Topic: 1966 NJ floor pans

[Philma]

I am new here so pardon me if my questions have been asked before, I did search for answers but didn't find much.
I have a 1966 GT FB that I have stored for 27 years. I have begun to disassemble, tag and box the interior. I have had a few surprises already and when I bought the car in 1982 I was told it was original. He was the second owner and the first rarely drove it, so it has 41K miles, I probably put 10k on it from 82-86. Anyhow the floor pans are solid the car is undercoated and that is my first question, did Ford offer undercoating in 1966?
The floor pans seem to end under the dash where the firewall starts to angle and it looks as if there is a fiberglass mesh over the seams is that factory or was that an attempt to hide the seam? The pans look good and seem to match everywhere else. If I have the entire car stripped should I take the mesh off?

[carlite65]

no undercoating from the factory in '66. that mesh may be a past owner attempt to cover up some rust or damage. remove it & see what the real story is.

[J_Speegle]

+1  PO  messing with things for some reason - might find some surprises during you tear down  hopefully good ones. But the fiberglass makes me thing that there not going to be

And yess if your stripping the car your going to take it all the way down to either metal or to the original painted finish -

[Philma]

Yup, pulled the mesh and I can see the garage floor, so it looks like floor pans are going to have to be replaced. They seem solid from about 6 inches in front of the break and clutch pedals but I might as well get the whole thing done.

[carlite65]

you had better check the cowl thoroughly too for leaks. something caused that pan area to rust.

[CharlesTurner]

Yup, pulled the mesh and I can see the garage floor, so it looks like floor pans are going to have to be replaced. They seem solid from about 6 inches in front of the break and clutch pedals but I might as well get the whole thing done.

Would recommend patching instead of replacing full panels.  Lots of info posted here in the past regarding this.

[Philma]

Actually the cowls look solid with surface rust, I know they need cleaning and paint but I do believe the floor did rust through from inside out so there was a leak. I am looking at a new firewall and floor pans and really bummed about that. So unless I can get a good patch job I think replacing is the better way to go. Does anyone know if they make a patch panel that would cover 10-12 inches on the fire wall and the floor? How hard of a job is a new firewall?

[CharlesTurner]

You can buy the sections and just cut out what you need. 

Keep in mind the forum you're posting on, we are coming in from the original/correct mindset.

Replacing an entire firewall would be a major job and in my opinion will never look the same as an original. 

Another option is cutting what you need out of a parts car, preferably close in production date to your car and from the same assembly plant.

[Philma]

Thanks for the advice. I really think the floor is solid cept where the firewall meets the floor pan. I think I can cut it out and patch it myself or at least have a local shop do it for me. I am trying to keep it as original as possible, but I will look for some new patch panels. As you can see the rest of the floor looks solid, under the seat there is actually clean shiny steel showing.

[gjz30075]

If not the cowl, then it was (is) the windshield leaking.

[CharlesTurner]

Looks like you need a toeboard panel and a front left floor pan, cut out what you need to make the repair.

[67gtasanjose]

Though I have a 67, similarly I only have some rust on the inside only. My cowl did check to be good & not the cause, and since the rust is only on the inside, and I know I had an airconditioning evaporator drain plugged at a time (or two), I believe it was caused from the AC system.

As far as what the original poster has (using his pictures) If it were me, I would really look at the cowl again by pulling out both fresh air inlets and looking around those areas carefully. If it IS the windshield (as also mentioned) there should be water witness marks or tracks visable, yes? Basically, again,  I would seriously look for the cause and not just the effect, if it were me.

Richard

[67gtasanjose]

Though I have a 67, similarly I only have some rust on the inside only. My cowl did check to be good & not the cause, and since the rust is only on the inside, and I know I had an air conditioning evaporator drain plugged at a time (or two), I believe it was caused from the AC system.

As far as what the original poster has (using his pictures) If it were me, I would really look at the cowl again by pulling out both fresh air inlets and looking around those areas carefully. If it IS the windshield (as also mentioned) there should be water witness marks or tracks visable, yes? Basically, again,  I would seriously look for the cause and not just the effect, if it were me.

Richard

+1

you had better check the cowl thoroughly too for leaks. something caused that pan area to rust.

[Philma]

So I crawled in under the dash and checked both openings in the cowel, they are solid with some surface rust, I see nothing rotted out. It definately rusted from inside out. I do have all the records from the previous owner and there was no work done on the cowl. I did verify he replaced the drivers side door and it looks to me that It may have been a deluxe interior that was swapped out/sold. When I bought the car in 1982 he was strapped and sold the GT Lights, looks like the passenger door was patched where the courtesy light mounted. Prob. parted out the pony parts. Sorry to get off the subject. Thanks again for all the advice.