Midwest Military Floor Pans

I ordered up some floor pans for my Renegade project and thought I’d post them here as well as in my build thread. Build threads don’t seem to get a lot of action and I’m really impressed with these floor pans.

The floors have the proper location for the different attachment points and the proper angle for the body mount. Here they are just setting in the jeep.


Proper angle on body mount



I talked to John and he ended up making me a flat plate to go where the m38a1 fuel tank well goes.



I also purchased the hat channel kit and it appears to line up really well.

 

I’d say one of the more difficult or challenging things for using this in the cj is the flat plate where the m38a1 fuel sump goes. It’s gonna take some creativity to get this welded in as the lip on the plate seems too small to plug weld.
If anyone has any ideas here I’ll take them, but that lip is about 1/4” if that.

You can see the two 1/4 “ bends meeting up here.

 

Can the two pieces be welded from the top? Grind away both flanges and weld from top or bottom. That type of flange needs the two electrode spot welder that most of us do not have. If not fully sealed the gap the flanges create is going to rust. The floor pans and hat channels look like quality pieces.

 

Death by a thousand dots. Someone may chime in but once tacked up usnt there a trick using a piece of copper bar as a temporary backing to keep from blowing through?

 

Yes, I have several pieces of copper that I have bent in different shapes to back up thinner panels to prevent making large holes instead of solid welds, also I would start on new metal and move the puddle to older, thinner metal. I use .023 wire for this. Where there is no overlap I use Harbor Freight panel clamps to hold panels in alignment while tacking, using the copper backer to prevent blowouts. Good luck!

 

a bunch of little tack welds. use weld through primer.

 

drill a series of holes in one of the flanges . and spot weld through the hole to the other flange

 

You are better off welding the thinner metal onto the thicker metal. Can weld hotter and not burn thru. Punch/drill holes in the floor pan, weld it to hat channel. Yes you will have to grind and fill the floor pan.

 

Don’t drill the holes buy a hole punch like this.
Much easier and works much better. I got a nice used one about 10 years ago from eBay for about $25 with about 7 dies. Mine was a nice Roper Whitney made in the USA in a nice fitted metal case.
This is the kit I have but mine is old enough it’s in a metal case.







Metal Hole Punch Kit, Hand Held Power Punch. - Hand Tool Hole Punches - Amazon.com

 

I've never seen a Whitney punch that was not in a smaller metal box. A Whitney punch is great for creating the holes needed for rosette welding with a MIG welder. Its very likely the punched holes from Midwest Military were done with a Whitney.
-Donny

 

My Roper Whitney is so old it came in a cardboard box? Great tool!

 

How are you liking the Midwest floor panels and channels? I'm thinking of using their hat channel set bonded to the reinforced floor of a fiberglass tub. I would be using a continuous bead of 3M panel bond.
-Donny

 

IMHO sealing the welded joints is as important as fit up, alignment and welding. Jeeps almost always start rusting at joints, especially hat channels. Good luck!

 

I used 11 ga. to make my floor plates and had the hat channels made at a local shop, I then just stitch welded with short burst on the trigger of my welder. Worked just fine, didn't burn through anywhere. Good Luck

 

So far the fit up is spot on I’ll
Knownmoren

i am liking them a lot. The fit is excellent.

 

Really nice looking floor!
I'm so ashamed, my floor and rails, came from scrap pile, I
had the Flintstone c through floor also?
Bout what's the cost of materials to do this right?