Floor Panel Rust Repair (That Dreaded Gutter) (1 Viewer)

[lelinc]

So I've started work on gutting my 1982 Toyota BJ60 Land cruiser by removing the carpets and, not to my surprise, the floor pans are pretty rusty. Right now, stopping the spread of rust throughout the body is my top priority, however, I will admit I'm an amateur in rust repair. I need advice on a step-by-step plan to fix it, and I'll share what my current agenda is so far:

1. Remove the cracked rubber pad/panels covering parts of the floor (although I haven't done that in fear that it is a bad idea)
2. Clean both the top and bottom of the floor pan, exposing bare metal
3. Either collect sheet metal and attempt to weld new metal (never used a welder before, will have to do lots of practice) or contact a local welding shop and get them to fix it for me.

Below I've included some pictures of the process. Let me know what I should do, and any suggestions for the near future!

 

[lelinc]

I forgot to mention, after some research, I found out that this damage is usually the result of a poor windshield weatherstrip or sitting in a grass field for too long. this vehicle unfortunately has both, so I need to prevent further damage soon. Does anyone know of a good place to replace that weather stripping?

 

[nutop]

City Racer LLC should have everything you need for weatherstripping

 

[MarkBC]

If you have the space and time you can do the repairs yourself. Get a 120 V Lincoln Migpak 150 or something from Canadian Tire. Unless you want to do bigger metal later, then you will need a 240 V unit. Get set up with a bottle of argon / CO2 and MIG away. Get an old hood from a junkyard to practice welding thin metal, won't take long to figure it out. It looks like you'll have a lot of metal to put in so you might need to go to a metal supermarket to get more stock. Lots of videos on Youtube showing how, like Trev's Blog.

For the metal that is still sound but has rust I'd use a rust remover / converter to clean it up then paint over.

That mat on the floor is tar. You can chip it away where it is rusty underneath.

 

[MarkBC]

Look at @pistonpete's build

 

[chbrow10]

Please post your progress. I’m in the same boat. I bought the welder. Just need some courage.

 

[MTNRAT]

Just did similar to an 83 BJ60. Tons of cutting out rust and welding in metal. Here is the hole in the floor. Can see where some repair peices are tacked in. Didnt get a pic of the repair. dang. Here is where we are at now. I had never welded before and the neighbours kid showed me some and with youtube vids and some practice. No real problems. Cut off the rusted rockers and rear quarters. Just used a 120v mig. A friend who owns a high end resto shop told us to use old file cabinets for metal. Everyone is getting rid of them and the metal is great.

 

[chbrow10]

Just did similar to an 83 BJ60. Tons of cutting out rust and welding in metal. Here is the hole in the floor. Can see where some repair peices are tacked in. Didnt get a pic of the repair. dang. Here is where we are at now. I had never welded before and the neighbours kid showed me some and with youtube vids and some practice. No real problems. Cut off the rusted rockers and rear quarters. Just used a 120v mig. A friend who owns a high end resto shop told us to use old file cabinets for metal. Everyone is getting rid of them and the metal is great.

View attachment 2332808

View attachment 2332809

how did you handle the transition between the corrugated metal and the flat replacement steel?

 

[lelinc]

Just did similar to an 83 BJ60. Tons of cutting out rust and welding in metal. Here is the hole in the floor. Can see where some repair peices are tacked in. Didnt get a pic of the repair. dang. Here is where we are at now. I had never welded before and the neighbours kid showed me some and with youtube vids and some practice. No real problems. Cut off the rusted rockers and rear quarters. Just used a 120v mig. A friend who owns a high end resto shop told us to use old file cabinets for metal. Everyone is getting rid of them and the metal is great.

View attachment 2332808

View attachment 2332809

That's nearly the exact same damage here. I also am curious about how you transitioned from the flat to corrugated steel panels.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

That's a lot of rot! I don't envy you.

 

[zakthor]

That's nearly the exact same damage here. I also am curious about how you transitioned from the flat to corrugated steel panels.

For that transition i cut and ground so edge was flat from the top view, then welded an 18g strip to the corrugations at 90 degrees.