Hi everyone!
My Coupe restoration project is moving along, and my next step is the
bodywork. Right now I have everything removed from my coupe's "shell",
including the doors, engine, sub-frame, fenders, etc. I've also chipped
off all the "tar boards" in the floor pans. My question is about some
rust damage in the floor-pan area. It seems that the "cross brace" from
which the passenger seat attaches to is rusted out underneath, so much
so that the brace is almost detached on the right side of the floorpan
(it's still secured at the ends). There is also a rusted out hole where
the brace straddles the "center hump". The rest of the floorpan looks
pretty good all over.
My plan at this point is to create and weld on some sort of replacement
for the brace, and patch up the holes. I think I can do this, but is
there something about the unibody construction of the car that I should
know first? Where exactly is the car's real strength? Are these parts
very structural? Is there some reinforcing I should do? Any advice
would be great. Thanks!