TomM

I have my glovebox out and the controls on the front of the a/c heater box appear to be only partially assembled (front being the interior of the car, immediately behind the glovebox door). In addition there's a large gap at the box/cowl interface. I have the Ford service manuals but I don't see the detail I need to understand what's going on. I've attached a few photos (in poor lighting conditions): 1) There's about a 2" gap between the top of the a/c heater box and the opening in the cowl. Also, there appears to be a screw missing. Is the gasket in one of the photos supposed to fill that gap or should the screw be used to clamp the box to the cowl? There doesn't appear to be much free play in the box that would allow the gap to be eliminated. 2) Another photo shows the front of the box looks like a few pieces are missing or separated or both. Does anyone have a photo of that area? This car has factory a/c. Thanks, Tom

Ok, good to know - thanks. No fluid in the system yet and hasn't been run since Nov. Sounds like it will stiffen up once I get it filled and running, so I should be good. Last Sep I took it in for a pre-inspection inspection since I bought as a rolling shell. I recall the inspector saying "there can't be more than 1/4" play in the wheel. Thanks, Tom

I'm getting my FB with power steering back on the road for the first time since Nov of last year. I have new ball joints, strut bushings and tie rod ends on the front. I noticed the right front tire/wheel assembly is very snug with little play once the wheel/tire is installed. The left front has much more play. I can visually see that the play comes from the ball stud pivot/movement on the p/s control valve. Is this typical or is this a sign that the ball stud spring is weak? With a rebuilt control valve would I still expect more play than the r/f? Thanks, Tom

So I'm still sneaking up on this floor pan repair, here's what I hope is the final cut. I opted not to cut straight across the toe-board in order to avoid the additional spot welds and the metal was good. The replacement pan I have is large enough to fill in the entire cutout toe-board and floor. This would eliminate the lap joint but get a little tricky on each side where the OEM lap joint is located. Another option is to perform a two piece repair, which would result in the lap joint in the original location. This is not a concourse restoration so I won't lose any sleep over eliminating the lap joint. I'm interested in your thoughts. Does anyone have any experience welding the lapped area on either side with a solid piece in the middle (no lap)? Thanks, Tom

I've heard some folks us a light spray paint around the cut edge from the underside to mark the panel. I will start with the paper method and see how it works out. I'll do some preliminary research on a mobile welder, but as father/son project with at least a year before I need to get the car on the road, I'm willing to be patient and keep practicing. Also, although I feel that the butt joints are preferred/better, I won't lose any sleep over lap joints as a plan B. Thanks, Tom

Good idea Unilec, I'll plan on using your paper method - hopefully this weekend. Thanks, Tom

Thanks Midlife. We cut out a 14" x 14" section of the floor today, just need to cut out the remaining 10% on the toe board this week. Fortunately the pass/front section was only $35 so if I can't get the butt welds working I'll buy a new pan and switch to the lap joint. Thanks, Tom

So what's the best way to ensure there is no gap for a butt weld? I've been practicing butt welds and having much better luck without a gap, rather than using the butt weld clamps that result in a gap. I've read that screwing the replacement pan onto the original and then using a cutoff wheel, but it seems like this would result in a gap equal to the width of the cutoff wheel. I'm thinking I may be better off cutting the old section out, using it as a pattern to oversize the new piece and then grinding to fit. I'll be replacing a fairly large section of the front passenger floor board, as seen in the photos. Thanks, Tom

After a few iterations of Rust B Gone and wire brush I'm starting to finalize plans for my repair. The red areas are where the rust needs to be replaced. The seam is a little suspect so I don't think I can get away with just replacing the red areas. I see my two options as blue and yellow. Is there any reason not to do the yellow? Also, on the lower right I'd be welding through the grooves, I may consider going to the outboard edge of the grooves. I think my replacement pan is 19/20ga. I can only find 16ga and 22ga locally at Home Depot. I've been practicing butt welds with butt weld clamps that leave a gap. Not going to well to say the least. This week we'll practice with no gap on both gauges to see if we can get comfortable with the butt welds. If all else fails we'll do a lap joint but my preference is for the butt weld. Thanks, Tom

Mike, thanks for the pics. I'm currently removing the rust with a wire wheel to identify the extent of the repair. How did you remove the rust - abrasion, chemicals? Thanks, Tom

