trunk floor replacement panels... suggestions on sellers?

[Lord Warlock]

In early December, I ordered a new trunk floor 2 piece kit from Tamraz on ebay,  as of xmas day, I still hadn't received anything so opened a complaint on ebay with them, I was informed I needed to pay an extra 25.00 for shipping to a residential address (as was stated on the original ad, which was fine with me), but it should have processed this as part of the original payment through paypal,  I paid the additional payment, and they stated they had ordered the part directly through AMD but did not provide shipping details as i requested so i could track the part and ensure i was available on its expected delivery date.  two weeks later, I responded to the case I opened that this process was taking far too long and either provide me with a tracking number or I'd dispute the charge.  Today I was notified of a full refund (not including the 25.00 delivery charge, which I'll follow up through paypal later. 

What i'd like to know is where or who should i order the replacement floor from now?  is 521 restorations a trustworthy site to order from? they offer the same part for the same price, and do not mention an additional  charge for shipping to a residential address.  I want to order the new part so i can finish the trunk replacement process while i'm still out of work and available to work on the car.  Are there better sellers to go through? 

I had previously ordered and received a gas tank through Tamraz, and had thought that the purchase process went well,  but i won't be ordering through them again based on this experience.  They've wasted a month of my time already.  Any suggestions for buying AMD sheetmetal through?  I know there are plenty of AMD body panel customers on this site, so someone should be able to recommend a reputable shop.  Lowest cost isn't the most important factor, but it does help.   

Thanks guys, appreciate the input so i can move forward on this. 

Lord Warlock
Jacksonville, FL

[jaak]

521 is a great vendor. I order my sheet metal from him or Adeals, usually AMD stuff from 521, and Sherman parts from Adeals. I ordered my 2 PC. Floor from Adeals and it was $241 shipped to my residential address. If you use adeals, order directly from their website instead of their eBay store...usually saves you a few bucks.

Jason

[cdr]

jeff at 521 is a great guy .

[Lord Warlock]

the Adeals pieces I see online look like mirror images of the left side, both show the filler tube section, the right side shouldn't have that flat area with the oval cutout.  The price is great but the part isn't correct in my eyes.  Their regular website doesn't seem to be working for me with either, with IE10 or Firefox browsers.  Gives me an error when i try to get into the links to 69 charger parts.  The 521 part online looks to have the correct part but its almost twice the cost of the other guy. 

[jaak]

the Adeals pieces I see online look like mirror images of the left side, both show the filler tube section, the right side shouldn't have that flat area with the oval cutout.  The price is great but the part isn't correct in my eyes.  Their regular website doesn't seem to be working for me with either, with IE10 or Firefox browsers.  Gives me an error when i try to get into the links to 69 charger parts.  The 521 part online looks to have the correct part but its almost twice the cost of the other guy.  

The pic is just like that, it doesn't come that way. I figured they just had a pic of one side, then mirrored it for the web pic (to show 2 pieces). Adeals has an eBay store too, it just cost a little more I paid 241 shipped for my pans, but on eBay they are 280 shipped (I guess to cover his seller fees).

Jason

[Lord Warlock]

wasn't sure, and the 521 piece listed it as the last one available so i ordered that one, didn't want to take a chance on getting a trunk floor as it was pictured, would have saved me almost 100 bucks though, so may not have been the most prudent decision.  Adeals web store at least let me look at their choices, I tried emailing the local AMD distributor who posted here a year or so back, but the email got returned as invalid, and didn't want to wait...i'm kind of impulsive once i make my mind up to spend money on something, i want it yesterday.  Was kind of ticked off at the tamraz situation, been waiting for their part now for a month.

Good to know both shops have a good rep with folks here though, there are other parts I'll need to get.  Still considering whether to get a replacement passenger front fender or a replacement hood, plan on trying to get by with the original parts for now.  Its amazing how the lack of a body line on 6 inches of front fender makes me want to spend 400 bucks to resolve it. 

[green69rt]

wasn't sure, and the 521 piece listed it as the last one available so i ordered that one, didn't want to take a chance on getting a trunk floor as it was pictured, would have saved me almost 100 bucks though, so may not have been the most prudent decision.  Adeals web store at least let me look at their choices, I tried emailing the local AMD distributor who posted here a year or so back, but the email got returned as invalid, and didn't want to wait...i'm kind of impulsive once i make my mind up to spend money on something, i want it yesterday.  Was kind of ticked off at the tamraz situation, been waiting for their part now for a month.

