11BL rusty floor

It would be very difficult to move the stiffeners because I would have to grind away all of the welds (without damaging anything else) then re-weld everything. Instead of completely refabricating the floor panel, I will make a transition to accommodate the brake and fuel lines, or I will fabricate a secondary shield. My concerns were, in descending order; (1) structural integrity; (2) environmental integrity; (3) appearance from inside the cabin; (4) appearance from underneath. Priority #4 lost out.
For sure. You could tack a secondary piece of angle next to the existing one if you need to run the lines through it!
 
My son and I ground off the welds holding the rear gearbox mounting brackets to the underside of a Ford Escort Mk 2 RS-2000 so that a five speed gearbox could be accommodated. They were factory spot welds. We managed to remove the welds without any damage to the underlying tunnel section. Your welds are easy to get to. You should be able to end up with a smooth floor pan at the weld site without too much difficulty. Then it would be a matter of using self tappers to reposition the V on the under side in the correct alignment before removing one self tapper at a time and welding to close the screw hole and form a plug weld where the screw had been. Time consuming----Yes. Difficult----No.
The result of having everything in the correct position and style will add immeasurably to the desirability of your completed vehicle.
My two cents worth -----Do it!
 
My son and I ground off the welds holding the rear gearbox mounting brackets to the underside of a Ford Escort Mk 2 RS-2000 so that a five speed gearbox could be accommodated. They were factory spot welds. We managed to remove the welds without any damage to the underlying tunnel section. Your welds are easy to get to. You should be able to end up with a smooth floor pan at the weld site without too much difficulty. Then it would be a matter of using self tappers to reposition the V on the under side in the correct alignment before removing one self tapper at a time and welding to close the screw hole and form a plug weld where the screw had been. Time consuming----Yes. Difficult----No.
The result of having everything in the correct position and style will add immeasurably to the desirability of your completed vehicle.
My two cents worth -----Do it!

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Nothing is impossible .... it'll be a hell of a job from beneath though.

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There is at least 12 welds each side to cut through (with everything falling in your eyes from beneath). without cutting through the floor. Then you need to grind all the welds off and dress it all .... then re-weld it. Not impossible, but not simple laying on your back under a car...... Unless its on a rotisserie ?
 
Yes not convenient working flat on your back. But get the car high enough on sturdy trestles and it becomes easier. Angle grinder with a metal cutting blade( thin ) working as flat to the surface as possible produces good results. In any case it will be John's choice on how best to treat this problem! Personally, I would be putting in the extra effort!
 
I was too far down the path I was on to want to go back and completely reconstruct the aftermarket floor panel. My original plan was to make a stone guard for the fuel and brake lines and that is what I ended up doing. It doesn't look original, but it is functional.

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From the inside the repair is barely detectable and is certainly a big improvement over the street sign that was attached with pop rivets by the prior owner.

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If your about to spend a small fortune rebuilding a traction radiator ....... Check this out that was just posted on facebook.

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Can you believe that ..... I'll have to show that to my father. He spent a lot of money rebuildng a traction radiator ..... when we would have 1/2 dozen downflow DS radiators floating around the place. It looks like the DS radiator bolts straight in and you use the DS top hose!

I bet you ahve 1/2dozen DS radiators around the place too :)
 
Mine has an Austin 1800 radiator fitted with outlets soldered on to suit.
 
Mine has an Austin 1800 radiator fitted with outlets soldered on to suit.

Interesting. The DS radiator is probably a decent amount higher capacity. If it is a DS top hose, you could also fit a thermostat.

The standard traction radiator is a very nice looking thing with a new core and repaired top tank though. It looks to be a very efficient (read expensive ?) core in it.

seeya,
Shane L.
 
One of the experts here in the states says that it might be possible to fit a DS radiator to an 11B but definitely not an 11BL, so I am back to either buying a new reproduction radiator and hoping the quality is decent or trying to have mine reconstructed, in which case I will need to find a new top tank since mine was modified by the PO and I don't think it can ever be put right.....
 
I have a second spare here John but it might be more expensive to get that over to you than it would be to buy a brand new repro unit from Europe!
 
One of the experts here in the states says that it might be possible to fit a DS radiator to an 11B but definitely not an 11BL, so I am back to either buying a new reproduction radiator and hoping the quality is decent or trying to have mine reconstructed, in which case I will need to find a new top tank since mine was modified by the PO and I don't think it can ever be put right.....

Hi John,
I have one that I no longer need. No idea what sort of shape its in, but you can have it for the cost of shipping.

After lurking for a while I started a thread.
https://www.aussiefrogs.com/forum/index.php?threads/11bl-resto-ev-mod.141175/

Pete
 
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