Rebeldryver's '70 Caprice Granny's Luxo-Muscle-Barge

[SuperBuickGuy]

Irony is fixing rust in LA that was caused by a leaking heater core. Does the floor oil-can at all? were it me, and this is absolutely optional, I'd put a 1" weld every 6" around the parameter to keep the tacks from cracking (use normal heat for thickness, less wire by 1/2 step) - if it does crack, with seal sealer on the weld area, life will be living hell to get it to weld. At this point, you could probably even weld through the paint.

[squirrel]

Good idea, except that he's never welded before, so he's likely to blow a hole thru the metal trying to run a bead that long. I've been welding for years, and the floor plan I put in last week I burned a few holes when I went to fill in between the tack welds.

So I'd suggest running some short beads between the tack welds in several places, but keep them down to about 3/8" long to help control the heat. and if you grind off the paint it'll make life easier.

Or just leave it and don't worry about it, it's on the passenger side.

[milner351]

flux core welder Scott or gas? Looks like gas but hard to tell. I agree - you'd be wise to add some welds between the spots.

I'm going to try to use a pipe and angle iron to put some corrugations in the sheet for the falcon floor fix.... could get interesting.

[Scott Liggett]

Miller Mig with gas. It doesn't flex at all. It's hard to see in the pics but the sheet isn't flat. I had to hammer down the edges and corners flush to weld it.

[SuperBuickGuy]

flux core welder Scott or gas? Looks like gas but hard to tell. I agree - you'd be wise to add some welds between the spots.

I'm going to try to use a pipe and angle iron to put some corrugations in the sheet for the falcon floor fix.... could get interesting.

John, you have a bearing press, why don't you use it for making seams? it's pretty simple to make a die with the items you listed

it's amazing how much the floorboard moves on a car with a full frame.

[Scott Liggett]

Here's a few pics I took with Yannick's camera. There was a support bracket under the floor I never noticed until I was getting ready to cut the floor. You can see a bit of it towards the seat. If you look at the trans crossmember's mounting bracket; you can see the TH350 bracket just in front of it. Not sure why GM would weld both brackets on a car with a TH400 trans.



We used the old floor bit we cut out as a templet for a new piece of metal. We cut the new piece 1/2 inch bigger on all sides.


I ground the remaining floor about an inch all the way around the hole I cut out to get good welds.

[squirrel]

This looks like the start of yet another good how-to!

H Not sure why GM would weld both brackets on a car with a TH400 trans.

It's easier than keeping track of which cars need which brackets. This was before computers were very useful, before just-in-time inventory, etc.

[Scott Liggett]

This looks like the start of yet another good how-to!




It's easier than keeping track of which cars need which brackets. This was before computers were very useful, before just-in-time inventory, etc.

It'll make the four speed conversion that much easier.

[Scott Liggett]

I got sick of the rear main leaking. Also, I'll be driving this one a lot more when I get to pulling apart the Impala. So, today I disconnected the motor mounts, exhaust pipes, drained the oil; then stuck a floor jack under the crank pulley and starting jacking.

Yeah, I was fooling myself that I could get that big block far enough off the motor mounts to get the oil pan out. I didn't. I need to get the motor about six inches off of them to get it out. Looks like I'll need an engine hoist and disconnect the trans.

[TheSilverBuick]

That's surprising. I've pulled the pan on the Centurion several times. Especially the first week I owned the car, when several bearings were spun and I thought I'd try and throw some new bearings in it.

[Scott Liggett]

Nope. The engine sits low on the cross member. The frame mounts are much shorter. So, the pan is barely 1 1/2" above the cross member.

[Bamfster]

I hate pulling the pan on anything still in the car ....

[SuperBuickGuy]

I have the same story on the Skylark, however, I'm loathe to fix it - it's easier to simply tell potential buyers...

[Mr4Speed]

I got the pan off my 70 Caprice with the motor in, it sucked but I did it. (had to cause the oil pump pickup fell off) It was an original 400SB car that someone had put a 402 in-maybe it had SB mounts? Had to pull the center link out IIRC-been a long time.

[Scott Liggett]

The SBC frame mounts are 1 1/2 taller. The engine hit the AC box and brake booster before it hit the firewall.