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Fellow T3ers, Last week there was some discussion about the Fiber Innovations amoung our little group. I voiced my two cents, in particular about the quality of the floor pans and about their installation instructions. I have gotten a request for details of my gripes and thought they would be of interest to the whole group. I should mention that I work in Ford's Materials Research Lab and work with composite (fiberglass) every day. Fiber Innovations installation instructions called for using sheet metal screws to attach the floor pan to the existing steel flanges and then sealing the seams with silicone sealant or caulking. They even sell an installation kit for this. They also show the fiberglass floor pans on the outside (outside of car) of the steel flanges with the sheet metal screws put in from the bottom and then the whole thing sealed up with the silicone. This method will not prove very long lasting or structural. Any weight that you put on the floor ( battery, feet, my six year old jumping up and down) is only supported by the screws. Besides, the screws/rivots will be good locations for rust to start in the steel flanges and putting point loads (i.e. fasteners) into composites (fiberglass) is never a good idea for a structural part like the floor pan. They make great places for cracks to start and stuff like that. First off, I would put the composite floor pan on top of the steel flanges from the inside of the car. THis way, any load (weight) on the floor is transferred to the steel flanges much more effeciently (in cpompression for you engineers out there). I would also recommend bonding (gluing) the floor pans continuously around the perimeter, instead of using the sheet metal screws (Spend the $12 for the installation kit on the glue). This joint will be superior to the orginal spot welds (far superior to the sheet metal screws) and should last a lifetime. I would use a slow cure (24hr) epoxy resin/adhesive (check with the local boat supply store). The steel should be ground down to the bare metal before bonding and the composite should be scuffed up a bit. Make sure the steel and the composite are free of grease and oil by wiping with some degreaser or acetone shortly before bonded. You could use a couple of screws to hold everything in place while the glue dries, but then I would remove the screws and seal up the holes with some silicone. Any bare metal should be primed and painted after bonding to prevent rust and then all the seams, inside and out, should be sealed with the silicone sealant. Just my buck and quarters worth. Hope it helps. -- John Jaranson Research Engineer Ford Motor Company SRL 2621 Dearborn, MI 48121 (313)323-0553 (313)845-4724 FAX