Stripping the Floorpan
Not a very pretty sight, is it?
Once hauled into the workshop, the proto-Manx fell apart with very
little encouragement. We stripped it back to the bare floorpan, treated
the rust and went over the welds again, just to make sure that they were
doubly bodgy. We toyed with the idea of having the floorpan hot-dip galvanized
to make it completely rust-proof, but eventually we settled for a good thick
coat of rust inhibitor and several layers of paint. VW floorpans are cheap
– if this one rusts, another can be sourced and chopped very cheaply and
easily.
Cleaned, welded and rust proofed.
Richard priming the pan.
Apart from welding and rustproofing, the floorpan needed a couple
of holes cut to allow the gearshift and pedal linkages to be re-installed.
Normally we wouldn’t be prepared let Richard play with the angle grinder,
but he actually did a pretty tidy job. Well, tidy for him. He didn’t lose
any fingers, either. Ah well, you can’t have everything. A couple of neat
little covers over the jagged holes and the floorpan was complete.
The covers for the gear shift and pedal linkages.
Primed and ready for certification
