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It's a bit long but hopefully will provide some useful info.
I don't know what they would do if I swapped the
pan, but I like the idea of welding the old VIN back in place.
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I don't. This is commonly done to stolen BMWs etc. to
hide the car's original VIN. I don't think that our DMV would allow a
cut and weld here,
PerL
73 Variant L
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If you are talking about the chassis number... do not cut!
Especially in Cali, they can X-ray for signs of alterations,
and you can get into serious trouble.
... so you decide if you want to play "dumb" or cut and
weld and possibly deal with the state...you choose.
-Heather
'71 Fastback
'72 Squareback
'74 Sunbug
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I received a near perfect pan from a 73 Variant as part of the package
when I bought my '64 project notchback. The pan on the notch was in bad shape
and I had to figure a way to use the spare. My first thought was to cut out the VINs
and install the correct one on the serviceable pan. That seemed, to me, less than honest
so it was not an option, especially after I learned of the fines associated with doing so.
I called the DMV and realized just how much hassle it was going to be to use the
73 VIN (in Cali no less) so gave up on that and nearly lost all hope. After a week or so,
I had a brainstorm... I would replace the floorpan panels on the notchback chassis
with the pan panels from the Variant. To accomplish this, I removed copious amounts
of seam sealer and drilled out a few hundred spot welds around the perimeter of each
pan half. After a few strategic cuts to finish the job, I had 2 pristine pan halves
to install onto the notch chassis.
I carefully removed the rusted pan halves, making certain that I left sufficient
overlap to secure the new pieces. The new pieces were fit up, tack welded in
place and then verified for proper positioning before completing the welding.
The most critical thing to do is to achieve the proper spacing between the two
halves. If any one considers doing this, here are a few tips to ensure proper
alignment and spacing:
1.) Install the plate between the two halves that attaches the transmission "yoke"
to the tunnel and floor. This will allow for proper hole spacing when the plate
is installed later.
2.) Use the seats (and the rail "bushings") to get the proper spacing between the
tunnel mounted seat rails and the rails attached to the pan.
3.) Tack the pan is place. Also be certain that the pan halves are level! Weld away.
4.) Once the welding is complete, apply seam sealer (I used 3M stuff). A coat
of POR-15 is a good idea at this time. Once the POR-15 cures, some
aerosol can undercoat (again 3M) gives an "as new" appearance.
For me, the most difficult task here was fixturing all these pieces together (seats included) into
the correct position to tack them in place. Otherwise, it was mostly time and patience.
Additional notes...
I had to remove the 73 seat hardware (including the sheet metal latch setup)
and install the correct seat rails to match the seats I had. This was done prior
to installing the pan halves to the chassis. Fortunately, the project came with NOS
seat rails AND the plastic rail "bushings"!
Also, while the rail mount locations are a bit different on the 73 pan, it is possible
to mount the old style rails with no modification (other than removing the existing rails).
Clean everything! Remove old undercoat and seam sealer, enough to keep it out
of the weld area. A putty knife and a hammer of sorts will break it free.
That's my $.02
Dave B
Summerland, CA
'64 notch in progress
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