It the trunk floor on a late model Mustang a "structural" thing?

[Goober]

What I'm asking, can the trunk (from tail light panel to 6-10" behind the back seat) a structurally necessary thing, or could one replace it with a piece of sheet tin, rivets and seam sealer? The car I looked at today was somewhat misrepresented, but it is fairly rust free. And the largest part of concern for me was the trunk area from the back of the spare tire well to 6-8" in front of the well. Can this be removed and sheeted over, or is it just wishful thinking? It was hard for me to walk away from that car today after seeing it in fairly good shape and having a MINT black leather interior.

Pics of trunk area in question

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii70/goobalicious/824fecdd.jpg?t=1336863145

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii70/goobalicious/7822eba8.jpg?t=1336863123




Also, the owners made the mistake of telling me that I had been the only one interested in this car. I'm thinking if I can snag it for less than $800 I might do it. I carried this thread over from DSB just to see if I can get a quicker response.

[mustangjon]

All sheetmetal in an unibody is technically strictural but could be repaired easy enough with a welder and the price is right

[Rick93coupe]

Lots of us have cut that whole area out altogether and did a new truck floor without the spare tire.

[Goober]

In other words, it's not "mission essential" to be perfectly aligned?

[Rick93coupe]

No, does it track sideways going down the road or anything like that?

[Rick93coupe]

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o238/Rick88coupe/P1010548-1.jpg

[Rick93coupe]

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o238/Rick88coupe/P1020011-1.jpg

[Goober]

No, does it track sideways going down the road or anything like that?
That is unknown. It's a rolling chassis and there isn't noticeable heavy damage to the outside.

Rick, that is what I was thinking about doing, except for the tubs and cage. It's just gonna be a street car.

[Rick93coupe]

I've had a hand in doing 3 other cars like that, it really depends on what your plans are. What I did works best with a trunk mounted fuel cell. The factory tank conforms to the bottom of that spare tire well and wont fit anymore, also you loose the straps that would hold the tank in place. If your ok with going with a fuel cell, there's really no down side in my opinion. Well, except for not having a spare tire, lol.

[ricks_85_gt]

I have to do the same to my Capri but I turns out at least half as good as that cause it looks NICE!!

[Rick93coupe]

I have to do the same to my Capri but I turns out at least half as good as that cause it looks NICE!!

I only did the easy work cutting out the tubs and trunk, Zimmers Fabrication made it look nice. :bigthumb

[Jake]

how is the sheet metal on top of the frame rails connected? are the rails welded to it? when I was drilling through them for my IRS swap I was surprised to discover that the rails are not fully boxed, so I assumed that the sheet metal above them would be important and must be mounted pretty securely, no? if not, this design is looking more and more flimsy in my eyes.

[Rick93coupe]

how is the sheet metal on top of the frame rails connected? are the rails welded to it? when I was drilling through them for my IRS swap I was surprised to discover that the rails are not fully boxed, so I assumed that the sheet metal above them would be important and must be mounted pretty securely, no? if not, this design is looking more and more flimsy in my eyes.

Here are a few more pictures on this page.

http://www.stangbangerz.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30051&page=11

I don't know why you would assume anyone would neglect the strength of the chassis when installing mini tubs and a cage?

[Jake]

sorry, the flimsy comment was in reference to the stock design. those pictures helped clarify my thoughts a good deal, always nice to take a look at that build thread too!

was the web-like bracing to support the trunk mounted fuel cell? do you think the design could benefit from boxed rails, or would that be unnecessary weight in your opinion?

[Stangman]

Rick, what gauge of sheetmetal was used in your pics? I'll be doing this to Rick's Capri that he mentioned. As soon as the new clip is on.

[Goober]

Thanks a lot Rick and mfield (on the DSB thread). I'm getting a lot of good tech info and I feel more confident about buying this car for cheap. Now to make the sellers realize that what they were asking was unrealistic due to these undisclosed damages.

[Rick93coupe]

sorry, the flimsy comment was in reference to the stock design. those pictures helped clarify my thoughts a good deal, always nice to take a look at that build thread too!

was the web-like bracing to support the trunk mounted fuel cell? do you think the design could benefit from boxed rails, or would that be unnecessary weight in your opinion?

Honestly I'm not a fabricator but both Victory Fab and Zimmers Fab do a similar setup with great results. The bracing was put back in to support the floor and whatever ended up in the trunk. In my case the battery, fuel cell and meth kit. I can't see any reason to reinforce the rear frame rails, this setup has more structure to it than the factory stamped piece.


Rick, what gauge of sheetmetal was used in your pics? I'll be doing this to Rick's Capri that he mentioned. As soon as the new clip is on.

I'll have to ask Jason and get back with you, I'm not sure.

[Jake]

thanks rick.

I decided to reinforce mine with a couple sheets of metal, but my situation is a little bit different.