74 NovaMan's 1992 Camaro RS Convertible

[74NovaMan]

The drivers seat is not shown installed because I cross-threaded the last nut on the last stud I tightened. Completely stripped out the nut and stud. On these the studs are welded to the support brace. To fix it "correctly" I would probably need to remove the carpet, remove the brace weld in a new stud, weld the brace back in and re-install the carpet. Let me think about that for a minute ......... NO. The offending stud (before carpet):



After carpet (it's stripped in this pic but you can't see it well)



I drilled straight through the stud using progressively larger bits and also drilled a hole through the floor pan under the brace:



Once I was to the point shown above, I busted the stud off with a vice grip. Next step was to take the 1" hole saw and cut an access hole in the floor pan:



Here we see the bottom of the stud. It looked to be well anchored and decently centered, so I used some grade 8 hardware and mounted the seat. The stud head looked to be about 3/4" in diameter and 1/4" thick. I'm guessing the resulting repair is about as strong as the original arrangement.

[74NovaMan]

I can honestly say that is as useful as the truck has been since I got it home.

Seats going in:

[74NovaMan]

Here was the workbench for cleaning all the interior parts that went back in:

[74NovaMan]

Console in - These things are a pain!

[74NovaMan]

Finally got to the carpet install last weekend:



First test fit - no trimming:



Next test fit after opening up the console cut and trimming a bunch from the center front hump based on measurements from the old carpet:



More trimming (in place) and fitting:



Rear panels, kick panels and new sill plates in place:

[74NovaMan]

POR 15 is down. Carpet this weekend.

[74NovaMan]

I see you bought the 3M kit. When I got mine we didn't yet have a son who works for 3M at the world HQ in St. Paul or I'd have kept the money in the family and bought that one instead of the Lord system. Remember, you can bond in a replacement panel with that just as well as you can fill holes with it and the panel will look more OEM. But as long as you clean the metal either way should work.

Dan

Thanks Dan - This seemed like the best solution for us at this time. If it does not hold up for whatever reason, I figure we will end up in about the same place we are now as long as we keep an eye on it. Basically, we didn't want to make it worse while taking a swing at an easier fix.

[74NovaMan]

Next step is the POR 15. Hopefully I can get that done tonight so we can get the new carpet in soon.

[DanStokes]

I see you bought the 3M kit. When I got mine we didn't yet have a son who works for 3M at the world HQ in St. Paul or I'd have kept the money in the family and bought that one instead of the Lord system. Remember, you can bond in a replacement panel with that just as well as you can fill holes with it and the panel will look more OEM. But as long as you clean the metal either way should work.

Dan

[74NovaMan]

So the idea here is to encapsulate the rust and strengthen the floor structure at the same time we plug the holes in the floor. To accomplish this we used 3M panel bond that is used to attach body panels on newer cars. It is a 2 part product that requires a special gun and mixing tips - kind of a high test epoxy. We laid the material on the floor and used a filler spreader to smooth it out. I'm guessing it's about 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick. Here is the finished product (for this step):

[74NovaMan]

Tape on the bottom side:

[74NovaMan]

Some more prep pictures:

Really nice areas:





Areas needing patching:

[74NovaMan]

We decided on a high tech redneck approach. We will be using these:

[Russell]

My mustang had some of the same I cut some out and welded in sheet metal there are a few pin hole that I have not addressed yet but the screw driver did not punch through. I am going to use seam sealer or caulk on those.

[74NovaMan]

Thanks for the feedback Joe and Dan. I appreciate it.