Floor-B-Gone

The car is now more structurally sound than it's been in decades with two new inner rockers, patched frame rails, front torque boxes, floor supports, toe boards, and rear wheel well patches all of which make a secure boxed-in frame 68" long by 55" wide.

Up to this point, I've gone to pains to leave the tunnel in place because it in itself provides at least a little structural support for the passenger compartment during the car's, shall we say, "weaker moments". This is how the car looked prior to this task.

I spent some quality time with my drill and Blair Premium Spot Weld cutting bit (which you can see in the image below). After removing around 25 spot welds, the tunnel became a relic of the distant past and now graces the outside of my garage. Looks empty doesn't it? THIS is a Flintstones car.

Here's a view of the rear transition panel without it's friend, the tunnel.

Here's a shot toward the front with the firewall extensions, the floor supports, and the tunnel brace.

And here's the dejected tunnel before I kicked it out in the rain. Of course, I'm going to force some information out of it before I dispose of it permanently. Where are your rear seat brackets? How far back are your lower seat reinforcements? Where do you keep your parking brake brackets? Tell me!! (It won't be pretty).

So, now I have a car with a great big hole in the middle of it. Whatever shall I fill it with? 2x4's? Old warehouse pallets? Crumpled up copies of The Oregonian? No, I think I'll buy a full Dynacorn floor pan from NPD. In fact, I already have but it won't be here until around the 14th but in the meantime, I've got some cleaning up and minor patching to do on the mounting points between the floor panel, the firewall, and the rear seat transition.