midge54

so after buying my 1987 trans am with only 61000 original miles, i decided to tear into it this weekend. Had to cut the drivers seat out because nuts were so rusted, and found the front drivers floor to be almost non existent. So after some long thinking and talking to the wife, i have decided that i will do it right the first time and order floor pans for both sides and have the welded in by someone who is more competent than i am. I dont have enough room or the proper welder to weld the entire floor pan in. So my questions are, how much does the floor pans cover, behind kick panels, up the fire wall behind pedals? Also do new floor pans include the studs to mount the seats. Last does anyone in texas around Ft Hood, Austin, San Antonio know of any place that wont charge a fortune and do a really nice job welding in floor pans

TIMMYS89GTA

iTrader: (28)

no,the studs will not come with new pans..and are both sides rusted? you're really better off just replacing whats bad..if you are concerned about having visible from under the car welds in spots,you can grind them down and paint..you will still be doing it right..just trim the rusted areas out and replace that section..use a cardboard template and you cut them exactly to the size needed..if both sides are toast,then by all means yes..replacing full lengths will be easier..they don't go behind the kick panels and the front seam is just under the dash..

midge54

the driver side is the worst of the two, both are rusted at the bottom of the kick panels. Both would need sheet metal welded in where someone puts their feet, its just that the drivers side needs a lot more metal. Passenger side needs two holes patched where as the drivers side is pretty much going to need the front section replaced up to behind the pedals and the lower kick panels. Plus i need to figure out how to get new studs for drivers seat since one rusted out and had to cut the front two

midge54

also if i do decide to just weld in sheet metal instead of new floor pans like i did for the rear quarter panel and back section of the passenger floor, how would i go about sealing the sheet metal up so that it doesnt get water into the car

Barlow8869

iTrader: (1)

well, if you weld it all up right, it will be sealed from the welds and then you jist need to coat it in something that will not let it rust again

TIMMYS89GTA

iTrader: (28)

You will want to use seam sealer in the areas next to the rocker or kick panel area...you will also want to use it on the welds if you have any overlapping areas..they have brushable and also thicker ones like gm used assembling these cars.

stealtht/a

iTrader: (1)

There's a huge amount of welding and cutting to completely replace the floor pans in that car. Personally, I won't restore unibodies that far gone. Especially if it's not even rare. You are smart enough to know the work is beyond your skills, the next thing you will learn is that no one will do that job for less than a TON of money. Judging by your earlier posts, it will be waaaaay out of your budget if you can even find anyone who will do it.
I'm sorry, you bought the wrong car. Start stripping parts and find a better body.

KBD85

Too bad I'm so far away! I have a GTA shell spotless from rust anywhere you could have. Funny how many third Gens I hear with rust. I've never seen one!

Maverick H1L

iTrader: (8)

When you get the fenders off (and trust me, you NEED to take the fenders off because I guarantee there is more damage than you think), there is a hole where the leading edge of the rocker panel meets the rest of the body, where about 3 pieces of metal are folded and welded together. This needs to be filled. And check underneath the car as well as a lot of people have had holes under the floor behind the rockers as well.

1991sleeper

iTrader: (-3)

Screw all that ... It's going to get expensive fast especially if u can't do the work yourself ..... U will have 20-30k in the car before it's done ..... I'd find another shell and scrap that one if the rust is that bad ... There is not one spec of rust anywhere on my 91' except under the battery and that's not even that bad .... Find a car that has lived its life in the south ! U would b $ ahead to find a shell even if it's a few hundred miles away and have to haul it home .... I know where a rust free yellow formula shell is setting right now 10 min from my house

midge54

i found someone on this forum who has an 89 GTA that is rust free that i can cut the floor pans out for pretty cheap. I really dont want to just scrap the car when it only has 61000 original miles on it and im sorry these cars are not getting any easier to find. My biggest problem with the welder is it is flux core and likes to burn holes and has no voltage control. What wire could i get to keep this from happening. I have removed the fenders and there is no rust behind the fenders. Any advice when cutting the floor pans out

midge54

i was thinking that i could take the floor pans from the donor car and cut out the sections that are bad and just cut the donor floor pans to fit in where i cut out the bad sections, instead of replacing the entire floor, cause there are plenty of solid sections in the floor.

midge54

Here is pictures of what i am dealing with, up under the dash on the drivers side is shot too so that would be replaced with the floor, up where everything bolts behind the dash is solid though. The rest of the floor is solid besides the front

89rs454

That's not to bad tbh, do you know how it got that rust was the windows down for a long time, salt on the roads, ttops leaking?


These cars are still dime a dozen in Tn rust free as a whole RS's are everywhere i look, i would think living in TX it would be the same. However the really nice original IROCS and Formulas are worth 4-8k+ and trust me there selling at that price.

These cars are becoming classics at least the True IROCS, they have got very popular in video games, movies here lately give it another 15 years and they will be rare slice.... Or maybe not considering this younger generation is to busy twerking it to rap music, sippin, codeine and just too lazy to work.

stealtht/a

iTrader: (1)

What's wrong with the donor GTA that you wouldn't just use that body instead of pulling the floors? I'm serious when I say replacing floor pans is the most difficult body work you can do on these cars if you are doing it right.
I can't see any of your pictures, but have you actually looked at the entire floor pan uncovered? Are you seeing how everything overlaps? Are you noticing how the pans tie into all the bracing? Many people on this forum have the mistaken impression that doing floor pans on these cars is as easy as on an old frame car. It's waaaay more complicated.
Without seeing your photos I'm going to assert that car has more than 61k mikes on it. You are about to waste a lot of time and money on an unworthy car. Yes, it takes a little effort to find the less rusty ones , they don't have to be rust free, but there are better ones than that.
Really plan this out before you get into this and you'll see what's involved.

midge54

The car only has 61000 miles on it, been verfied. The car was originally from ohio so salt on the road plus it sat for 15 years after the old man that owned it died is why it rusted. The reason i dont want the gta body is its a hard top and my trans am is t top.

89rs454

I understand right there, I want a ttop but finding a good one without destroyed interior is like impossible, and smell so bad from the mildew.

1991sleeper

iTrader: (-3)

Go buy a donor/ parts car that is NOt rusted at all .... Cut out ALL the rust in the floors preferably in a few pieces as possible .. Then take the piece u cut out of your car and use it as a template and cut it out of the other car .. Then weld grind paint etc.

89rs454

Couldn't that potentially soften the integrity of the uni body though?

midge54

That's my plan with this gta I'm cutting the floors out of, I'm going to cut as much excess as I can the cut my bad sections out and use as a template

89rs454

Can you post pics i would really like to see this.

midge54

I'll post pics as I make progress, prob be cutting floors next weekend

midge54

well I think the car is too far gone, the subframe had rust holes through it back under the passenger seat and the inner rocker would need complete replacement, its a shame to part out and scrap an 87 trans am with 61,000 on it but idk what else to do, its definitely structurally unsound at this point

stealtht/a

iTrader: (1)

Good you figured it out before you spent too much time on it.
Start grabbing parts and look UNDER the next one you buy.

midge54

yea im trying to see if I can find a solid roller since I have a running engine and a good transmission, but haven't found one yet