Interior floor pan and supports

I'm waiting on new rocker panels to show up so I decided to start getting ready to replace the interior floor.

I'm NOT doing an off frame resto so this is going to be a bit tricky.  My garage is too small for a rotisserie and my neighbors would raise holly hell if I rolled the chassis outside to sit in the driveway so I'm stuck with it for now.

I was thinking of jacking up one side of the car REALLY high once I get the rocker panels off and trying to slip the new floor pan in from the side.  

Has anyone tried this or have a better idea that doesn't include cutting the floor pan in half?????

I don't think the floor pan would fit through either the front or rear window and they aren't out... yet... so I can't do that now anyway.

Thanks in advance...

Michael

I know a few of you will cringe when I say this but my new floor pan, floor supports, and seat mount are all Chevy counterparts.  Now before you judge me...

A few years back I ran into a guy in his 80's who used to do body repairs in a Pontiac delearship.  My floor already had a lot of holes and he told me that most of the Chevy and Pontiac replacement parts are interchangable.  The Chevy parts are more common and priced cheaper so I went that route.

Here's a list of what I have so far but keep in mind these are chevy part numbers:
Left and right second floor support part #'s 731-46AL & 731-46AR
Left and right third floor support part #'s 731-46CL & 731-46CR
Left and right seat brace/mount part #'s 731-45BL & 731-45BR
The above was purchsed from American Muscle Car LLC in Ohio and their web site is vintagepartsclub.com

FULL interior floor pan part number 731-46CF
purchased from Motor City Hi-Performance in Michigan and their web site is motorcityhp.com

Here's the floor pan



Here are the supports



and here is everything together for a test fit

Michael…..no one should be cringing or judging your use or these parts. It's time we stopped looking at them as Chevrolet parts and started thinking of them as Fisher Body parts. Back in 1959 the Fisher Body stamping plants would have been punching these out by the millions. Stacks and stacks, pallet after pallet, were shipped out to Fisher Body assembly plants for both Chevrolet and BOP Final assembly. Depending on what other parts they were welded to, they became Chevrolets or Pontiacs or small Oldsmobiles and Buicks. The fact that you bought them as Chevrolet parts means that there are a lot more people restoring 1959 Chevys than Pontiacs, which makes them economical to be reproduced. Thank God for G.M. interchangeability.

I don't think that those other two supports are reproduced, but they don't look too hard to fabricate. All four are attached to the inner rocker panel, to provide extra stiffness to the floors. Number three is also used for the body to frame mount. You might be able to modify extra #2 supports to cut down on fabrication. By the way, that's excellent work that you've done so far……John

Thanks John.  I'm 2 years into the body work now and I'm guessing I have another 2 years to go.  I'm trying to document my work for others who find they need to do similar repairs. Hopefully someone can bennefit from it.

I started on the trunk last year and it was rough going.  I fabricated all of the trunk supports myself using an old hand me down MIG welder and basic tools most people have around the house.  Over time I picked up more tools including a new sheet metal brake and sandblaster.  I have many hours of fabricating replacement parts under my belt now and this spring I bought a new MIG 135 from Eastwood so I can bang these out pretty quickly now.  They're not show quality replacements but they're strong and sturdy.

The car is mechanically and electrically sound so there's not a lot I need to do other than body work.  Things like weather stripping and the headliner should be a piece of cake compared to all this.