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Hey Mike!
Not that bad if you can do welding. If you can find the lid for a
55 gallon drum or other piece of sheetmetal about that gage (16 - 20)
and a big pair of tin snips or other method of cutting it you can make
your own. I've done it on a 69 164, which is nearly the same thing.
Best bet is to get a reciprocating saw (tool rental places have them)
and cut out the bad places and leave the part that is not severely
rusted, then just make patches to fit and weld them in. If you have
a body shop do it, make sure they use heavy enough metal (see above)
and weld all the way around. I had a guy do some for me once and he
only tacked it in with the comment (when I found out that he had tacked
it and then covered it with putty) that he was afraid it would warp.
To avoid that you skip weld - weld an inch here, an inch there, back and
forth till the whole thing is done. Judicious use of a hammer and a dolly
or other heavy object to hammer against is also helpful. Be careful
of any lines running under the floor. I found some old asbestos shingles
to cover mine with, but they are getting pretty hard to find. They are
safe as long as you don't drill or grind them and breathe the air with
the particles in it. BTW it is almost as bad to saw a line in two as
it is to torch it, so be careful when you are cutting also. Look 3 times -
cut once.
When you get done, wire brush it good both sides, prime with your
favorite stuff (a lot of boarders swear by POR-15 but there are others)
and then undercoat the bottom, paint the top to match the rest of the
floor.
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