locoboy
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| posted on 2/12/03 at 01:35 PM |
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Best way to remove floor
My project chassis that i bought has a welded in steel floor.
It is stitch welded on the inside of the chassis and seam welded all the way round the outer edge.
It covers the middle section of the tranny tunnel too
Whats the best way to remove the floor? i need to remove it to de rust the chassis propperly and paint it, and i want an ally one to save weight.
I could grind it off but i risk damaging the chassis tubes or i could jigsaw it off inside the chassis rails but would be left with a bit of the floor
still welded to the bottom of the chassis rail which would be a bitch to get off
ATB
Locoboy
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PeetBee
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| posted on 2/12/03 at 01:46 PM |
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After grinding off the brackets from my axle, I'd recomend using the cutting disk and carefully do a small section of the weld at a time.
If you do this and a screwdriver to break the weakened weld, rather than try & cut it straight through, then you should be left with just a lumpy
surface that the grinding disk can bring flat.
It worked for me anyway! good luck.
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 2/12/03 at 02:24 PM |
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thats exactly how I did my floor. I'd take any measure I could to avoid trying to get it off...........
atb
steve
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Peteff
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| posted on 2/12/03 at 02:47 PM |
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Cut out the majority of the floor from inside the rails then split the tack welds with a thin cutting disk and get a chisel between what's left
and the rail and bend it up as far as you can so you can get a disk under it to cut the weld from either side. You should weaken it enough to get hold
of it with grips and break it by bending back and forwards a few times. Then linish the remains off with a grinding disk.
yours, Pete.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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locoboy
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| posted on 2/12/03 at 03:40 PM |
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Thanks for the answers,
The way i was going tl tackle it was the way peteff said, can you get differing thicknesses of CUTTING disks?
I can forsee a few hours worth of jigsawing and grinding here!
Will be worth it in the long run as i can not at present get into the tunnel to de-rust and paint and would also have a problem fitting brake/fuel
lines and loom with very limited access from the top only.
will let you know if i come up against any problems 
ATB
Locoboy
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Peteff
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| posted on 2/12/03 at 08:45 PM |
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Cutting disks go down to 0.8mm for sheet material and are more flexible. They are a bit pricey at that thickness but standard cutting wheels should do
the job if you are careful. Grinding wheels are twice as thick and grab if you try to cut with them.
yours, Pete.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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JoelP
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| posted on 2/12/03 at 11:05 PM |
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quite honestly, if i had to take the floor off i would scrap the chassis and buy a new one! sounds like an absolute nightmare all that grinding
pulling and bending!! all the best of course...!
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locoboy
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| posted on 3/12/03 at 09:34 AM |
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Cheers for the optimism Joel!
after 3 full days of "tooling" the chassis and undercoating i aint buying a new one!
I will tackle it this weekend if i get half a chance, whats the take on one of those reciprocating hand held saws rather then a jigsaw? anyone with
any experiance wish to comment, easier, faster?
ATB
Locoboy
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 3/12/03 at 09:50 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by colmaccoll
I will tackle it this weekend if i get half a chance, whats the take on one of those reciprocating hand held saws rather then a jigsaw? anyone with
any experiance wish to comment, easier, faster?
I have a Bosch saw, which I have tried for cutting metal (it normally gets used in the garden, for lopping trees). It worked OK on a job that would
have been very difficult with a hacksaw, but it was very noisy and 'violent', if you know what I mean - having to work hard to control the
saw and keep it going where I want.
Very quick though, if all you want to do is hack the bulk of the floor away.
Real body repairers use a small air-powered reciprocating saw, which is probably just what you need - if you had a compressor, air line, etc. etc.
rgds
David
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JoelP
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| posted on 3/12/03 at 11:21 AM |
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maybe try drilling a hole big enough to get some sort of nibbler in? or see if anyone local has a plasma cutter you can borrow?
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Spyderman
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| posted on 3/12/03 at 12:59 PM |
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Why not just cut the area under the tunnel to open that up at the bottom and leave the rest in place?
Would save a lot of work and give you the access you need.
Sounds like an aweful lot of effort just to gain access to tunnel otherwise!
Terry
Spyderman
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 3/12/03 at 02:03 PM |
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why not fully weld to the other side of the chassis a similar metal plate, fill up the space in between with coke, and shake vigorously?
Non conformists woo yay
(metal hippy impression)
I'll get me coat
chrisg impression
conrod impression
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JoelP
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| posted on 3/12/03 at 06:27 PM |
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lol
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locoboy
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| posted on 4/12/03 at 11:35 AM |
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In addition to gaining access i dont want a heavy steel floor, i would prefer ally.
ATB
Locoboy
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