replacing floor panels- in what order?

[volrod544]

Ive just bought my first moggy.there is loads of metal that needs replacing-front x-member,chassis rails,mid x-member,all the floors and sills,rear spring hangers,boot floor and rear of rear inner wheel arches.on the plus side the passenger side inner sill looks good and doesnt need replacing !
can someone with similar experience advise on what order to replace these panels please.I have read that the rear x-member is difficult-what makes it so?
Pete

[Mark Wilson]

Might have been easier to list what doesn't need replacing! My Traveller needs almost as much, though - and I bought it as a "good condition" MOT'd runner . I've so far replaced the front rh inner wing, hinge pillar, sill step, boxing panel, inner and outer floor extensions and main centre cross member.

There isn't any set order for tackling your project, but what is vital is that you resist the temptation to cut lots of rusted metal away - only replace a limited area at a time, in order to provide reference points and to avoid distorting the shape. It all depends on where the weakest areas are, but I'd start with the sills as these probably fix the shape more than any other panels and can be done with the car the right way up (I'm leaving seam welding the under side of the floor extensions till I roll mine). I left most of the floor pans in as long as possible so as to keep some stiffness. You also need to provide some temporary cross bracing during the serious cutting away stages.

The main problem with the centre Xmember is that you need to remove the torsion bars, propshaft, fuel line, brakes and electrics, unless you only do the ends. You also need to remove the old one from the chassis legs without too much damage or distortion to the leg flanges, which is tricky - but if you are replacing the legs (chassis rails) this isn't a problem.

Personally I'd leave the car alone till the weather gets better and spend your time looking at some of the superb restoration threads on here. I'd single out taupe, Neil MG and Chicken John's threads as particularly good, but there's lots of others.

Good luck!

Mark

[SUE482]

Have a look at this it might help.
http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f= ... 78&start=0

[Mark Wilson]

I'd single out taupe, Neil MG and Chicken John's threads as particularly good, but there's lots of others.

Oh, and SUE482's is pretty good too......

Mark