Alright, so, for reasons I don't feel like explaining, the spare tire was out of our '86 Olds, I put it back in, and, as you pretty much have too, I dropped it in the spare tire well, and a huge rust hole opened on the side of the pan, I could see daylight Anyhow, here's a photo from the outside: http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g139/Dead-Reckon/1986 oldsmobile custom cruiser 2012/100_2341.jpg The rust along the body line is where I backed into a light pole on ice last December, for the record, the pole was lopsided, so I think that's score one Oldsmobile. Anyway, we're going to sort out the dent from the pole, then cut just above that bodyline, drop that pan out, and replace it with the rust-free pan from the '89. I'm also yanking out the rear windows at that point, putting in sheet metal. So, any pointers getting the pans out? My father is quite experienced but he's going to have me do the work, though, I'd like a few pointers first. I'd like to make as few mistakes as humanly possible for someone who hasn't ground off many rivets or welds in his life. I know a guy who can do the welding, his wife slid his '91 Nissan Silvia into a tree, tore the hell out of the quarter, he fixed it like new, I couldn't tell the difference between his quarter and the factory one. 'Cept he never fixed the drivers side hood hinge, looked like someone sat on the trunk lid. I know, ricer, but still, he did a pretty cool job of using Japanese parts to swap that car over to right hand drive just 'cause he wanted one like that. So I know he can weld in this pan, probably do it for about $200, hell he'd probably do it for $150 but I'll be generous. So the welding isn't an issue, just getting the pans out. Side note, when we send the parts car (1989 olds custom cruiser) back to the junkyard, it's not going to have much left with it at this rate.
If you want a cleaner look you can just make a flat tray and do away with that hump hanging down. Not sure if a complete fullsize spare will fit after but I do know the space saver does easily. I braces the tray with some box tubing and probably over did it.
Look doesn't really matter to me, 'cept when it's got a hole rusted through it, I would just remove it, but I like having a spare tire. I'm not sure if it would fit doing it like that, and I'm still thinking my route would be cheaper. Thanks for the idea though.
