[DeTomaso] Dropped Pans?

[Daniel C Jones]

> The simplest way is, do your seats adjust position fore and aft? If so,
> the pans are likely not dropped. Most dropped-pan setups cut the floor
> under the seat to make a metal pocket, dropping them 1-2" while not
> cutting the stamped crossmembers in the floor. That effectively prevents
> the seat from travelling back & forth.

That's not the case with Kirk's dropped floor pans.  They are the large
pans that cut into both the fore-and-aft and side-to-side floor pan
reinforcements.  This allows for larger seats and permits the seats to
slide fore-and-aft, unlike the drop pans that stay within the boundaries
of the original pan reinforcements.  Kirk's pans come with a pair (per side)
of shallow U-channels that are welded to the floor of the pans, stiffening
the pan bottoms and providing a place to bolt the seats to.  Without these
stiffeners, the pans would "oil can" under a heavy load but with them welded
in, every thing is quite stiff.  Also, the pans themselves are of a heavier
gauge metal than the original floor.   We made several filler pieces
(patterned off of cardboard templates) to close off the various gaps (there's
a sizable one around the emergency brake handle and several smaller ones both
inside the passenger compartment and underneath)).  On the bottom side, we
made pieces that tie the pan directly to the fore-and-aft and side-to-side
frame rails.  With every seam welded and the pans tied into the original
frame stiffeners, it seems quite rigid and jacking the car on one corner will
lift it off the ground on 3 corners with no sag.

> Sorta makes you wonder how many could have simply removed the seat rails to
> get the drop they needed without cutting the pans.

I need/want all the drop Kirk's pans provide.  With his set up, you can bolt
the seats directly to the inverted U-channels or retain the adjustable seat
rails.  I'd also like to space the pedals forward for more leg room.

Dan Jones