All,

I cut out the old rusting metal and patch repairs and am getting ready to install new floor pans...Local 'vette shop recommends epoxy/rivets to install. Searching this and other forums, welding seems to be more common.
So what's the groups advice? Welding (MIG or Arc), or Epoxy?

Thanks in advance
John

 

If you dont want to see the repair. you should go with mig welding and grind smooth. If you dont care what it looks like, then epoxy and rivets will work and be fairly strong, but not as strong as welding in the panels. I would go with welding if it were me ( and I did) but I put in whole new panels.

 

In used epoxy/bonding adhesive and rivets. I had 2 inches or so of overlap all the way around so there was lots of area for the bonding, plus rivets every 3-4 inches. I jumped up and down on the floors after and they are solid as a rock. If you do the rivets be carefull with the drill, there's stuff behind the floor you don't want to drill into (brake/gas lines, shift linkage, battery cables, etc).

I'll try and find pics of before/after.

 

Here's some pics as a reply to a PM from the original poster.

I bought a set of pans on eBay, they had been cut out of an 80. I made a cardboard template of the new pans, placed em into the car and made a chalk outline, cut out the rusty pan with a grinder/cutoff wheel, leaving 1 1/2 - 2 inches of overlap to attach the new one.



When you do this, you'll see the front is riveted/bonded to the firewall (fiberglass) and the rear is riveted/bonded to the upright section behind the seat (metal). After I drilled out the rivets and pried away the adhesive, I found out the rivet holes in the new and old pans lined up, making it easy to position the new ones.



I wirewheeled as much rust and paint off the old sections as I could, POR15 it and the new floors, then test-fitted each side to see if I had taken out enough old metal. I lined up the front/rear rivet holes with nails and center punches, then drilled a bunch of holes for my rivets. Pulled them out again, and POR15 all the new holes I just made. I used a 3M bonding adhesive (can't remember which one, it was heavy-duty construction adhesive of some kind), put on a thick bead and flattened it out with a spatula, then stuck the floors back in. It took me hours to get all the rivets in, and my hands were killing me after. (I couldn't do the driver's side till a few weeks later!) Yup, regular hand rivet gun

Here's what is looked like. Then I sanded out some of the adhesive and painted it top and bottom.



Then same thing driver's side, new carpet, seats etc back in, done.



Just be careful with the cutting/drilling. I cut one of my brake lines (driver's side) and it wasn't easy to replace!

**edit** for all you welding guys, I was better/more confident with rivets/glue back then than I was with welding

 

The bonding and riveting approach looks like it would be fine. I welded mine in, partly because this was an excuse to buy a MIG welder and learn how to use it. My fuel lines were rusted badly and needed to be replaced, so I pulled out the old ones, then welded in the new floor pans before putting in stainless steel braided lines. I just wasn't comfortable cutting and welding along the rocker panels with the fuel lines running just below.