Good to know both shops have a good rep with folks here though, there are other parts I'll need to get.  Still considering whether to get a replacement passenger front fender or a replacement hood, plan on trying to get by with the original parts for now.  Its amazing how the lack of a body line on 6 inches of front fender makes me want to spend 400 bucks to resolve it. 

I would say that the 521 guy (jeff) actually checks to make sure your parts are available when ordering.  I have worked with him a lot and always was happy with the service.  He does have another job so please understand that sometimes the replys don't come thru in a few minutes.  Tell him Mitch recommended him

[PlainfieldCharger]

Tamaraz is about a mile from me so I stopped out to buy some 68 bumperetts to save on the freight. They would not discount it because it had free freight on ebay. Was not impressed with the CSR's attitude. I won't buy from them anymore either.

[Troy]

If they didn't ship it is it because AMD doesn't actually have it in stock? Most all of those vendors drop ship directly from AMD so, if their warehouse is empty, then no one will have it! Check Stephens Performance if that's the case because they do keep stock on hand.

Troy

[Lord Warlock]

Well, have to say there is a difference between Tamraz and 521, Tamraz didn't bother to do anything for 3 weeks until I opened a case up with ebay, then they responded very quickly telling me I needed to send more money to cover shipping to a residence, then after I confirmed payment for the additional amount they said they requested the part being sent direct from AMD but didn't have tracking info, a week later i updated the case indicating I needed tracking information soon or i would dispute the charge through the credit card company, two days later i was informed that I had been given a full refund (only for the initial purchase, they did not bother to refund the 2nd payment for additional shipping, I had to open a second case today through paypal to attempt to recoup that payment)

After i got a response about 521 here on the site (very promptly i may add) I ordered the part through 521 through their ebay store, within 2 hours I had a tracking number and notification that the part was shipped, today I checked the tracking and it has already been picked up so I assume 521 did have the part on hand and was able to ship it immediately, without an extra delivery charge.  

I am pretty easy to deal with, rarely get upset about delays as long as i'm informed of whats going on.  If Tamraz had indicated they were out of stock and needed to drop ship from AMD i would have been fine with that, provided they had given me a tracking number within 3 or 4 days.  I've ordered dozens of parts through ebay over the years and always had a good experience with each purchase, I've never even been ripped off buying parts off of auto forums like many have, maybe the fact that i was the classified moderator at one of the sites had some influence on that, not really sure though.  
Even if I got the part from Tamraz with a delay i wouldn't be freaking out, I'm not really looking forward to fitting the panels and welding them into the trunk area, I'm not a welder by trade, was a welders helper on the oil rigs for 4 to 5 years, but we used welding rods not wire like i'm forced to use in my garage.  Had enough flash burn in my eyes to be wary of welding to last a lifetime.  I have been prepping the trunk area getting old fiberglass resin ground off/out and removing the seam sealer over the original welds, but it could take me a month to get the whole job done myself...or I may end up hiring a welder to come out and do it on site if possible, the car isn't transportable yet, getting close but not there yet.  The hard part for me will be cutting out areas so I can go around the spare tire mount and maybe the jack pieces, I'm not cutting out the entire trunk area if i can avoid it, if i took it to a shop I'd have them cut out the entire part that is being replaced.

I have noticed that several sellers online have been listing trunk panels that are using new tooling from AMD, and those pieces are even more expensive than the older tooling was, the fact that they have new tooling may have been a reason for delays or stock problems.  Personally I don't really care about old or new tooling as long as the panels look close to the originals. 

[Lord Warlock]

2 piece trunk floor arrived in the mail today.  521 came through with flying colors, recommend them to others whoever may be looking. 

Anyone have links to trunk floor replacement threads? Was planning on fitting the new floor over the pieces outside of the frame rails that were still solid without cutting out the entire floor area, primarily because i don't want to remove the trunk latch frame, nor remove the rear bumper brackets which are all sitting on solid metal and cutting all of this out would likely lead to more issues i didn't want to deal with.  The only section of the floor that was bad was the center section inside the frame rails above the gas tank.  (the cross support bar in the middle was in good shape still).  Figured i'd drill holes along the tops of the frame rails, cross section support bar then weld thru the drilled holes to the frame, and along the outer edges where they would sit against the extenstions, the edges would be covered with seam sealer like the original was so wouldn't need a full bead.  Also planned on cutting holes to fit over the existing jack bracket and loop to hold the jack handle.  Now may have to notch it instead as it appears to sit halfway on the trunk piece and half on the extension panel. 

