• Hello there guest and Welcome to The #1 Classic Mustang forum!
    To gain full access you must Register. Registration is free and it takes only a few moments to complete.
    Already a member? Login here then!

I have my floor panel hole plugs backwards!

I

Indycanard

Member
I've only been working on my car for a year now, but just today I bought the Body Assembly and Interior Assembly manuals from Osborn. Wow, what detail (except for that STUPID "WATERMARK"!!).

Anyway, I noticed I installed my floor pan cover plates upside down. They seamed like they should sit down into the holes, but the Osborn manual clearly shows them "up":

Plug-1.jpg


It makes sense I guess in that you don't want water "filling" the cover plate if placed the way I did it. Time to flip them I guess.

Live and learn.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You'll find that that manual will come real handy.

If you have not looked into it you should check this out too.

http://www.fordmanuals.com/

I have both the shop manual and the colorized wiring/vacuum diagram. Very handy and cheap.
 
Well, son of a biscuit. Mine are in wrong too then.

Oh well, I'm not yanking seats and carper and 2 layers of sound deadener to fix that. And it isn't like my car sees water. :craz
 
The manuals are very handy at times.

I have the Electrical assembly manual, the body assembly manual and the generic Ford shop manual and have used all three extensively at times.

+1 on the watermark being really annoying though...
 
Well, I'll be... I was sure that was wrong. I even started to post it. Then I went down to my garage and dug out an old unrestored peace of floorboard I was saving for a bracket and sure enough you are right! Learned something else today. But I'm not changing mine either.
 
mine are wrong too!

Man I need to get some of those manuals. I'm doing most my work going off a crappy Haynes book and the internet.
 
"Sluggo" said:
You'll find that that manual will come real handy.

If you have not looked into it you should check this out too.

http://www.fordmanuals.com/

I have both the shop manual and the colorized wiring/vacuum diagram. Very handy and cheap.
Click to expand...

+1 on http://www.fordmanuals.com/. Great products, good prices, and the owner is one heck of a nice guy. I had an install issue (@#$^%! Vista), and he resonded within a few hours on the weekend to get the problem fixed.
 
I went through this too until I figured out that with the lower stamped areas for drainage, the plug being installed with the inset part towards the top, it actually levels out the floor somewhat where the larger recess is for the drain opening.

Not sure I really get the whole drain concept as its designed, would make more sense to have the plug attached from the bottom. Otherwise you are pulling up the carpet and all to get to it anyhow,and while you are at it, why not just sop up the water with a towel?
 
"sigtauenus" said:
Not sure I really get the whole drain concept as its designed, would make more sense to have the plug attached from the bottom. Otherwise you are pulling up the carpet and all to get to it anyhow,and while you are at it, why not just sop up the water with a towel?
Click to expand...
good point!
 
How funny! Mine are upside down, too! I even went to the trouble of making a wood "shim" to fill the depressions so that the carpet would lay flat.

I'm almost certain the drain holes are for factory paint (weren't cars dipped in primer?), not for water after the fact. That's why they're not at all easy to get out. You're not supposed to need them after the car is built.

Mr. Water, meet Mr. Shop Vac. :)
 
"PJ Moran" said:
I'm almost certain the drain holes are for factory paint (weren't cars dipped in primer?), not for water after the fact.
Click to expand...

I wish. If the cars were dipped in primer we wouldn't have half as many rust problems as we do if the insides of frames were covered and what-not.
 
"sigtauenus" said:
I wish. If the cars were dipped in primer we wouldn't have half as many rust problems as we do if the insides of frames were covered and what-not.
Click to expand...

+1 Ford didn't plan on these cars being around this long - somewhere I read a quote from a Ford engineer (IIRC) saying they made them better than they had planned, they should have only lasted 4-5 years.
 
Funny, I have my floor cover places installed both ways! The fronts are down and the rears are up. When I replaced them, I just matched what was done before... whoops.

I don't think it makes much of a difference though, and I'm definitely not going to remove my seats, carpet, insulation and sound deadener just to flip the plates.

Live and learn.
 
"sigtauenus" said:
I wish. If the cars were dipped in primer we wouldn't have half as many rust problems as we do if the insides of frames were covered and what-not.
Click to expand...

Look at the reinforcement pans in this picture (especially the "lower" one):

383_10_12_09_4_15_55_2.jpg


See all those little dots or circles? Those are where original, factory, paint drips were. It's these drips that led me to believe the car was dipped.

However, this color was certainly not everywhere on the car. Maybe those pans were dipped before being installed on the car. Dunno.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
"PJ Moran" said:
See all those little dots or circles? Those are where original, factory, paint drips were. It's these drips that led me to believe the car was dipped.

However, this color was certainly not everywhere on the car. Maybe those pans were dipped before being installed on the car. Dunno.
Click to expand...

I'm with you on that, I had a hell of time blasting those drip areas off my car too.

However, I think those are there because of how sloppy the paint was sprayed on, not because the car was dipped.
 
Yep, sprayed, and they were especially sloppy at San Jose.

I have the advantage of having a concours correct 68 so when I work on Trouble, I just check out Murphy. :)
 
"Laurie S." said:
Yep, sprayed, and they were especially sloppy at San Jose.

I have the advantage of having a concours correct 68 so when I work on Trouble, I just check out Murphy. :)
Click to expand...

That is beneficial. I have a friend that has a '65 that his dad bought new off the show room floor back when and they have never gone through the car to try and restore it. It's pretty much original. Sometimes when all else fails I call him and ask if I can come over and look at whatever part is in question.
 
I expecially mounted mine the wrong way , as it make more sense to me.
you put on some seam filler and lay it down and screw it in.
Nice fit to me.
 
I bought the entire set of those and was taken aback by the full-page sized prominent water marks on every page. Is that guy paranoid that someone will beat him out of copyright money and start reprinting those on their own?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top