[ThomasYJ]

Wow, that's REALLY bad!

Personally, and I'm in no way a professional when it comes to this stuff, it seems the best way would be to try to get the new supports put in, then add the new pans and patches on top. It'd be a good idea to add an X brace or something similar to keep the body from twisting when the floors out. I learned that one the hard way and now my driver's door won't close.

 

[Luuca]

Body Swap would be less work and probably less money. If you can find a clean body up there.

 

[Fitch89]

Body Swap would be less work and probably less money. If you can find a clean body up there.

Ya that was my first thought, until I realized they go for about $3k up here if you can find one. I can get the full floor with braces pre-installed for $1,400 so that may be the way I end up going.

 

[fishadventure]

trying to decide whether to go with a full floor pan with the supports in place (lots of $$$)

Not that expensive to do it in sections. Sections offer a number of advantages including the fact you don’t need to remove the entire factory piece if certain areas are still solid- and they usually are.

It'd be a good idea to add an X brace or something similar to keep the body from twisting when the floors out. I learned that one the hard way and now my driver's door won't close.

…exactly what I’m talking about.

The “classic to current” supplier that I linked above has acceptable parts at roughly the 18 gage metal that the OEM used. Great for having parts with all the critical holes, folds, and seams located. You almost always have to massage the floor pans and parts with a hammer and dollie anyway to get them to fit well even if using the much better parts from the similar-sounding supplier,Classic Enterprises. Classic Enterprises has the floor supports and the rear floor riser that Classic To Current usually does not, and they’re still not that expensive.

Alternatively, I have used 18ga sheetmetal and hammered out the floor supports and C-pillar bases from scratch. Surprisingly simple.

There is a January 7, 2010 post from a guy in Britain whose posts are a masterclass in automotive sheetmetal who posted instructions on a metal forming tool that is priceless and simple. In fact, if you go to page one of that thread you will learn things that a college class on auto restoration couldn’t teach you in two semesters.

No matter: do what info and buy the floor pans and stuff from C2C and save a ton of time. Barely a couple hundred bucks. Then PRECISELY cut rusted areas out in one area at a time, but hammer up the small pieces needed for floor supports and body mounts. YJ general sheetmetal is 18ga, the body mount pieces are 16ga in some places; only a couple other places are a bit thicker and I used 14ga (forward body mounts basically iirc).
I even hammered 1/3 of the ribbed rear floor area from a piece of discarded Delta tablesaw base that mic’d thinner than 16ga but not quite as thin as 18ga. The C2C rear floor support channels (‘hat’ shaped) required modifications as they were over 1/4” taller than the oem pieces I removed with a spotweld cutter- it didn’t make sense to stand on my head conducting an orchestra while chewing gum and tying my shoes when <$20 would put full width brand new pieces in.

So maybe $500 to buy, make, and repair all your pieces including buying a body hammer and a few dollies. Not expensive at all compared to $6000+ for a not-rusty YJ.

can get the full floor with braces pre-installed for $1,400 so that may be the way I end up going.

😲
I’ve done this work. That might be too inexpensive for complete, quality work imho

 

[Luuca]

Ya that was my first thought, until I realized they go for about $3k up here if you can find one. I can get the full floor with braces pre-installed for $1,400 so that may be the way I end up going.

Not to sound like a sales guy (which I am) I can get YJ bodies for around $500 down here nearly rust free. I wonder how much international freight would be?

 

[Fitch89]

Some amazing info here everyone, thanks so much! Spent some more time tonight just poking around and it's surprisingly not as bad as it looks. The driver side is obviously shot, and so is the section along the step up, but the rest of the sheet metal is solid (around the tranny tunnel and passenger side). I think I'll go down the road of replacing the supports and patching the holes. If that fails, I may have to book a trip south and bring a few tubs back for resale!

 

[fishadventure]

. If that fails

Totally isn’t going to fail unless you have rivet fantasies.

 

[NHfireLJ]

I'm w Luuca... tub swap would be ideal.... but patching is not a terrible job, I've done plenty....... Pull the tub , roll it over and have at it... Good luck