angle grinder to the floor

[splatspeed]

Well i have started the floor mods

and taken an angle grinder to the floor to remove it before lowering the floor 2"

first i am cutting out all the welds then removing the floor

to my surprise i found quite a bit more rust than i expected

i will try to take photos

but guys make sure no water gets in the car between the floor and the tudular box section

i know this is powder coated but if this area gets broken it seems it will rust in no time

there is a thin area between the sheet and the box section so please keep an eye on it

Sean

[stig]

Sean - usually, you seal the floor pan sections with silicon sealant when building. This will stop the rust as well as keeping the water out.

[splatspeed]

no this was on the metal not aluminium section

this was the welded chassis floor i have just cut out

this complete area was covered with powder coat

sean

[luckyp]

Yep - Stig's right - I thought the build manual tells you to seal that joint, over the welds with sealant. I did both inside and out.

Ahhh, PU - those where the days!!!

[splatspeed]

this is not the floor panel i put in but the welded floor panel in the shell???

think we are gettint confused here

sean

[luckyp]

Sean - nope, one and the same. Nothing to do with the ali skin, just an instruction in the manual to run a bead around the welded steel floor, just in case there are any gaps in the weld.

Pete

[NDS]

I have had similar problems with my 98 Sports. Most of the powder coating has dropped off the front Chassis. The area around the pedal box was particularly bad.

Unfortunately I removed the internal alloy panels and found a similar situation.

I resorted to a wire brush etc and took it back to bare metal. Then etched primed before painting.

[gtrclive]

2" I hope this a track only car....... that's going to hert if you run over even a small brick....

[splatspeed]

the rust was under the powder coating with no visable signs of breaks in the powder coating

the factory recomended 1.5 tops

farbound GT is running a 2" drop

and no problems

but speed bumps will be a no no

Sean

[menostig]

My 98 Sports chassis tube powder coating was also bubbling and had to be taken back and redone in many places. A messy, timeconsuming, rust-fleck in the eye pain. Also the paint, though excellent quality, isn't quite as thick so you can tell where I've repainted. A cautionary tale for anyone buying a second hand power coated chassis car e.g. Ultima, TVR, Noble etc etc.

[brdee]

Shame about the reported rust problems!
If it was under unbroken powder-coating and the chassis was properly waxoiled during the build - its a real problem, and its unnecessary!

What did the factory say? To be fair to them they need to know and have some hard evidence, so they can kick their supplier where it hurts if it is indeed their problem!

...Especially since I bet the factory would not be aware what was going on. Sounds like the chassis supplier may be cutting corners on the prep before coating the chassis - and needs to be hit with a thick book of rules on proper QA!

None of us will really know if we are to suffer these problems till much later on - a worry!

brdee

[splatspeed]

this was between the metal floor and the box section

no drill holes or breaks in the powder coat

not sure what happened

i am just concerned that this area needs special attention to make sure no water gets in or air

this area seems really suseptiable to rusting and needs specail attention during and after the build

is water gets between these surfaces it will eat away

just a warning to check this really

[stig]

splatspeed said:

this was between the metal floor and the box section

no drill holes or breaks in the powder coat

not sure what happened

i am just concerned that this area needs special attention to make sure no water gets in or air

this area seems really suseptiable to rusting and needs specail attention during and after the build

is water gets between these surfaces it will eat away

just a warning to check this really

Once again, sealing with silicon as described in the build manual CD will prevent this.

[NDS]

I showed photos of the corrosion under the powder coating to a specialist coating company. It was suggested it was due to poor preparation prior to powder coating.

[andygtt]

stig said:

splatspeed said:

this was between the metal floor and the box section

no drill holes or breaks in the powder coat

not sure what happened

i am just concerned that this area needs special attention to make sure no water gets in or air

this area seems really suseptiable to rusting and needs specail attention during and after the build

is water gets between these surfaces it will eat away

just a warning to check this really

Once again, sealing with silicon as described in the build manual CD will prevent this.

If rust is there before you silicon as described it wont help just slow it down.... bit like painting over rust bubbles as its too late.

[stig]

andygtt said:

If rust is there before you silicon as described it wont help just slow it down.... bit like painting over rust bubbles as its too late.

Fair point Andy and prevention is always better than cure, but short of doing it as soon as it comes out of powder coat - what do you suggest?

[splatspeed]

got my new floor last night

only took 1 day cut and bent correctly

1.5mm sheet steel

plus 3 1" * 2" box sections in 3mm

37 pounds including the vat cheapest part for the ultima i think

so as soon as the new floor is in it will be full steam ahead

[splatspeed]

finally i have a new floor 2" lower

[burlguy]

Picture, pleeeeeeease

[GTWayne]

I'm getting worried that you might be mobile before me Sean,SLOW DOWN MAN!, there is no rush.