VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 floorboard replacement

in order to replace floorboards in my '40 coupe. do i need to remove the body off the frame? or leave it on? what about the trunk area that needs the toolbox compartment replaced? body off or on? i could just patch the bad areas. but i thought,
what would be the easier way to just install the new panels.
are they welded in? or rivited in?

any answers? ideas? suggestions?

thanks,

bubbatom

I am working on a 38 but things won't be all that different on a 40. Nothing will be riveted together. If you are replacing say just the front floor pans, I would leave the body on to keep everything lined up. Same thing for the rear area. For the rear I am using panels from EMS . EMS also makes floor pans but they are flat for hotrod work. For the front floor pans I used Classic 2 Current panels . They are very authentic looking but not exact. I don't have a bead roller etc. so this was my best option.

but still, how do you remove the bad toolbox metal? it looks like it was spot welded in. my eyes aren't very clear. how it is held in. will i have to repaint the rear apron? maybe i am not looking at it right. the shop manual doesn't show it clear enough.

thanks,

bubbatom

Everything on the body will either be spot welded together or welded together. With my 38, the lip of the front portion is spotwelded to the rear of the floor pan. At the outer edges it is welded. The lower rear potion of the box is spotwelded to the rear area of the body. If you have a problem with just a single area, you may want to just patch it. Otherwise it is quite a complicated bit of work.