32 replies to this topic

[alchall]

The time has come to crack on with replacing the floor, I've decided against cutting out and replacing rot / damage in sections because there's simply too much that needs fixing and it'll a) take time and b) potentially be slightly untidy due to being a bit of a patchwork.

 

As I see it my other two options are go with a complete floor assembly - Heritage part number ada36002 - or all the constituent parts separately.

 

Neither of these options is cheap and the complete assembly is more expensive than the parts separately, but by less than £50, and to my mind the time it should save having it ready assembled is well worth paying £50 for, however, has anybody had experience of fitting this item and are there any drawbacks?

 

I had a mixed experience of using full inner wing assemblies, the drivers side went on a treat and saved me time and effort but the passenger side was a real hassle and I would have actually been better buying the parts separately so I am unsure of which route to take, hence would like to hear of any real experience.

[sonikk4]

In theory using a full floor will be far better than the sum of all of the parts ( been there done that and never again like that) so yes going for a full floor will be better if the floor is that bad.

It is a lot work, a lot of bracing will be needed and obviously getting the removal right will be a big factor in this. Take a lot of datum point measurements, don't just think it will slip in as it will need a lot of tweaking.

There a lot of members on here who done this job and I have no doubt in the very near future I will be one of them. As to your inner wing issue there is always the possibility the car had been in a shunt in sometime in its life. To add to that reasoning my clubby had been and I am still finding issues from that accident that are throwing me a curve ball every now and then.

Use your discount with Minispeed and get 12.5% discount with Heritage panels. And if I was you I would collect it.

[alchall]

Thanks Neil! 

 

I guess I shall be ordering the full floor, next job is definitely bracing and lots of measuring (I'm thinking I should have held onto the rotten rear subframe for a while longer to make sure the mounting holes are in the right place, some kind of jig may be required), I'm definitely expecting lots of tweaking, I've learned very quickly that nothing just slots nicely into place

 

You may be right about it having had a bit of a shunt at some point, I was thinking this myself, while there's no real evidence that I can see that the front end has suffered it's definitely had a small knock to the opposite corner, that rear quarter panel has been "straightened" with filler and the floor is slightly buckled in that corner too.

 

Oh and I've made very good use of that 12.5% discount so far, it's going to have saved me quite a lot of money in the end which is very handy as I've ended up having to replace a lot more bodywork than I had anticipated.

 

Cheers.

 

Al.

[littlewimp]

I'm Just planning on ordering up a full floor for my mk 1, its a lot of money but i feel that it will be a far nicer job once fitted and reduce the welding significantly . 

[Ben_O]

Just remember that the heritage floor assembly has the later injection floor pressings and are quite a bit different to earlier floors so bare that in mind if your car is an earlier (up to late 80's) floor.

 

Of course, if you are not bothered about originality, it will fit just fine only it will look different

[alchall]

I'm Just planning on ordering up a full floor for my mk 1, its a lot of money but i feel that it will be a far nicer job once fitted and reduce the welding significantly . 

 

Exactly what I was thinking too!

 

Just remember that the heritage floor assembly has the later injection floor pressings and are quite a bit different to earlier floors so bare that in mind if your car is an earlier (up to late 80's) floor.

 

Of course, if you are not bothered about originality, it will fit just fine only it will look different

 

Mines an SPI so it will be correct for the car (not that I'm going for 100% originality), should have held out for an earlier model, may have been less rotten!

[littlewimp]

ive been quoted on a complete floor with the magic wand gearstick  cutout !, i think it was slightly cheaper than the later type.but not 100% sure as it was several months ago. ive already got a heritage boot floor which does need some small mods to the cutouts because they only make the later floors for the  mpi  cars.i'm thinking that the panel cost to complete the mk1 will be well over the £1000 . still should be worth it in the end !

[Daz1968]

I have a mk2 cooper to do next and are planning full m machine floor replacement on that, not sure if best to do door steps and outer a panel replacement first and have doors fitted to help with alignment in this area, I have bought a spot welder to hopefully keep as much looking factory as possible. Was planning on using 25mm box section for bracing.
I have also seen people fit boot floor and rear valance to floor assembly and replace the lot in one go but not sure I am brave enough to do this as not much car will be left after cutting.

[The Matt]

I'm wondering about doing mine too. The floor isn't "that" bad in terms of rot.  It's just where it's had repair patches, aftermarket seat brackets, all sorts of stuff welded in over the years.  Just looks tatty but is solid.  Big investment and big work, but I think it's going to be worth it.

[Tupers]

I did this one recently using a complete floor pan from Nippy Cars that they assemble from M-Machine panels.

After bracing the body, removing the old floor and being blasted any repairs need to the areas that join the floor were carried out then the body was slipped onto the new floor. This one was a bit extreme but you could use the same process if you were only replacing the main floor. 

 

 

 

The alternative would be to use two half floor and a heel board like I have on my own car. It's considerably cheaper than  a whole floor pan but does take more time. 

 

If it's a rod change car and you don't mind the SPI floor pan then the bare Heritage floor pan is a bargain at £216 and also easy to fit with the body on a spit.  

[Daz1968]

Quick question, I am replacing full floor, boot floor and wheel tubs on my mk2. Would pre assembly of main floor to boot be easiest method. Also would you fit new doorsteps and outer a panels to shell before cutting out floor, is full floor easily picked up by two people.

I am just at planning stage with mine and not sure where to start. It's not my first resto but want the next one to be my best,

[ANON]

you don't actually need to do that much bracing as you can 'fit the shell to the floor' if that makes sense? i was surprised how easy it was the first time i did one.

[Tupers]

Personally I would leave the A-panels and step sill until after the body has been fitted to the floor pan.
I'm sure with enought bracing you could ensure it wouldn't twist but I rather do it after a d not have the worry.

[NuFab]

I've done all this to my mk1, and I used separate panels, but I wanted to keep the correct floors.

I braced the car across the door openings and then welded a brace between the two door openings. I then did each half of the floor at a time, leaving the other half in for strength. I think I'd already done the door steps by then. I then did the heel board using a new rear subframe and lining it up from the original boot floor, then did the boot floor the same way, using the new heel board as the reference point. Rear arches were done before the boot floor, while it was all cut out.

I've no doubt it would be easier to use one whole assembly, but I wanted to keep the original floor and exhaust tunnel.

Im now doing the front end, so I need to figure out how to replace the inner wings and a-panels at the moment...

[sonikk4]

Quick question, I am replacing full floor, boot floor and wheel tubs on my mk2. Would pre assembly of main floor to boot be easiest method. Also would you fit new doorsteps and outer a panels to shell before cutting out floor, is full floor easily picked up by two people.

I am just at planning stage with mine and not sure where to start. It's not my first resto but want the next one to be my best,

 

I think leaving the old boot floor and tubs in and do the floor first would be the way forward. No bracing needed at the back of the car then.