Nobody likes a rusted floor. In this post we outline how we repaired the floor pans in a 71 Jeepster. There is also a four part video series on this repair that can be found on our YouTube channel. Here is part 1.
Here are some before pictures so you see the extent of the rust.
Drivers side floor pan.
Whole Jeep.
The rust on the drivers side in front of the rear wheel well has been cut out and the bare steel has been coated with weld through primer.
The patch panel has been fitted and is ready to be welded in.
The passengers side panel has been welded and the holes for the roll cage have been located and drilled.
We welded the crack at the passengers and drivers door jam.
We pounded out the dents and filled the holes in the wheel wells.
The passengers side before we pulled the dents out.
We found this insulation packed in the rear window cavity on the drivers side.
We found a bunch of old tee shirts and polo shirt packed into the rear window cavity on the passenger side. I guess this is someones idea of sound deadner. I was really hoping we would find money or gold not smelly T-shirts.
We use a metal reinforced filler to seal the welded areas. This product does a great job of filling any pin holes that might be in left in the welds. It will not draw in moister like regular body filler so it is a great to use if you suspect there might be pinholes or if the back side of the repair could come in contact with moisture.
Here is what the metal to metal filler looks like spread out.
After you add the hardner you spread it with a regular plastic spreader pushing it into the welds and the pitting. You only have about five minutes to work it before it becomes as hard as a rock.
The drivers side rear wheel well had become separated from the body so I put 1/2 inch fillet welds along the inside to secure it back to the body.
Finally we machined some roll cage spacers out of 3/4 inch Al to secure the roll cage to the side of the body. Once the roll cage is bolted in, the sides of the Jeep will be really secure.