Chassis bracing (floorpan)

[AusSuper]

other than having a roll cage, cos im beginning to like having a back seat still, and still want the thing more rigid, ive been working on a way to strengthen the pan, without reducing ground clearance, interfering with other parts of the car, and also be mostly bolt in setup, what ideas have people got? pics of setups anyone has used would be brilliant also, oh ive already got my idea worked out quite well, just wanted too see if there was anything better out there. cheers everyone

[oasis]

Why not use the set-up of a convertible? It seems to me I read somewhere they are double-panned or use a thicker pan or something like that. The extra weight may be more than compensated for by the slightly lowered center of gravity and the extra stiffening.

Strut bars and anti-sway bars, if you don't have them already, would be the first route to go, though.

[thelazerviking]

i've seen braces that basically reenforce the pan that basically connect from around the rear tosion tubes and go through the lip that's at the end of the floor pans. i believe the lip is about an inch or so wide and an inch deep and runs alond the whole pan right inside of the heater channel. you could either get them or take something like 1" x 1 1/2" steel and bend it to run the whole length of the pans. tie it into the torsion bars in the rear and the frame head or something in the front. it shoudln't be too complicated and it should provide a lot of strength. i never thought of that for myself, maybe i'll use that idea and i can lighten up what will be my roll cage

[Bullyboy]

Ta daa....
http://www.eyeball-engineering.net/F...stiffners.html

[thelazerviking]

EXACTLY what i'm talking about!

haha woo! yay

get 'em!

[thelazerviking]

PS they're pretty expensive!

you get the idea though, you could probably make them or have them made for a lot cheaper

[AusSuper]

cheers fellas, 1303 steve (aussieveedubbers) not sure if hes same on here has sent me those pics just before, and funnyily enough i came up with the same thing before i seen them, well that was the first stage, running it slightly taller and running an X under the pan on the higher section, that way i dont loose any ground clearance overall, cos the rear of the pan is the lowest point. will try to steal someones camera for a second to take some pics of the beast throught the build, but yeah parts are a higher priority for me over a camera sorry

[V.waffe 3]

Has anyone tried to use pillar foam or the like to stiffen the pan. I have seen a couple of 300zxs stiffened with foam. I think that if you filled the heater channels with the stuff it would probably do something similar for our rides. Granted you would need to close off the doors to the engine and remove the j-tubes, but hell most you guys have probably removed those by noe any how. I am not positive as to where or what type of foam they used on the Nissans, but at O'Reilly Auto Parts where I was a refinish adviser we had some pillar filling expanding foam that I had thought of trying. This foam is made by Duramix. I never got the chance to chat with their rep though. I can look a little deeper into this subject if anyone would like me too. Duramix also makes a full line of body panel adhesives. They are crazy strong, but not reccommended for load bearing structures like full floor pans. The stuff didn't come apart when they pulled on it with a frame machine!

[thelazerviking]

i'm actually relly interested in that, that's pretty cool and innovative. if oyu have more info or could bet some that would be pretty cool

thanks,
James

[Bullyboy]

foam is not a good idea for the long term.
We used spray foam insulation to try to seal things up years ago, them we spent hours picking it out before the body panels were replaced from rust.
Unless this stuff is different???

[Racelook]

Originally Posted by Bullyboy

foam is not a good idea for the long term.
We used spray foam insulation to try to seal things up years ago, them we spent hours picking it out before the body panels were replaced from rust.
Unless this stuff is different???

Also my $0,02

[DORIGTT]

Here's a link to the Duramix product line by 3M

http://products3.3m.com/catalog/us/e...er/output_html

Now put that in yer pipe and smoke it!

[V.waffe 3]

The foam used in this process is much different than that normal expanding foam junk used for sealing up holes. I have had some run ins with that crud too and know exactly what you mean. The stuff that I'm speaking of is two components in one seperated tube that catalysed in the mixing tube, unlike the spray can stuff. There are many different expanding foam compounds out there and each of them have a dfferent job. The one I have heard about is made for stiffening, not sealing. The article about a drag Nissan 300ZX was in a Sport Compact Car magazine from 1998 or 1999 I am thinking. Again, I have not had the chance to fully discuss this product with the 3M rep. I would advise sending a email to them before purchase as the foam and gun to press it can be expensive to purchase out right.

Most body shops use this or systems like it for everything for various foams to body panel adhesives. The panel adhesives are another point of interest for restorers of old vehicles,too. I like them for non-structural body patch jobs due to the fact no to minimal welding is required. No welding means, no warping of panels, no moisture caught in the weld which leads to rust out the weld and panel, and not as much skill or expensive equipment needed to do repairs. I have seen entire roof skins put on with this stuff with only a couple of spot welds to hold everything in place. Most companies offer a line of these products including, but no limited to ; 3M, PPG, Duramix, and I think BASF.

I have the most expierence using the Duramix line. It was cheaper than the 3M stuff and so was its gun. The only problem was that you need to make sure that the product has not reached its expiration date. If you guys need anymore information let me know and I'll try and find it. I would suggest checking out that link that homeboy (DORIGGT) found, too.
Later,
V3

[mrweasel]

Why not try these:

Left side
Right side

mrweasel

[Steve C]

Hi

Do they bolt straight onto a non vert chassis?
I wonder what it would cost to get them down here?

Steve