[DeTomaso] Dropped floor pans

[Daniel C Jones]

> Do I just cut out the area around the parking brake?

For Kirk's pans, that's what I did.  The pans also have to be cut.  I assume
he leaves them uncut in case someone removes the parking brake for seat
clearance.  After cutting the floor pans from the car, we took measurements
and notched the drop pans for clearance.  Once the pans were installed, I
made cardboard templates to come up with filler pieces to box the area.
The back of the pans are sloped but the cut we made was vertical so triangular
filler pieces are needed underneath (along with rectangular plates to cap them
off).  Some of the pieces were made from the notch that was cut out from the
drop pans but I still ended up needing additional metal.

> Has anybody reduced the forward facing/passenger side corner of the parking
> brake box to add more seat space?

In my case, the clearance issue was not fore-and-aft, it was side-to-side.

> Should I wait until I reduce my firewall hump to mount the seats?

I didn't.  Kirk's pans come with heavy u-channels that are welded to the pans.

> Any advice on the best way to install one of these is greatly appreciated.

I'll try to update the write up I did when I installed the first set of pans
on the red Pantera.  For now, there's some discussion here:

http://pantera.infopop.cc/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=8170058552&f=7350045562&m=428106782&r=4691056595#4691056595

> I'm hoping to use an air cutter/grinder for the task but have a saws all
> if I need it.

I used a large diameter cut off wheel to cut slots that allowed me to insert
the sawz-all.  The sawz-all is faster and much cleaner as it doesn't spit
metal grindings everywhere.  Remove the seats, console and bulkhead cover,
along with the carpet and sound deadening.  The center gauge panel needs to
be loose (sometimes gets hung up on the radio) and you'll want to tape around
the edges.  I covered the doors with furniture pads and we had various towels
and welding blankets covering everything else.  If your headliner is still in,
you'll want to cover that as well.  You'll need a helper to hold the gauge
panel out of the way and to watch so the saw does not cut through the vacuum
hardline underneath.  Helps to have a good strong drop light, too.

You'll need to clean the undercoating off the bottom side, back about an inch,
wherever you will be welding (so it doesn't melt and catch on fire).  I used a
high speed wire brush wheel to do that (messy).  I cleaned the rest of the
floor pans and sills (interior side) down to bare metal using 3M Roloc and
sanding discs.  You'll need to measure the pans to figure out where to cut.
We intentionally cut a little short then trimmed to fit.  A floor jack or
someone underneth pushing on the floor with a hammer handle can be used to
level the floor.  We used a body hammer and dolly in a few places.  With
the pans in place, I made cardboard templates and fashioned the required
filler pieces to tie the pans into the cut frame rails and to cover the
parking brake.

Once everything was welded in, I cleaned all the burnt paint off using more of
the 3M pads and smoothed the welds using 3M sanding discs.  Any place on the
pans where there was still paint got scuffed with red 3M Schotchbrite pads.
The old seam sealer was removed in many places.  I then vacuumed up the mess
and used wax remover and degreaser.  If there are any rusty spots, clean the
rust off (wire brush and 3M rotary pads) and use phosporic acid (PPG DX-533
aluminum cleaner or similar) to get the rust out of the pores.  You can also
treat with Duro Extend.  We pulled out the welding blankets, cleaned and taped
off the interior and exterior of the car for spray painting.  You can also use
SEM Sheild or similar paint which can be brushed on.  Once everything was
clean, a friend sprayed the bare metal with epoxy primer (requires a breathing
mask) both on top and underneath (multiple coats).  We sealed the welds with
seam sealer.  On the underside, we followed up with 3M undercoating.

> The new pan has an overlhanging lip on all sides except the door side
> (right side).

The pans I used had lips on two sides.

> which I plan to cut from the bottom of the car.

My pans were different but nearly all of my cuts were from the top.

>From the inside of the car, there seems to be a small horizontal ledge along
> the center console floor line that would work as a support for the left side
> of the pan.

Yes.

>From the inside, the rear area by the firewall does not have a well defined
>lip.

There's a lip at the top of the sloped portion in the car.  Kirk's pans
hang there.

> The door side of the new pan has no overhang on the pan, so it seems I will
> have to leave enough metal to push down and wrap under the pan.

Mine were flush on that side.

> Is it best to cut the rest from the top or bottom

Top.

> Should I leave overlap tabs anywhere for strength?

The pans I installed go in flush on two sides and have a lip on the other
two.  They use up the entire space and there's lttle wiggle room.

> What is the best thing to do around my parking brake, which it appears would
> require cutting out a section of the new pan.

Measure and notch the pan.

> Has anybody modified their parking brake box to not stick out in the cabin
> as much?  That really bugs me.

That would be nice but wasn't in the cards for me.

Dan Jones