If I need to build my own floor for my 83 pickup, what gauge sheet metal do I use?

Check out my "teardown" thread for the rust damaged areas.

 

Funny you should ask this...I am in the process of replacing my drivers side right now and I am using 16 ga to reconstruct some of the structural body channels where the body mounts to the frame. I think most of the body sheet metal is 22ga though.

 

i used 18 gauge, used a bead roller and ran 3 beads in it, plenty strong

 

4Rocker, please post some pics of the repair if you can, so I can get an idea on what you did.

 

Youre in luck! I just pulled the pics off my phone today.

The floor (which had been repaired a number of years earlier) was extremely rusty to the point where a screwdriver jab could make some speed holes. Out comes the sawzall!



Once the floor was out I discovered that the body mount was completely rusted off of the rocker channel. Not a good thing.



I used 16ga sheet metal to construct a new rocker channel (I forgot to get a pic of this) and rewelded the body mount back onto the channel. After this a new floor pan was cut and bent up to fit in the flintstone-sized gap and it was welded in place with spot welds along the edge.



I also had to reconstruct some of the corner of the body using 22ga metal.



Tomorrow I will reinspect everything and if it looks good seal the seams with silicone and coat everything with herculiner for durability.

 

Thanks for the pics.
I think I speak for everyone when I say use seam sealer instead of silicone. You can pick this up at a body shop supply store. It's paintable and it is a much better option.
I will be coating my floors with POR15. I'll post picks on how I did my repair. I have a friend who works at a bodyshop so he has access to all the toys

 

Thanks for the tip on the seam sealer! I think I will try to find some today. Here in MN I will do just about anything if it will keep this thing from rusting again.

 

Make sure you prime and paint the underneath. I think I'll also put a thick coat of undercoating to prevent rocks from chipping the paint and exposing bare metal.

 

Finished the project last night. I used body seam sealer on all of the seams. The interior face and the wheel well got a nice coating of herculiner and the bottom above the exhaust got a thick coat of engine paint.

 

im sure by now this project is already done, but instead of por15 i would recomend undercoating or anouther type of ruberized coating, por15 binds with metal that has a lil suface rust already present better then it dose fresh unrusted metal, also a ruberized coating will withstand rocks and other abrasives better then por15.

thanks on all the rest of the info i am fixing to do this to my 83 pick up as well. just lookinf for info on how strong of metal i need.