floor pan question

[sixystyle]

Am getting ready to restore a 71 fastback and want to do the floor pans first. Is there something I should put on the edges before welding them in to protect from water or just do it afterwards? Also noticed an area above door strikers are rusted thru in a 2" by 3" section. Does anyone make a replacement for that or should I find a donor car or just a plain piece of metal to weld in? Thanks for any advice, have never done this before.

[canadianstang1]

u can grind about an inch or 2 of the floor on both edges and put zinc? rich weld thru primer on it then tack it in then weld the floor in, in inch or so welds til u get it all done to keep from warping (dunno how much u hafta worry about it on a floor but better safe than sorry hehe) and grind it. u can get good seam sealer from a body shop supply for about 4 or 6 bucks here in canada and put that on the welds after theyre in then paint it. at least thats what i woulda done to mine 15 years ago when i had done mine if i knew better hehe. and the door jam i made pieces up and mig'ed them and then ground them flat it woulda been jsut as easy to mig in pieces from another car but i didn't have them. hope that made sense oh make sure u cover any glass that might get weld splatter or grinding sparks on it as well as the dash area i cardboarded it off and was very wary of fire so i kept a garden hose in the garage and a wet rag to put on the welds. but i'm not an expert by far

[sixystyle]

I think thats what i needed to know, thank you!

[canadianstang1]

also i fully welded the floor in but i think its more proper to plug weld the outer edges at the rocker but i liked the idea of the extra strength. also i tacked my floor as i fit it in but i think it woulda been alot easier to use self tapping screws to get it in the right spot hehe, i'm sure u already have these ideas too, just thought i'd tell ya all the things i shoulda done but was too excited to get goin on it at the time. also i coulda been more careful taking my seat pedastals out i kinda hacked'em up and had to fix them and work with them to get my seats sitting correctly lol. i thought it was a really fun project, but i dont have a 71-73 so not sure how difficult that is. good luck hope i could help a bit i didn't have anyone helpin me out.