With the chassis separated from the body and new floor pans from Wolfsburg West delivered, I mocked them up before the process of striping the chassis began.

My sawzall made quick work of cutting out the old pans but not before some measurements were recorded. One of the Wolfsburg West pans did not have the seat rails welded in so I took measurements off the originals. Once the old pans were off, I prepped the tunnel flanges by removing the old spot welds with a grinding wheel.

I destroyed at least a half-dozen wire wheel brushes in an attempt to remove the paint onthe tunnel and nearly vibrated my teeth out using an air chisel to chip off the tar boards before I realized there has to be a better way! A quick call to Glory Sandblasting in Orlando got the chassis scheduled for proper paint and crud removal.

It only took a few days before stripped chassis was ready to pick up – it turned out so nice and I didn’t need to waste time with those wire wheels any longer!

A coat of primer was absolutely necessary to avoid flash rusting which happens quickly in humid Florida air.