M38a1 rear floor measurements

[wilfreeman]

Hi all,

I've been lurking here for a while now, and have finally started to work on my M38a1 again (after 6 yrs). My brother and I replaced the front floor with a complete reproduction over the weekend javascript:emoticon('')
(he is a body man and owns his own body shop, so it was done right!). I ordered a reproduction rear panel from Xtremeterrain in Kentucky, which should be delivered by the end of the week. I am lanning on getting the rear floor panel made by a local hotrod builder next week.

Now for my question. Does anyone have a repro (uninstalled or installed), or a VERY STRAIGHT rear floor panel that they can measure for me (I need EXACT measurements)? I was able to take my original out in one piece for a pattern, but was rear ended and bent at one time or another - the rear panel was pretty beat up and bondoed too. Also, would you go with the stock thickness or a little thicker?

Thanks for the help - I'm sure I'll have many more questions as the rebuild goes forward!

Thanks - Matt

[Bob_C]

Just an FYI, the rear panel was stamped, unlike the MBs and such of the time. Was wondering how you were going to get that stamping done.
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Bob Collins
1954 M38A1 MD79056

[wilfreeman]

Hi Bob,

I was thinking a good fab shop with a shear, break, and a bead roller. It looks pretty simple to me - should be able to shear it to a rectangle, roll the 1" beads in, and break the edges down to a 90. A $20 piece of metal and an hours work - at the most! That beats $250+ that I have seen everywhere else, anyday!

One other question: My 'A1 had a door lock(sliding type) brazed to the rear floor to hold the passenger seat in place. Was this original? If not, can someone point me to a photo of the original hold down?

Matt

[Ryan_Miller]

Matt,

That sounds like you are an adventerous type! Take some photos as you go. That is great that you have acess to some of the metal working equipment.

I have often thought that it wouldn't be too bad of a job with the right tools.

Someone here should have the dimensions you need. I have an M38 and not an M38A1 (sorry!)

Good luck!
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Ryan Miller
MVPA # 22010

[wilfreeman]

Hi Ryan,

I am quite adventurous, or maybe monetarily challenged should we say! I thought I had a local hotrod shop that could do the job, but he doesn't have a bead roller that large (his only goes to 3/8" - I need 3/4 - 1" - I didn't measure the ribs). He said he could make the pan though.
There are a few other fab shops in a 30 mile area that I am going to call next week while I am off.
I have been taking alot of pictures along the way and will post them on my new Geocities site when I get the body in primer.
I made some quick measurements when I got home from work last night: 36" between the wheelwells with a 5/8" 90 degree downward bend on the edges, and I think 42 1/2" long with 1/2" 90 degree downward bend on each end (I'm not sure about this, as my pan was bent a lot at the rear panel).
I'll have to measure the ridges (width) before I call anmore fab shops.

[Ryan_Miller]

Sounds great Matt.

If you want a photo gallery on the website here let us know.
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Ryan Miller
MVPA # 22010

[wilfreeman]

I'll probably do that also - Thanks!

[wilfreeman]

I measured 36"W and 42 1/2" long. I'm pretty sure about the width, but the end near the rear panel was buckled a bit, so I couldn't get a precise measurement. Can anyone verify the dimensions for me?