Good point Ridge Runner. That takes care of three of the four sides and just leaves the seam at the rocker. If I feel comfortable with the butt weld I may eliminate the seam on that side. Thanks, Tom

Here's my new pan from CJPP. I've been reading up on the great debate of lap joints vs butt joints. We'll spend the next week or so practicing both methods, and see how the butt welds go. One question, based on the left/right extents of the rust, I can take a a few inches off of the width of the new pan in each direction, eliminating the spot welded seam at the rocker. I can also remove a few inches from the rear. Would this be considered advantageous or should I weld the pan as-is with minimal triming? Thanks, Tom

All, thanks for the responses. Here's a better pic. I's say the rust extends about 6" up the toe board, especially in the rib on the right hand side (outboard). The spot welded seam is pretty solid, but behind it on the floor and above it on the right toe board rib are the areas needing attention. I will look into the spot weld remover, new sheet metal and gas setup for my mig. Is anyone reproducing the 69/70 sheet metal or should I plan on modifying the 65-70 pans? If I remove the front portion of the floor pan and up to 6"-8" of the toe board, are there still spot welds that need to be removed or will I have cut them out? I'm assuming it's better to replace the full width as best I can rather than, say just the RHS rib on the toe board. Thanks, Tom

My pass side toe board has some thru-rust, looking for advice on planning a repair (pic is shown with a dime). The rest of the pan looks pretty good as it was an AZ car. This is a father/son project, meaning: 1) I'm not interested in concourse but I don't want a harry-homeowner repair either 2) I would prefer to perform the repair ourselves The POR-15 Floor Pan repair kit gets great reviews, I think it contains a fiberglass matt. I do have a 110v Hobart gasless mig, I haven't used it much but it is an option. I could replace the pan section in that area. The CJPP pan doesn't get great reviews for the 69/70 as the grooves don't match and it turns out to be a cut to fit item. I realize replacing the sheetmetal is the ideal route. Thoughts? Thanks, Tom

I'm looking for a pair of quarter trim panels for my 70FB, preferably white.

Awesome, thanks Redmastercraft!

I have a 70 FB with the Ford 3spd manual trans. I bought as a rolling shell so I don't have a lot to go on. When I installed the engine/tranny I routed the backup switch wiring along the exterior/underside of the floor board up to the square connector on the firewall in the engine bay. Now that I am replacing the carpet I'm wondering if the wiring should be routed under the carpet. Although this would get the wiring on the interior, it would still have to exit the firewall to mate with the plug. Also, it seems it would get pinched under the shifter boot bracket. Does anyone know if the wiring from the switch on the shift linkage should be interior or exterior up to the plug in the engine bay? Thanks, Tom

Great pic, thanks! I ended up very close to that location. Same cutout, about a 1/3 of the way from the RHS. Thanks for the photo - Tom

The PO of my 70 FB cut large speaker holes in the lower section of the original interior quarter trim panels. Otherwise, they appear to be in good shape. Short of placing a nice 6x9 speaker grille over the hole, has anyone successfully repaired these? I understand these may be fiberglass. I can glass in some fiberglass mat on the backside, just not sure how to fill in the thickness of the panel - from the mat to the front face of the panel. The reproductions seem to be low quality and high price. Thanks, Tom

Hi Ralt962, I cut the adjusting knob hole last weekend. My 70 is a different knob, but I don't know if the hole goes in the same location as the 69. If it's not out of your way, a pic of your panel would be a good sanity check - hopefully I got it close. Thanks, Tom

Purchased one on ebay.

Sounds good, I'll feel around or get a flashlight in there to see if I can locate the holder. Thanks for the advice.

Great pics Aslanefe. That puts it about an inch further to the rear than what I was thinking, but with that extra inch is still shouldn't interfere with the regulator. Thanks for your help, I appreciate it. Looks like I'll be cutting the door panel this weekend! Thanks, Tom

That would be great if it's not too much trouble. Thanks for the offer!

Thanks Super Stanger, I think you are right. My mirror has the 90deg knob, on a standard interior door panel. I have the correct mirror, control and bezel for a 70, just need to determine which hole in the inner door skin to use. Some pics I've seen of a 70 appear to show the mirror bezel slightly to the rear of the window crank, much like Mach1 Driver's pic. So I'm leaning towards using the bottom right corner of that oblong cutout. I'll do a dry fit with a helper to see if the window operates properly without interference. Thanks for the input. Tom