Will have to trim parts of the floor pieces off, as there is a lip along the outer edges that will keep it from laying flat in place, as well as along the wheelwells and rear edge under the tail lights.  The parts under the package tray are the biggest concern as I'll have to remove the brace for the spare tire, and the two flanges on top of the hump for which i have no clue why they are even there, maybe its to let the spare sit flat, but I don't plan on carrying a spare tire for now.  The new panels don't have those hump pieces on them.  Looks like i'll be spending a lot of time inside the trunk area soon.

Looks like the center seam has a flanged area on the left side, where the right side will fit on top of the left side to sit flush, didn't expect that, had planned on installing the right side first, did most of the prep work on that side already, now i have to do the left side first instead.  reality kicks in when have the new panels in front of me and i start trying to figure out how to proceed.

[green69rt]

I really don't know what is going on with your car but what I have found is there are a lot of hidden problems.    But....if you just want to replace a center section of the trunk floor it is fairly easy to cut out the rotten part (back to solid metal) then butt weld the patch in place.  It's actually pretty easy to do if you have a little experience welding sheet metal.  Maybe someone should start a thread on welding because all the techniques and tricks come up a lot!!!?

[Lord Warlock]

There is always going to be problems to overcome whenever you start each project, the trunk floor situation cropped up after starting a brake line replacement, knew it needed replacing, but first replaced the brake lines from front to rear, then ended up replacing rear axles, hubs and brakes, dropping the gas tank, then cutting the bad floor out of the trunk. This thread started due to problems i encountered while ordering the trunk floor from an ebay vendor, as soon as it got resolved i ordered another from 521 restorations, and am happy with the part.  The next phase is just the fun part of replacing sheet metal, While I don't consider myself a welder, I did work with welders doing pipe welding when i was in my 20s, but their welding systems are different than the wire feed welder i'm using now.  I figured out how to use this one by looking at videos online, it worked well enough to successfully weld a patch panel on the right rear quarter panel.  This one is a bit more involved and in a constricted place than before. 

I think i can likely do it myself without ruining the panels, it will just take time, a bit of trimming, a lot of measuring and test fitting before i start actually welding.  The few threads i've found so far show people drilling holes in the panels then welding them to the cross brace and frame rails through the drilled holes.  I thought i'd be butt welding the center seam, even bought some clamps to hold the pieces together till tacked in place, but the flanged edge makes it so i can't do what i'd expected.

What do most people use to cut the old rusty/pinholed metal out with? a jigsaw, a sawzall, or some other trimmer? The jigsaw i had did a decent job cutting some out till the blades i had broke, the grinder was harder to use but did a passable job at it, but couldn't do tight corners or bends.  I haven't tried the sawzall yet, although the blades should hold up better than the jigsaw i have.  I'll be a busy bee this week and weekend trimming more off and removing the old seam sealer around the inside around the wheelwells and along the sides of the main floor, the factory seemed to lay a pretty thick glob along the edges.

[green69rt]

Just a few thoughts on welding.  I learned to weld on heavy plate.  Welding on thin sheet is a lot different.  It might help to take a couple of scraps and butt weld them together to see how things turn out.  Heavy plate welding takes nice long beads.  Not so with thin sheet metal.  Tack, tack, tack.

Just my 

[green69rt]

More on what you noted.  The old manufacturing methods were designed for speed, not neatness.  Sealer was really slopped on!!

Whatever method you use to cut the old metal out is probably fine.  I used a angle grinder with metal cutting blades.  Others use sawsalls, cutting torches' etc.  Whatever works.

When using the plug-weld method, the hardest part may be grinding down the weld that sticks above the sheet metal so you don't take too much off.  For the trunk, it's under the mat so don't over do it because no one will see.

[Lord Warlock]

Cutting torches leave too sloppy an edge, i've used those before for cutting plate iron and pipes, suppose a plasma cutter would be better but don't have one of those.  The sawsall worries me because i don't want to cut anything important below the floor, like the frame rails or the exhaust pipes.  When i welded the patch panel on the quarter it was a tack weld, spaced out 6 inches apart or more, then tack between the tacks, then continue tacking between until i had almost a complete bead, grinding it flush afterward.  I expect to do the same this time.  Suppose i better take some pics of the seam sealer so I can try to duplicate it somewhat afterward.  It was done neatly around the wheelwells but slopped on heavy along the sides of the floor along the extensions. 

