was wondering if anyone knew of any good places to get my floorboards welded in or around RI? I don't have a welder so i would like to get it done. Was also wondering if anyone had gotten theirs professionally done and how much it cost?

 

not sure about RI but i know done here in georgia i was quoted 1300-2000, i just ended up doing them myself

 

I'd just go and ask your local body shop to see what they can do or if they know who does that sort of welding.

For the cost $2000+, (not even including the cost of the cowl) just for doing my cowl alone I said screw it and I got my own welder and I'll do it myself.
I'm just gathering up the other metal parts and tools I need and I'll do it in the spring or when it gets a little warmer.

I figure I'll have around $1000 +- in tools and I can do the whole car. There are people around here that have said they will help me if needed.

Lynn

 

You're typical wrecker chasing body shop won't be interested. If they take the work plan on your car being there a LONG time. If they know it isn't your dd they will keep pushing you to the back of the line trying to get their dd / collision work out.

I checked with one "restoration" and / or hot rod shop in my area and they wanted several thousand. I just laughed at the guy when I was getting in the car to leave.

Then I met a buddy of mine that runs a restoration shop that is not trying to rip people off. He can do both full length floor pans plus one toe board for about $800 labor. By the time I bought the metal and the carpet, etc it was a bit over $1k. Best part was I helped out on the job and learned enough that later I replaced the fender apron and radiator support myself. That's the kind of shop you're looking for.

Best to ask around and even join some local car groups...I did and it's a great resource that is the only reason I met my buddy that runs the shop.

 

Your lucky your buddy let you help because sometimes insurance wouldn't allow that. If anything ever happened to you while not on their pay roll then they would be in deep doo doo.
Heck, I'm not even supposed to go to my work on off hours and use the equipment because of insurance.
Lynn

 

I would just like to say that getting floorboard done my a good restoration shop is not cheap for a reason. There is a ton of work involved. If you want to save money on it offer to pull the interior out and tell them that you will put it all back. If you really want to save tell them all they have to do is weld the new stuff in and that you will seal it up and paint it. $2000 to do a floorboard job is about right for a shop that will do the job right and is working with a full assembled car. It is next to impossible to make money in a body shop doing restorations. It is too labor intensive.

 

Floorboards are one of the easiest metal replacement jobs to do one these cars. Especially the sectional replacement method. I pretty much replaced all of mine after I spent $500 on a good welder, $500 on the metal, and I still had money left over that I would have dumped into some half-a#$ed job done by someone I probably wouldn't trust. I did look around and it was difficult to find someone to do the job. A shop did quote me $10,000 to $15,000 to replace some metal in the trunk, quarter panels, and paint the car. Crazy.

If you are at all a hands on guy, get a welder, practice a little on some scrap metal, then do it yourself. If you are not willing to pay 2K+ for a relatively easy job, just time consuming, very noisy, and dirty. Plus, you'll get the experience and satisfaction of doing it yourself.

 

I apid someone to do mine both sides was 1700 plus I sipplied the metal. Local body shop did it as filler and it took almost 3 months. Bought a welder a couple years agao and taught myself how to use. This would be good part of the car to practice welding skills. Once sealer down and carpet down nobody can see it. Also lot of info on he web on welding floor panels. I bought a used lincoln 130 off of ebay - and have used it a lot.