Full floor replacement vs individual panels.

[airsurf]

My 59 Imp has some good rot in the drivers floor, the big brace just behind it, and the left rear seat floor which was sheet metal patched decades ago. A friend referred me to a body shop so I went and had a look. My friend didn't tell me he was into classic chevy's. He's got a beautiful 59 Imp ht that he said he did from the ground up with a 409. He said he'd do the whole floor and showed me the floors of several other various year Impala's, Bel Air's and a wagon that he'd done and they looked great. He had a 59, 61 bubbletop, 62, and more. Think I found my guy. Just wondering if I should just do the whole floor.

 

[Junky]

From your description, you need just about 3/4 of the floor replaced. Might as well do the whole thing, so when it is done everything will look perfect. Seems like you found the right guy to do the work, so listen to his advise, and let him do the job the way he knows best. To me, it is like talking to your surgeon, and then making suggestions on how he should perform the operation on you.

 

[Carmine]

Yes, do the whole floor. You've gone that far, don't piece it in. You like the guys work which is a big plus and the whole floor will last you and others a lifetime. No time to be frugal. Only way to go. When I did my '57 Belair over, replaced all 4 floor pans, a portion of the transmission tunnel and some rocker work. Should have put in a whole floor pan to begin with. Regret not doing that, Carmine.

 

[303Radar]

In for a penny, in for a pound. While I don't like the idea of a whole floor replacement (cost and time concerns, not quality concerns), it may actually be quicker to do the whole thing at once rather than one piece at a time. Since Sherman is the only manufacturer of the 59 body and floor panels, I can tell you the quality and gauge of metal used is very good. I had to use several of their pieces on my 59 El Camino.
Nothing against any body guy or shop, but some will charge extra if they have to do the ordering. Up to a 10% up charge for them to sit in front of a computer to do the same thing you can/would. Most would rather be in the shop than on their duff. This was the case with my body guy but he was up front with the information. However, he had no problem with me doing the ordering and having the delivery go to his shop. For some of his customers, the up charge was money well spent, they were less computer comfortable than he was.
Just thought I'd pass along some useful experience which may save a few bucks.

 

[ragtp66]

Are you working on a 2 dr or 4 dr? If it is a 2 dr its impossible to get the one piece pan in place unless you are working on a rotisserie. We did a 1 pc on a four door hardtop and it was no fun. Ended up having to pie cut the trans tunnel and add some metal you could get one side or the other to line up but not both had to cut it and add metal to get the toe board and the rockers to meet. If you have any swap meets coming up you can probably have it brought to the show to save you the shipping cost. Check with truckandcarshop in Orange Ca they might have one in stock. I know another guy that spent almost the last 2 months trying to source a one piece pan. He was in Lancaster, Ca

 

[airsurf]

It's a 2 dr ht and I won't be the one installing it. I'm not sure how he does it but he has done many classic chevy's but not sure if specifically 59, although the one in his shop he said he restored from the ground up. He showed me a 62 2 dr that he just finished installing the floor in. He said he's got a couple of places to get it and would be able to get it and all the braces in 2-4 days when I'm ready. Thanks for the heads up on availability.

 

[Deadwolf]

The whole floor may actually be cheaper in the long run. Most of the cost is in labor. The shop I talked to said doing multiple patch panels adds hours to the labor cost compared to a complete floor as they need to do more time to fit up, welding, and more spot weld removal to do it also.