[Greg Reid]

So Keith, you took the body mounts out and slid it in from the rear, underneath the tailpanel?
That means with the one piece, you also had to break the welds at the body support to inner fender well too, right?
All that stuff is solid on mine and I kinda hate to mess with it but I do have to admit, that trunk looks great.

EDIT- I looked at the pics and see that you did not have to cut the welds on the body braces.
You must have had to raise the body quite a bit to get that thing the clear between the frame and the tail panel though huh? My engine and everything is in place. I'm wondering how hard it'd be for me to do this the way you did....

[400 4spd.]

Keith, that's a super nice job you did on that pan. Sounds like you did everything right.
Greg, I have to agree with everyone else about the one piece full trunk pan, you will be much happier with it compared to piecing one in. I've done pans both ways and the full one will save time and look nicer in the long run.
Regarding your engine interference, isn't the dist. cap the closest thing to the firewall?

[keith h]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

EDIT- I looked at the pics and see that you did not have to cut the welds on the body braces.
You must have had to raise the body quite a bit to get that thing the clear between the frame and the tail panel though huh? My engine and everything is in place. I'm wondering how hard it'd be for me to do this the way you did....

Believe it or not I only had to raise it a few inches with the body cushions out of the way it gives you another inch or so plus the panel has some give to it, I slid the panel in and out a few times on the second shot everything was correct on the money so I started tacking, If you remember back a few years ago I installed the trunk first, then a donor tail panel then upper deck from another donor, then new wheel houses and quarters and drop offs (all of which stayed in place) that trunk bothered me so much I couldn't continue with the restoration, now I can ;-) Greg I've seen the work you have accomplished with your car I believe for you it can be a walk in the park and we are always here to fire questions at

Edit: Engine, brake lines ,steering column ALL in place, never was a problem front body mounts are only loose during the process

[keith h]

Originally Posted by 400 4spd.

Keith, that's a super nice job you did on that pan. Sounds like you did everything right.
Greg, I have to agree with everyone else about the one piece full trunk pan, you will be much happier with it compared to piecing one in. I've done pans both ways and the full one will save time and look nicer in the long run.
Regarding your engine interference, isn't the dist. cap the closest thing to the firewall?

Thank you Steve!

PontGuy Keith, I have to admit that pan does look like it went in very nicely.

Thank You PontGuy!

[6869GTO]

That looks great Keith, awesome job !!!! Pics are great.

[Greg Reid]

Ok... I'm going to go with the one piece. After studying it some more last night, I can see how it wouldn't take too much room to slip in between the rear frame rails and the body. All of my mounts are in very good shape so I don't think I'll have a problem with spinning cage nuts or anything like that.
I'm really not looking forward to this though!
One more question...Is the trunk pan spot welded to the rear seat/trunk divider panel? If so, is it OK to drill holes and 'spot weld' from inside the pass. compartment?..because I'm not planning to pull the rear end to weld it from below.

[keith h]

Is the trunk pan spot welded to the rear seat/trunk divider panel?

Yes and floor

is it OK to drill holes and 'spot weld' from inside the pass. compartment?

Why not?

[keith h]

Originally Posted by 6869GTO

That looks great Keith, awesome job !!!! Pics are great.

Thank You Leo!

[Greg Reid]

Ok, all I need to do now is contact the seller and see how they deliver. If it's freight, I have to find out where I'll have to pick it up.
Kinda anxious to get it started now. At least the weather will be cooling off soon.

[russosborne]

Keith, why did you have to go and post that? Now I will have to go with a full pan. :-)

It does sound much better to me than piecing the thing together, and the added advantage for me since I am not a welder is that the braces are already installed.

Thanks,
Russ

[Greg Reid]

Alright...you guys talked me into it. I've got one on the way.
Now if you guys could just show up and cut that old trunk out for me, I'd be much obliged!

[400 4spd.]

After the middle of September, I'm booked for 10 -12 months. But if you could drag it up here next week.......

[Greg Reid]

Boy, I wish I could Steve. I'll get it out of there one way or the other. Go through a lot of zizz wheels and grinders I guess.
I haven't had much luck with spotweld cutters. I use the air chisel and grind what's left.

[Greg Reid]

Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought. Got most of it out in a couple of hours yesterday. Still have to get the last 6 inches or so at the front and rear. Want to be a little more careful/precise there.
An air chisel is a great tool when you're not trying to make exact cuts...just trying to get that rusty crap out of there.
Whenever I get back to it, I'll post some pics.

[PontGuy]

Well now you are completely committed.

For me the worst part of the job was cleaning up the original steel after cutting out the pan and fitting the new panels. Watching here on the board some go through great lengths to get it to absolutely no traces of rust. Others slap the new steel with minimal prep. I fell somewhere in between but it still took weeks of grinding and rust treatments before I was satisfied enough to begin welding.

While you are at it take a look at the lid seal channel. I thought the water got into my trunk and rusted it out because of leaks at the vert top. But I found the water was actually getting in through the welded seams at the bottom of the seal channel. I had to clean that up, apply seam sealer and then install a new gasket to get the trunk completely leak-free.

Trust me, you won't want water getting into your new trunk!

Walt

[Greg Reid]

No, I don't want water in there.
Actually, this car was pretty light on rust. Just the roof (vinyl top car) and the trunk. As I've been cutting, the trunk is absolutely solid excpet in the 'tub' area. Totally rotten there.
The real reason I'm going with the one piece is that I do not want all those seams to weld and I want it to be as close to the factory part as possible.
BTW,
As I pulled it out, I could see that a previous owner had put, not one, but TWO repop trunk pans on top of the original. In other words, every time rust started showing, they put a new panel on top! The first one was a left side only patch. The second was the entire tub...but amazingly, they never removed any part of the trunk before putting the new piece on.

[400 4spd.]

Does it sit higher now?

[keith h]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

I could see that a previous owner had put, not one, but TWO repop trunk pans on top of the original. In other words, every time rust started showing, they put a new panel on top! The first one was a left side only patch. The second was the entire tub...but amazingly, they never removed any part of the trunk before putting the new piece on.

Barbarians.. Hehe.. Amazing what you find when it comes to one's idea of "rust repair" post some photo's for us

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by 400 4spd.

Does it sit higher now?

Yeah, it sits a lot higher now....but that's probably got something to do with the 12"X12" hardwood blocks under the rear tires...lol

Originally Posted by keith h

Barbarians.. Hehe.. Amazing what you find when it comes to one's idea of "rust repair" post some photo's for us

Oh, I found worse in the roof. Expanding foam covered with fiberglass cloth and covered with some kind of flexible or rubberized filler 'rust repair'.
I'll post some pics before I put the new one in.

[Greg Reid]

Got a REALLY big box yesterday. Trying to get this done before daylight savings time ends..gonna be tough though.