Floor repair options

[LittleDually]

First off I am fairly new to restoration so a lot of this I am learning as I go.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way here's what I am working with. I just pulled up the old vinyl floor mat and insulation etc. in order to put down some sound deading and paint the cab. I discovered, on the passenger side, that water must have gotten in the cab some how. The matting was wet and there was some severe pitting of the metal. Thankfully I only found one spot that was rusted all the way through. Now what is the best course of action to repair the floor? Do I need to cut and replace all the pitted area as well as the hole or is just a small patch ok? Is welding the only option at this point?

Here are pics of what I am looking at.

[andrewmp6]

Depends if you just want a daily driver or trying to build a show truck.If its just a daily driver i would por15 all the rusty parts and use por15 expoy putty to fill in the hole.Or you can grind out the rust weld up any holes or thin spots then normal paint steps.

[Shyguy]

If you just want to use it as a daily driver you could cut out the rusted through area and treat the rest, then weld a plate over the rusted area.

I have seen all kind of patches used on these old trucks over the years including license plates. The patch plates were held on by various methods, pop rivets, screws and tack welds.

I had a '67 that they used fiber glass over a rusted area, just a quick fix for sure.

[hotstuff]

If you ever sell it , thats the first place I'll look . Get a replacement floor pan, take the time to do an A-one job

[Shyguy]

Originally Posted by hotstuff

If you ever sell it , thats the first place I'll look . Get a replacement floor pan, take the time to do an A-one job

Yep, when I looked at the '75 under the floor mat was one of the first places I looked and I saw patch panels screwed down. It did not bother me though because for the priced I got the truck for it is not that big of deal for me to fix.

Like you said if you expect to fix up a truck to sell and get the most out of it, it is best to cut out all rusted metal and replace it. There are so many patch panels now days and even complete floor pans.

It all depends on what a person wants their truck to be.

[LittleDually]

Thanks for the info guys. I guess I'm going to ask around and see if I can find someone to weld up a panel for me. Kinda what I expected to happen just didn't know if it had reached that point yet. Thanks again.

Oh, and what source do people prefer for buying their floor panels? I read on here that LMC tends to be a lower quality/thin so who would you recommend.

[Shyguy]

I have had good luck with Classic Parts. Many of the vendors have good quality panels, Classic Heartbeats, GMC Pauls and Top Banana come to mind.

[cedens]

I have the same problem by the kick panels on both sides, i was considering buying a kit or replacing the metal... I don't ever plan on selling this one or showing it but want to restore it to nice condition a person can drive to town or wherever.

Not that i'd take it on the family vacation we did back in 84 from Oklahoma to California.

[Aaron_L]

If I were you I'd pull the kick panel and check under there too. My floors looked similar, and I started poking around just to see how bad it was. My truck was rusted through where the floor meets the kick panel. I'm in the middle of replacing the floor, kick panel, and part of the inner rocker now.

[silvereagle07]

Check out the vendors marketplace on the forum. There a few vendors that carry rust repair panels here. Most have some kind of forum discount available. Quick links at forum jump at the bottom of the page. Vendor marketplace.

[stepside-mitch]

If you are looking to just drive it and have no experience welding, you could make a fiberglass patch. Lay the glass over the hole and por15 the hell out of it. I ran mine like that for two years before i patched it up. It held up great in all weather conditions