Have to take it easy working on it, my elbow can't take much stress yet swinging hammers or using an air chisel, overstressed it trying to break a bolt tightened with an impact wrench on the front brakes. Now every time i jolt it or overuse it its painful.  May have to get an xray done on it soon, been irritated for a month now.  Using a two handed electric tool isn't bad though.  saw a neat looking saw by dremel using a 3 inch blade that looked like it would work better than the grinder.  Have lots of experience with grinders and buffers from the oil rig/roustabout/welder helper days.

[Pete in NH]

Sounds like an air cut off tool with a 3" x 1/32" cut off wheel would be useful here if you have an air supply in your shop. It leaves a nice clean edge and you can easily control the depth of the cut. Also, a spot weld removal tool. I have one made by Blair and it works well. It can also be used to cut 3/8" holes in the new sheet metal for plug welding where needed. Neither tool should stress that sore elbow.

[Lord Warlock]

My compressor doesn't have the air power to sustain the cutoff wheel, i have one and it spins fast enough until you put it to metal, then it slows down so much that it doesn't cut.  It only holds pressure at 4.5cfm or so (maybe 5.5 or 6 advertised but not sure it maintains that rate), fine for spray guns and some impact tools, but not very good with sanders or cut off wheels.  Have several angle grinders, buffers and dremels already, dremel is just too flimsy to do the floor metal, will cut it but would take forever and would got through a lot of discs which aren't cheap.  

[Troy]

My big compressor is one of the best purchases I've ever made! Although, had I not gotten it I would have probably sold the cars and saved myself a lot of time and money on tools. So, maybe I shot myself in the foot here...

Sanders, grinders, hammers, and impact wrenches use a LOT of air. Nailers, staplers, airbrushes, etc. do not. Let's assume you probably can't run an air body saw or drill either. A Dremel tool is fine for tiny projects but not working on a car body. I have a RotoZip that I bought years ago and found that it does a decent job of cutting metal in a pinch. It is a bit tough to control though. A 4" grinder is also very handy but I don't know if you can use cutting wheels with it. A grinding wheel is going to remove a boatload of metal. A "Sawzall" will work and isn't terribly expensive (or accurate). Any "brute force" method will require something with more finesse to clean up - which brings you right back to air tools that you can't currently use.

I bought an expensive (for me) compressor but it allowed me to buy a whole slew of cheap Harbor Freight air tools. I have several grinders that I paid $9 for and stacks of cutoff wheels that cost about as much for a whole pack as a couple Dremel discs would. I use the tools constantly on my cars and they have greatly improved my productivity. My favorite are the die grinders (straight and right angle) because I can use heavy grinding wheel, cutoff wheels, or put on a "Roloc" adapter and use the 2" or 3" 3M sanding discs and scuff pads. Very versatile - but very air hungry! You could probably do most all of your metal work with one - clean the rust, cut the panel, clean EDP coating off new panels, sand/grind edges to fit, grind the tops off the welds, sand the welds flat, and scuff for primer/paint. The compressor is also nice for cooling down a panel after welding AND blowing out the grit and metal shards when you're finished so you don't set your hand down or sit in them.

I have a couple of the Blair spot weld cutters mentioned above. Awesome! You can use a regular drill or air drill - although you generally want much slower speeds so electric with a speed control is better. It's easy to go all the way through if you aren't careful - you really only want to go through the top piece. You can't always reach every spot weld though. On a trunk floor, you *can* (carefully) grind the spot welds down with a grinding wheel. Do NOT go too deep. Nearly all the welds are accessible this way - except maybe some in the wheel houses by the frame rails. This leaves the lower piece (usually frame rail) intact so you can weld directly too it.  Some spot welds are rusted through the seams so, eventually, you need something else to help you clean up the area.

Troy

[green69rt]

I used an angle grinder with a thin metal cutoff wheel for just about everything (picture.)  For smaller or more delicate cuts I used a dremel tool with metal cutting wheels (dremel blades are expensive so I only used them when nothing else worked.)

[Lord Warlock]

At the current time, i do regret not getting a larger and more efficient compressor, would have had to get them to deliver it as i no longer have a truck to carry it home, and likely couldn't pick it up by myself anyway.  The 6.5hp 40 gallon tank compressor I have has done a very good job for the past 5 years and is more functional than the 3.5hp 25 gallon i had before, it just doesn't sustain some of the tools i am only now encountering a need for.  It does a fine job for painting cars though. 

