Chevrolet C8 1940 Cab 11 restoration, The Netherlands

[cliff]

excellent workmanship mate

[Alex van de Wetering]

Actually in this case the replacement piece is in much better condition than the surrounding area, but as this section will be underneath the passenger seat, I am OK with the result.
All the heat from welding and grinding sadly meant the floor needed straightening again. I don't have a press, so I decided to put our small van to good use. I used a variety of wooden blocks and after half an hour of careful moving these blocks and driving the car on top, the floor was pretty much straight again. After a few coats of primer and Khaki Green the floor is again ready for use!

Alex

[Bob Carriere]

You bring back some pleasant memories of when I stitched up my floor..... time consuming but very satisfying.

It must be remembered that not everything comes with a part number and available at the local auto parts store. In this restoration game/hobby you must be able to be creative and willing to try to make things we have never done before.

I love your approach to matching up the dots and dashes........ and I remember getting some good advice and pcitures from Phil W. on setting up my extra winch hand brake properly.

You, like many others, are a credit to our hobby.

Cheers

Cheers

[Alex van de Wetering]

Thanks Cliff....it's very much like scale modelling.....cut a piece of material slightly bigger than the hole and than slowly cut and grind until it fits. Grinding and cutting just takes longer

Bob, many thanks! Just as you said...it was quite fun fixing the floor, even though it took a fair bit of time to get it done. Thanks again for the idea!

You, like many others, are a credit to our hobby

Thanks for the compliment, but too be honest....I think guys like youself, the Hammond crew, Phil and many others are the ones that are a credit to the hobby... I have learned so much from you guys over the years!

Attached are some pictures of the gearbox cover. Not that I need it anytime soon, but I thought I might as well fix it, when I was dry-fitting the panel in order to determine where to drill the missing hole in the floor.
The gearbox cover was also cut with a torch. I cut the burrs of the edges, welded in some fresh steel and welded the small holes (not rust this time, but holes from the torch) using a piece of flattened copper tube clamped against it.
I still have to find some correct steel rivets to fasten the rubber gasket and plate around the handbrake lever, but first things first.

Alex

[Bob Carriere]

Hi Alex

I used two layers of 1/16th neoprene gasket material and replaced the rivets with number 10 pan head slotted screws/bolts and nuts underneath...... now if the rubber cracks I can easily replace it.........

I also fitted a semi soft gray rubber sponge foam around the tranny tower and the thcickenss is just enough to squeeze it down very tight when I bolt down the tranny cover......seals very well.

Cheers

[Ganmain Tony]

Alex, that floor repair has left me in awe of your workmanship..

Utterly outstanding

[Alex van de Wetering]

Thanks Tony!

Bob, I certainly plan to make a thick rubber filler around the shift tower, like you suggested. Regarding the rubber around the hand brake lever and the rivets....I haven't made up my mind yet. I might go for aluminium rivets in stead of the original steel ones. It seems it's easier to find the aluminium ones in the correct size and small quantities...they would look identical to the originals...should be easier to form and easier to drill out if the rubber has to be replaced.
But....as they say...we'll cross that bridge when we get there
Something that is still bugging me is the gap between the arch bars and inner footwell panel. My arch bars are very rust pitted in that location, so the best solution I can think of is to get some very thick rubber to fill the gap. I would probably need a spongy rubber as in some locations it has to fill a 15mm gap and in others it has to be compressed as much as possible. It might not be original, but I need something to fill the gap and keep the water and dirt out!

Alex