Posted By : William Davies, 02-Feb-2005,
10:03pm
Hi Phil,
I'm not aware which footwells Rimmers are selling, there are 3 different sources for these and fitting will vary accoring to which you have:
1 - Little more than a sheet of steel with bent up edges, commonly known as biscuit tins. These were all that was available for many years, I was
recently surprised to find that they are still being made! These really are rubbish and if it's what you've bought, put it down to expereince and buy a
better panel.
2 - A pressed dish with reasonably well reproduced ribbing. Fitting this is straightforward, but pay attention to the distance between the brake/clutch
pedals and the floor, it's very easy to fit the panel too low or too high making pedal action very difficult.
To fit this type, take out the throttle pedal and all carpetting, then drop the new panel in on top of the old. Scribe around the top edge of the new
panel onto the old steel. Take out the new panel and you have a line marked below which you should cut out the old floor. Once this is done and the
edges cleaned up, drop the new floor in from above and tack weld it in place, paying attention to the aforementioned pedal height. You will need to
dress the edges together and probably repair a few areas not covered by the panel, but overall it is a simple process.
3 - This is a newly tooled panel which replaces most of the floor surface, including the return edges which go beneath the bulkhead front panel, and
the surface sitting beneath the front of the rear tub. An excellent panel, this is more difficult to fit. The old floor needs to be cut away at it's
joint with the bulkhead front panel, and along the edge where it runs vertically along the side of the bulkhead. Unless you are replacing the siderail
and/or outriggers at the same time, you will need to cut away the front edge of the rear floor to fit the back edge of the footwell beneath. This will
of course have to be made good once the footwell is in place.
If you need any further specifics please feel free to ask. I've not actually fitted one of the latest panels myself, but Paul Cull of Triumph Auto
Classique talked me through an installation he'd done to a customer's car. His verdict was that it was worth the extra cost and grief to fit this
panel, though there is no question that it is more work,
Cheers,
Bill.