at as real foundations for restos. I believe that our Regals will be in the same category. If originality is not a big deal, you might consider rebodying the car as someone else has already suggested. You might also try sourcing a clean g body floor from the Southwest and having it shipped. With a clean salvage floor, your shop can make as nice of a repair as you would want. In any case, good luck. Counterman.

 

[usetaboost]

REbody a car? He just as well keep the rusty floored car and fix it. There's quite a few of us that have patched these cars up I'm sure. Not all of us can do it perfectly, but it's better than gutting the car and building a clone from one or pulling VIN tags off and swapping to another car which is ILLEAGAL by the way. Don't worry about this small amount of rust. I'm sure my car is way worse. And I've seen pics of these cars with the ENTIRE floor rusted out and guys patching them up. Fix the car, take pride in what you are doing, and rub it in your friends' face that you can do it and they can't

 

[turbonut85]

^^^ Well said. ^^^

 

[yarbeau]

Thanks for the advise guys. In no way is this GN considered to far gone. simply a leaky T allowed water to pool on the floor boards. no frame damaged whatsoever. body is immaculate, no rust on anypart of the car besides the floor and the a console/t trimmings due to the leaky top.

new wheatherstripping (coming as soon as my funds are replenished ) and the floorboards which i'm in the process of obtaining from a member here on the site (dwall) plus a little TLC on the A pillar as mentioned are all thats needed to get this car in structural shape.

New carpet, and upholstery and this grand national will be set.
the car is pushing 430 horse right now so mechanically she's as quick as its getting for a while.

Its hard looking at it sit until summer but it gives me time to evaluate and explore.

I'll know every nook and cranny on this gbody come march, and thats why i bought the car. to have something to take pride in creating. not to have a trailer queen or a show piece. to have something that ive spent hours of time on learning and tinkering with that can be driven whenever wherever.

These cars a special. and she will be and is getting the treatment and MINOR revitalization a 22 year old piece of history deserves.

 

[turbonut85]

Mine was just the opposite...little rust on the floors and lots of rust in the t-tops!!