Floor Pans and Welder

While I would not blame either reader for being skeptical of claims that major progress is being made on the Ghia, I am happy to report that I have proof that more--much more actually--than mere contemplation of the task is being done.

...and with them.

The frame without the pans...

In fact, the arrival of the new body pans and a welder to put them in with means that I am now officially putting this thing back together. I know, I said this when assembling the front end, and that was the actual beginning of the rebuild, but this represents a major step forward in the process.

Looks good...

...but it's just an illusion.

It seems that each piece of the refurbishing process is going to cost me about $300, and this was no exception. The two body pans together, delivered from California, cost about $350. I took care to order quality parts, but I was surprised at how thin the metal actually is. I shouldn't be because I can recall how easy it was to bend back the old rusted pans when cutting them out, but I attributed some of that to the poor condition of the metal.

The fit on the inside front...

...and the back inside corner.

Now I see that the floor pans are actually stamped out of a very thin sheet of steel, which would not even support my weight if it were not welded in on one side and bolted to the frame on the other. Interesting, too, how it is that such thin and easily bent bits of metal come together to form a rigid and solid structure. Of course trying to keep the weight down without sacrificing structure is another challenge faced by the designers, and seeing how that is done is always interesting to me.

Outside front...

...and the back.

In any case, I took the two new panels and set them into the spaces intended for them, expecting the worst in terms of fit, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Both sides easily fit, and although there is some adjustment needed, it is a comfort to know that it will just take some patience and a few hours with the grinding wheel to get them to fit exactly.

After that, the real challenge begins: welding.

Now, I have long claimed to be a welder, based on the fact that I worked in that capacity just out of high school for a little over a year. Now a quick calculation by the eager reader will yield a number of years that have passed since I last held a welding torch, but I am sure it's like every other skill I've mastered over the years (like pitching a baseball and putting the eight-ball in the corner pocket at the end of the game) and will come back to me instantly and without flaw.

The welder: 90amp flux core wire MIG

Well, ok, I will need a little practice, but only because I have only one chance to get this right.  If I burn a hole through one of the panels, if I don't completely ruin it, it'll only take that much more skill to fix. I bought a welder for this task, but it's not a very big one, and I am a bit concerned that it's not up to the task.  There's no way to really tell until I get to working on it.  While I think I could benefit from a more expensive welder, I think that just being careful and using the tool correctly will make it possible.