how much futher to cut i have cut this much out







but when i lay the panel on it looks llike it wont fit i asume i shouldnt have to cut the tunnel at all ??? and how far should i cut into the foot well behind the pedals ??

is it ok to trim the new panel now to fit and tidy the hole with a grinder
thnks in advance

i'd say so, you should always have about an inch left of the old steel. are you using a genuine repair panel? make sure you rust proof everything and after the welding has been done use seam sealer on all exposed edges

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real men race downhill - keiichi tsuchiya

personally i would try to keep as much original panel as possible then trim the new panel to suit

in saying that though i have never done it before so i could be talking out of my hat

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all that was cut out was crappy rust and theres even a lttle bit left on some edges

what about the tunnel

aahhhh that repair panel doesnt have the "hump" where the starter button was originaly fitted....the tunnel shouldnt be that bad..take it all back to bare metal. dont forget to make holes for the subframe bolts

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real men race downhill - keiichi tsuchiya

you could cut out the hump...or leave it in....
if you cut it out you may have to do somthing about the rail box section where the seats mount up......
but it would be easier to make carpets for the car if the hump wasnt there
its up to you

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real men race downhill - keiichi tsuchiya

thanks for that i think i will try and leave the tunnel in and also leave the hump on the side of it and just trim the repair panel

what subframe bolt hole?

does this sound ok leaving tunnel and hump and triming around then i guess making a cardboard cut out the size of the hole and trace onto the panel and trim and pray

Even with the so called correct (ie pre-rodchange) replacement pans, on the 850 I had to do a bit of cutting & corner shaping. They are aftermarket parts made for UK cars, not original panels for Oz cars.
I left mine overlapped 20mm all round, welded inside, then turned the body over and welded outside too.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

I have just done all 4 floor sections in WEEVAN. I agree with drmini in aust. I too left around 20mm overlap all round, except around the hump for starter button where quite by accident I ended up with a near perfect but-join , could have ended in tears, but worked out perfectly. I too welded inside & then flipped WEEVAN and welded under floor as well. A coat of seamsealer along the join inside & out & it looks really neat. Will finish with a coat of body deadener underneath & will spray stonechip inside before painting. Will take a couple of close-up photos tomorrow & post in members gallery tomorrow night if I get a chance.

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Two doors / four seats
Four doors / two seats

Firstly you want to keep cutting until all the rust is gone.

For mine, on the passenger side there was no rust on the firewall panel, so I unstitched the floor panel from the firewall panel.

Here is a shot of me half way through:



On the driver side, I had to cut a bit of the firewall panel out. On the passenger side the replacement panel is lap joined at the firewall, like the orginal, but on the driver side you can see that the seam on the firewall is higher. It is a butt weld.



Since the replacement panels are thinner and I had removed some of the firewall panel, I later decided to reinforce this area.



PS. Can you also please change the thread title to be a little more descriptive.

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"Life is not like a box of chocolates... it's more like a jar of jalapenos. Whatever you do today, may burn your arse tomorrow."

thats magic helps sooo much thanks for that

zizzle that looks great and thanks pics really help

Cut out all the rust do not leave any there at all.... As a panel beater I would cut even past the rust as far away from it as you can..... you then can trim the new panel to fit leaving as the others have said abbout 20 mm but not nessary.. The best way to do it is leave about 10 mm and the you step the new panel by 10mm... Take it to any panel shop and ask them if the can step the edges. Doing it this way the new panel will drop down into the old panel and fit real snug. Then weld all around doing small stiches about 10 mm let it cool right down before welding again. As you will get distortion. Take your time with welding, its worth it in the end..

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If it cant be fixed with a hammer it cant be FIXED!!