[Big D]

Hi all,

A few pictures added just to show the completed floor pieces.

The centre floor piece has an interesting shape to it and I figure the original manufacturing would have involved some complicated pressing. I had to get my compass out to get the folds right for some of the angles, but it is not looking bad. The fit is pretty good. Thanks for the measurements David.

I had to improvise a little at the front where the centre floor piece meets the front cross member. The front of the original centre floor piece was pressed such that it has a step at the front and I wasn’t easily able to recreate that. Also, because there was nothing useable left of the old sheet metal front floor that the centre floor piece would normally bolt down on top of, I had to make up some packers to lift the centre floor piece to the right height up off the cross member. I also had to make a small false floor for the gearstick housing mounting. I think it all looks pretty good though.

I’ve made the floor so that I can take out the centre section relatively easily. That is, the fixing points between the centre floor and rear floor pieces are on the rear floor, rather than the other way around. I’m not sure when and if removing the centre floor will be required but I figure it could be handy. With that centre floor piece coming out first, I figure the rear floor could be taken out underneath if required.

I’ve extended the front armoured floor back to the area over the front cross member, where it originally would have been. I’ve also made up a small surround around the area where the gearstick housing is. I’ve followed the original shape of the armoured floor in doing this. Most of the pictures I’ve seen of armoured front floors have a circular cut-out around the gearstick housing, but I have seen one other photograph of an armoured floor with an angled cut-out like my one has.

I don’t have the correct fixed driver seat, nor do I have the correct mount for the co-driver seat. In the end I fabricated two mounts from photographs of the originals to mount the two seats I did have. I need to get some torsion springs of the right size though for the locking plate that holds the seat back up. I don’t figure the driver’s seat will be folded back too often, and I guess you have to work with what you’ve got. I’ll keep an eye out for the correct driver’s seat and hopefully one will turn up one day.

The pictures show the seats and extinguisher mount just sitting in place for the moment. I still need to finish the drilling and tapping for the seat bases as well as drilling the holes around the sides of the floor pieces for the securing bolts.

In between time on the floor, I’ve done a few repairs on the inner and outer front guards. The inner ones are just about done now but there is some work in the outer front guards. There are some tricky folds in these and the rust appears to have developed in the hardest folds to create.

I think I’m getting there…..