replacing the wood floor in a surburban

[72Subby]

... anybody done this, or have tips?

I have looked at it enough to realize it isn't as simple as I thought. I could probably make do with what I have but I have to make some repairs (we had to cut in from the top to remove a giant home-made gas tank installed by the P.O. and my original thought of "hey I'll get a nice sheet of plywood and coat it with a nice epoxy and install it" now seems naive.

So, any advice?

--steve

[Frizzle Fry]

Originally Posted by 72Subby

... anybody done this, or have tips?

I have looked at it enough to realize it isn't as simple as I thought. I could probably make do with what I have but I have to make some repairs (we had to cut in from the top to remove a giant home-made gas tank installed by the P.O. and my original thought of "hey I'll get a nice sheet of plywood and coat it with a nice epoxy and install it" now seems naive.

So, any advice?

--steve

I'm pretty sure you'll have to take the body off the frame and install it from beneath. You may be able to do a two piece tongue and groove deal from above, but it will be tight.

[Frizzle Fry]

...or do planks and stips like a wood bed.

[toomanytoyz]

Originally Posted by Frizzle Fry

...or do planks and stips like a wood bed.

Here is How it Could Look.............

Rick

[72Subby]

I wondered if a pickup wood bed type effort would work, that's a neat option. I'll give it some thought and see. (I'd probably still cover it with carpet but I do know I'd rather not remove the body and replace it from underneath, which is how it seems to be done at the factory.

[Longhorn Man]

if you are just going to cover it with carpet, then you can just patch the floor instead of replacing it.

[Frizzle Fry]

Very true LHM.

Another option is to do cabinet grade wood in two or three sections then use the truck bed stainless/chrome strips to hide the gaps plus strips in between so it looks like planks.

[72Subby]

thanks for the ideas.

Patching it is probably the default. I know I'm not taking the body off the frame. :-)

But looking at the condition of the wood, it's 35 year old plywood, if it were easier I'd definately replace it. That's my problem with my car projects is you start by replacing a missing screw and come to your senses when you realize your car is disassembled spread out across the garage.

This is supposed to be the parts hauler for my project, not my project. :-)

--steve

[vectorit]

I have done this... It wasn't fun. I had the body off the frame at the time, since I thought that was the only way to do it at the time.
But, if I had to do it again.
The trick is that the corner closest to the 3rd door is actually a tongue and grooved section, and if you look close at it you should see the seam.
There is S load of bolts holding it in, and just about all of them I had to chisle off.
Once you get all of the bolts out, remove the spare tire well. Then dig out that corner I spoke about earlier, once you have removed the corner you will be able to shift the board towards the passenger side. Easier said than done, but since you are not gonna keep this wood.. Time to get the sawzall out!
Use your original wood as a template for the shape, and use it as a template to drill all of the holes for the bolts.
Once your new piece is all dialed in and the metal channels are clear of dirt and rust, install the floor from the rear until it settles into the channels. Once the board is settled, use a mallet to shift the board snug under the driver side rear fender well.
Once that is done and lined up with all the holes, get your corner out that you duplicated from the original and tap that in place. Install your spare tire well, and finnish installing all of the carriage bolts.
Be sure to use best grade plywood you can get, and then seal it all up especially on the bottom! I used a marine grade wood, which is much more durable and has a smoother finish. Marine grade will be expensive, but it will be money well spent!

Good luck!

[PETEM1957]

Clear something up for me.

I have a 67 panel that has a floor like the wood bed pick-ups have. I stripped out an overlay of 1/2 " plywood that a previous owner had installed and the wood is in damn good shape with only a couple of holes drilled in it. I'm going to just clean, stain & clearcoat the original wood planks.

What year/s did they go to a plywood style floor?

[vectorit]

Well consider yourself very lucky that you have the PU style plank floor! I sure wish mine did, since it would have made my life easier. Actually I am suprised that your 67 has a plank floor... I always thought the 67/68's had a plywood rear floor, but I am thinking that there maybe something about your truck being a panel and mine being a burb with glass. I did see another 68 Panel that was for sale on the interweb, and in the video it showed that it had a plank floor. At the time I thought cool, someone made that work.. I guess panel models had plank, while the window models had plywood???

[GIZZ]

well, i thought my panel had individual planks, see below...

[Frizzle Fry]

Panels had planks, Burbs had ply from what I've seen.

[Long Roof]

Are the panels actually planks or do they just have the strips for utility/abuse protection purpose? Always been curious and have never inspected a panel myself.

[Longhorn Man]

I am 99% sure they actually have planks.

[seans1]

just a thought. how about replacing it with metal. a little easier to work with and last a whole lot longer. something to consider.

[PETEM1957]

They are planks, you can see the different wood grain patterns. It is definitely not plywood.

[shaneschevys]

Originally Posted by Long Roof

Are the panels actually planks or do they just have the strips for utility/abuse protection purpose? Always been curious and have never inspected a panel myself.

The floor in my panel is plywood with the strips bolted to the top.

[pritch]

Originally Posted by shaneschevys

The floor in my panel is plywood with the strips bolted to the top.

I always thought my Panel had plywood-I never really studied it that close. I'll have to take a closer look.

[GIZZ]

ok, i just looked at mine. i know it may not help the orig poster much cause its a panel, not a burb. but for general interest its a '69 canadian truck, original floors. it has 2 sheets of roughly 5/16" thick wood covered by the metal strips. i woulda swore they were individual planks, here are the pics. you can see the divide line in the first 2 pics from the top. the last pics shows the underside, strip bolts down the edge of one sheet, and in the upper left or same pic a strip nut/bolt/washer in the middle of a solid sheet of wood.

[Long Roof]

Thanks Gizz. That answers my question. Can anyone provide pics of a panel with factory planks? Sorry to hyjack this thread.

[PanelDeland]

All of the panels I have seen were ply.I think it was a good quality marine grade but I haven't seen planks.They all look like planks from above but I seriously doubt there were different floors since the production was so small.I think the lip that covers the edge(holds it in) would be too small for a plank unless it was planed doen.I am just speaking from personal experience here as I do not have any documentation.Seems like it would have made it to the SPID.