I am getting ready to start cutting my rusty floor out and was wonder what everyone does with the foam rubber under the dash. Just cut it up as far as I can? I just don't want to catch it on fire and burn the house down.

 

Will 20ga be strong enough or should I get 18? I don't want it to be a pain to bend.

 

i cut the foam as far up as i can and i use 16 gauge sheet metal way stronger than 18 or 20 gauge

 

Is the 16 hard to work with? Bending and cutting?

 

no not with the right tools and a little know how ive done many floor pans and thats all i use

 

I don't have any know how as far as metal work goes. I don't even know how to weld. I think I'll try 18 for my first metal project.

 

18 will be too flimsy unless your gonna try to make it like the factory one with all the bends and creases if your not metal fab savvy i would jus buy a factory one its like a 100 bucks i know its kinda pricey but if youve never done it before that will be your best bet as for welding what kind of welder do you have or intend to use i have a lincoln 110 mig and i run .030 wire and i can weld floor pans up to 1/4 in plate and i love it but i deff use a mig welder over flux core it will make your life a lot easier

 

I bought a cheap harbor freight welder. Can't really afford to spend the $500 on a good welder. I don't think the OE replacements go up the transfer tunnel enough to get to where there is no rust. I kinda want to get the experience so I will try using the sheet metal.

 

ok if your gonna go with sheet metal and that thin gauge metal your gonna have to reinforce with some how cuz your only real support is the frame rail thats not gonna be enough with 18 gauge metal as for harbor freight welder and welding get extra metal and practice with it before you start welding your new floor try butt welds spot welds overlap welds etc with the metal your gonna be using until you feel confident enough to take it on your self practice will be your best friend in this situation play around with the heat and wire speed im sure there is a chart in your welder for heat wire speed corresponding to what gauge metal you will be welding hope this helps and good if you have any other question you can pm me and i will give all the info you need

 

I had planed on seeing if I can get some scrap so I could practice. I'll see if I can figure out how to brace it.

 

This will be a quick learning curve, thinner is harder to weld just starting out, when I went to welding school, we started on 1/4" to get the hang of it without blowing holes everywhere. My advice get some scrap and practice, practice, practice, then after you practice, practice some more lol. Seriously, practice some just to get a feel with the welder, trying different settings, because even though you can clean up ugly welds with a grinder, and the key is if feel frustrated stop take a break, grinding can put a lot of heat into the metal and cause warping. I wish you good luck, you will be amazed at what you can fix once you can get comfortable. For needing to bend metal , if you have fairly sturdy work bench and some C-clamps, get some 1x1x1/8th angle iron you can make a makeshift brake, for bends.

 

What should I do for drain plugs? I am leaving my carpet out. My brother recommended something like on an ATV air box.

 

Thats a good idea, or something like the OEM plugs, just use an Unibit/step drill and work your way up till it fits. Lowes has rubber/metal sandwich plugs for making outdoor electrical panels watertight.

 

Be careful, remember, its a unibody. Foam doesnt really do anything...

 

I really hope you got yourself a mig or flux core mig. If you got a stick welder and you've never welded before and you're going to be welding 18g you are setting yourself up for disaster and dissapointment.