Kaiser Frazer Owners Club Forum
General Category => Willys Forum => Topic started by: jagarra on January 12, 2019, 12:14:09 PM
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When my Aero was out sitting for a long time it had a carpet in the trunk that my grandfather had laid in there. Well over the years the seal leaked, carpet retained moisture and I have some bad rust on the left side of the trunk floor.
I did find an outfit that made new replacement trunk floor pieces, but of course they don't list one for the Willys.
My question is has anyone found a replacement piece from a different model vehicle that will work on the Willys.
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If it is a flat area that is damaged perhaps that would not be too much of a problem to weld a piece in to the floor to replace the rusted area which would be covered by a rubber mat on the top and could be undercoated on the bottom.
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It would be a real long shot to find anything close in another make car. The only replacement panels I've ever seen were NOS, never seen trunk metal. A parts car somewhere would be the best shot for a panel.
Keep in mind the 2 inverted "ribs" in the floor that line up with the tank retaining straps are there to "grip" the tank and should be duplicated, and have padding, so welding directly there will burn the padding, and the top of the tank.
Like Gordie suggested, a flat piece might work and will be covered.
If there's a metal shop nearby with a Pullmax they can come pretty close duplicating any panel piece you bring in fairly reasonably. Paying them to drill the spot welds & cut the panel out will quickly get expensive.
Here's a pic of a fabricated front floor panel from a shop in Elburn IL..
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Here is the info on the outfit that makes replacement floor pans. https://www.c2cfabrication.com/search?q=exterior+trunk+floor+pan
I was hoping to find something with ribs that closely resembled the stock unit, had a donor car a number of years ago, but never saved the trunk pan.
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Here is the info on the outfit that makes replacement floor pans. https://www.c2cfabrication.com/search?q=exterior+trunk+floor+pan
I was hoping to find something with ribs that closely resembled the stock unit, had a donor car a number of years ago, but never saved the trunk pan.
Thanks for posting that link. Looks like they stock the repair panels I need for the Chevelle, my next project. Just on a very off chance, you might look at shoebox Ford panels but I'd bet the tank support ribs & spacing would not match.
Duane Hayes in Peyton CO has some Aero parts cars with solid metal donegoing2002@yahoo.com
Drilling & separating spot welds to end up with an intact panel is time consuming work, I doubt he'd do it for you but the panel is likely there at a reasonable price.
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Mark,
thanks for the info, The section I need is the left side on the flat area, the sides of the pan are good, so I guess I will keep looking here in Nevada. Never knew about the rib area for the tank support.
regards,
gg
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I also had a gaping hole in my trunk due to seal leak. This is an opportunity to buy a Harbor Freight or Eastwood or Woodward Fab bead roller. The ribs are fairly easy to duplicate. At the ends of the fuel tank locators you need to use a hammer and sand bag to deepen the area. The bigger challenge is if the spare tire well is shot. That took several pieces and a lot of hammering. Good Luck.
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Unfortunately, you won't find any pre-made repair panels for an Aero.
As Mark indicated, there are some NOS replacement panels still in existence, but they are quite difficult to come by. I have never encountered any repair panels for the floor.
Anything you'll need will have to be made. I found a local rent a garage joint that would let you use tools for a monthly membership fee. They had a fab shop with shears, brakes, bead rollers and the like. I used those facilities to make repair panels for my car. You don't necessarily need something as specialized as a Pullmax to make body panels. I made paper templates off the car and transferred to new sheet metal.
Just a suggestion. You may or may not have something like that locally, or be so inclined to attempt.
Best of luck on your project.