Not sure how the wife is gonna like the credit card bill when she sees it, but i went out and got a dremel saw-max today, it uses a smaller cutoff wheel and went right thru the floor panel when i tested it on a couple sections.  It won't fit or do some of the tighter turns i'll need to do in the corners or near the tail panel, the regular dremel i have with the long extension tip and screwdriver sized handle should work in those areas but those blades cost way more than they should.  (as Troy and Green stated) I also have a rotozip tool i bought years ago, and even have the 90 degree attachment with a cutoff attachment, but not sure where i put the attachment, it isn't easy to grip though, mine is the original style model, do wonder if the rotozip drillbit would cut the metal ok, could try that if i had to.  But i have the electric jig saw and sawsall so have quite a few choices to try out.  some work better than others. 

[green69rt]

At the current time, i do regret not getting a larger and more efficient compressor, would have had to get them to deliver it as i no longer have a truck to carry it home, and likely couldn't pick it up by myself anyway.  The 6.5hp 40 gallon tank compressor I have has done a very good job for the past 5 years and is more functional than the 3.5hp 25 gallon i had before, it just doesn't sustain some of the tools i am only now encountering a need for.  It does a fine job for painting cars though. 

Not sure how the wife is gonna like the credit card bill when she sees it, but i went out and got a dremel saw-max today, it uses a smaller cutoff wheel and went right thru the floor panel when i tested it on a couple sections.  It won't fit or do some of the tighter turns i'll need to do in the corners or near the tail panel, the regular dremel i have with the long extension tip and screwdriver sized handle should work in those areas but those blades cost way more than they should.  (as Troy and Green stated) I also have a rotozip tool i bought years ago, and even have the 90 degree attachment with a cutoff attachment, but not sure where i put the attachment, it isn't easy to grip though, mine is the original style model, do wonder if the rotozip drillbit would cut the metal ok, could try that if i had to.  But i have the electric jig saw and sawsall so have quite a few choices to try out.  some work better than others. 

I started off using a Roto tool with the angle attachment but burnt a couple of the attachments up.   Just not up to the job.  That's why I switched to the angle grinder wheels. 

Sounds like you have enough tools to choose which one is best.  Happy demo!

[green69rt]

At the current time, i do regret not getting a larger and more efficient compressor, would have had to get them to deliver it as i no longer have a truck to carry it home, and likely couldn't pick it up by myself anyway.  The 6.5hp 40 gallon tank compressor I have has done a very good job for the past 5 years and is more functional than the 3.5hp 25 gallon i had before, it just doesn't sustain some of the tools i am only now encountering a need for.  It does a fine job for painting cars though. 

I got the 60 Gal 4.5 HP compressor from IR and even it's not big enough for blasting.  Runs tool and spray guns fine.   It was the biggest compressor that I could buy that would run off of a 30 Amp 220v Breaker. 

[Lord Warlock]

Ok, have a little experience with the saw max trimming the panel this afternoon, the saw blades must be too thin for the sheet metal because it eats thru the blades too quick, i was getting about 15 inches of a cut before a wheel would wear out on the new panels, so it was not a solution for this particular purpose, it works fine cutting weakened rusted metal out of the trunk area but not new strong sheet metal.  The Jig saw blade did a better job overall, still have a couple cuts to make and several trial fittings.

As it looks right now, i will have to remove the brace for the spare tire that is welded to the trunk sheet metal, what is the best way to remove those pieces? with a grinder, or an air chisel?  never used an air chisel before, but i'll need to cut thru the welds and am thinking this may be a solution.  I can go to harbor freight tomorrow to pick up an inexpensive model, they need 4.0 cfm to run so my compressor should be strong enough to run it.  The bracket is in the way of the panel sitting flat so will need to be removed, i'd prefer not to ruin it getting it off and don't want to cut the floor around it since that part of the trunk is solid, the new panel will fit over the old metal there.

Also there are two pieces that are welded on top of the area under the package tray just behind the spare bracket, I'd like to remove those as well, whatever i use to remove the spare tire bracket will also be used to remove those.    

[green69rt]

Whenever it was possible and I was going to save a piece that was welded on top of a piece that was getting replaced (that make sense?)  I would just cut around the part to be saved and take the whole thing to my work bench, put it in a bench vise and then use a grinding wheel to grind off the welds from the back side.

As for the spare tire holders etc, they are pretty cheap from 521 so it may not be worth your time tool wear to try to save them.