Rust is a 4 letter word

[psmith]

Well my car just turned 40 and as a birthday present I decided to fix the rusty floors before my feet went all the way through to the ground Fred Flintstone style.  So I spent the holidays pulling out the carpet and scraping the tar paper insulation off the floors.  I like to think of myself as a "glass is half full" kind of guy, but I was not all that surprised to find more rust.  Here are some pics.

uploaded/psmith/200811124530_RightFront.JPG
uploaded/psmith/20081112469_RightRear.JPG

With a little help from K&K I hope to be back on the road by spring.

Pete S.

[jeffc280sl]

Pete,

I think you picked out a great birthday present.  The rust doesn't appear to be too bad and the investment seems very worthwhile.

Jeff C.
1970 280SL 4-speed

[Paddy_Crow]

I must say, these pictures make me feel really good about the condition of my floors!

Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch...

[J. Huber]

Paddy, consider yourself lucky -- and you too Pete. Very fixable from what I can see. Good luck.

James
63 230SL

[waqas]

Looks 'unmolested and original' to me... put it on fleabay and see what you can get for it!  

In my case, the inside floors look and feel great, but the firewalls are flaking like... well you get the idea. Thanks for sharing the 'before' pics-- we'd love to see the 'after' shots once you're done!

Waqas in Austin, Texas

[psmith]

Thanks for the encouraging words.  I'm a little worried about the rear cross member, but as my neighbor said "it's better to find out where it is and fix it than to worry about where it might be"

Here's a link to to more photos, including the drain hoses, which look to be "unmolested and original" based on the type of hose clamps.  You can see the left hose is shot, but the right one looks pretty good.

http://picasaweb.google.com/pbsmith9/PagodaFloors

Pete S.

[Mark280SL]

Being a total newbie both to the site in the last couple weeks and to owning my 1970 280SL about as long forgive what is likely a dumb question, (I'm trying to learn)...... I had the idea that main reason, or at least one of them for the floors rusting was the failure over time of the drain hoses which then leaked into the interior floor and perhaps a leaky conv top over time as well. If the hoses look as original as they do what was the culprit here? Where else will the water come from in these cars?

Mark
Ivory 1970 280 SL

Originally posted by psmith

Well my car just turned 40 and as a birthday present I decided to fix the rusty floors before my feet went all the way through to the ground Fred Flintstone style.  So I spent the holidays pulling out the carpet and scraping the tar paper insulation off the floors.  I like to think of myself as a "glass is half full" kind of guy, but I was not all that surprised to find more rust.  Here are some pics.

....

With a little help from K&K I hope to be back on the road by spring.

Pete S.

[psmith]

It's hard to see from the picture, but the left hose is blown apart and water can pour in.  Although the right hose looks good, I don't think any rubber hose can last 40 years.  The material just breaks down over time.  Even if the hose doesn't fail, if it becomes plugged, water will back up in the fresh air box below the scoop in front of the windshield and can overflow onto the floor.  When I get the car back I will replace the hoses and post some pictures.

Pete S.

[graphic66]

Check the bottom of your airbox where the drain hoses come out, it could be rusted through somewhere. Your floors are very repairable. Take the money used to buy replacement panels and buy a mig welder with gas. Get a right angle small grinder and some 14 gauge flat steel. Just cut out the bad and fabricate pieces to fit in perfectly, weld in place, grind smooth and paint. I think it is Eastwood Co. that sells some epoxy stuff to smooth into your grooves on the floor with your finger to fill those. Or you can, as I did take a ball peen hammer and my vice and spread the jaws about an inch apart and shape the steel just like your floor. It is way easier than it looks and is very satisfying work. In the end with a little practice you will be amazed how well it will come out.

[dseretakis]

14 gauge steel is overkill for floor pan repairs.  18 ga is probably closer to what the pans are made of.  When welding in patch panels you should always match up the thicknesses of the metal you are welding.  Also 14 ga steel will be incredibly difficult to form.
Dimitri

quote:Originally posted by graphic66

Check the bottom of your airbox where the drain hoses come out, it could be rusted through somewhere. Your floors are very repairable. Take the money used to buy replacement panels and buy a mig welder with gas. Get a right angle small grinder and some 14 gauge flat steel. Just cut out the bad and fabricate pieces to fit in perfectly, weld in place, grind smooth and paint. I think it is Eastwood Co. that sells some epoxy stuff to smooth into your grooves on the floor with your finger to fill those. Or you can, as I did take a ball peen hammer and my vice and spread the jaws about an inch apart and shape the steel just like your floor. It is way easier than it looks and is very satisfying work. In the end with a little practice you will be amazed how well it will come out.

[pauldridge]

Do yourself a favor and spend some time on the phone with the owner at K&K.  He is very knowledgeable, and loves to talk about the process.  He suggested a spotweld cutter (basically a specialty drill bit) that made removal of a couple of my floor pans a simple, if not time-consuming job.

He'll tell you exactly what settings to use on your Mig welder, and even send along some scrap metal pieces for practice welding.

Of course, if the rust is just in a localized area of a given panel, then it probably does make sense to just cut out that part and patch.  But otherwise, trust me, if you're going to all this effort, you'll be much more pleased with the final result by spending a few bucks more for the correct panels.

Even for small patches, it is best to duplicate the original factory "spot weld" construction by drilling weld holes every inch or so in the new patch (using the spot weld cutter again)... you'll have much less metal warpage to deal with.  Then finish the repair off with a grinder followed by a good seam sealer, topped by a good rust-preventative coating (no need to do this again in a few years!)

I found an inexpensive ($39) power sheet metal shear at Harbor Freight, and it has been invaluable in getting the rusty parts out.

Phil

Oh, I did wind up with 3 extrusions I didn't need from K&K:  Driver side floor pan, accelerator pedal attach bracket, and strengthening bar under the floor pan, if anyone's interested, they are out-of-the-box new, and can pass them along at my cost less the 15% k&k restocking fee.

Originally posted by psmith

Well my car just turned 40 and as a birthday present I decided to fix the rusty floors before my feet went all the way through to the ground Fred Flintstone style.  So I spent the holidays pulling out the carpet and scraping the tar paper insulation off the floors.  I like to think of myself as a "glass is half full" kind of guy, but I was not all that surprised to find more rust.  Here are some pics.

...

With a little help from K&K I hope to be back on the road by spring.

Pete S.

Phil Auldridge
230SL soon to be 172 Metallic Grey/blue interior. Auto/AC

[psmith]

I did buy the panels from K&K, and I don't have the time or the talent to learn how to weld, so I took them to the shop that does Roy Spencer's work for installation.  I hope to have it back soon!

Pete S.

[seattle_Jerry]

So whats the damage to get the panels installed? I made the mistake of stripping away the tar and found rust on my 230. Luckily it is just the drivers side that has rust through. I think it was a leaky windscreen.

I also have one small spot of rust through in my trunk. That I can blame on my antennae.

1967 230SL Havana Brown Auto with A/C

[Peter van Es]

Well my car just turned 40 and as a birthday present I decided to fix the rusty floors before my feet went all the way through to the ground Fred Flintstone style.  So I spent the holidays pulling out the carpet and scraping the tar paper insulation off the floors.  I like to think of myself as a "glass is half full" kind of guy, but I was not all that surprised to find more rust.  Here are some pics.

With a little help from K&K I hope to be back on the road by spring.

Pete S.

Missing pictures added