Repairing floors on a S3

[Bahnstormer]

What is the PH wisdom on repairing floors on the 7 ? - I know the rivetts pull out under the seats sometimes, and can be re-revitted, but is there anyhting new like an additional reinforcing bracket to add strength to the floor.

...or should I just stop eating pies !!!!

96 Crossflow

[NuisanceFactor]

My apologies, I am not familiar with the '96 chassis, are there tabs at the back of the cockpit for supporting the runners of adjustable seats? If so, can you use a pair of the old seat runners as templates and fabricate a couple of strips of bent u-shaped steel between each tab and the crossmember in front of the seat bases to support the seats?

[Bahnstormer]

I already have those - will get it up on axle-stands and take another look .

[NuisanceFactor]

You won't need axle stands, the tabs are on the rear bulkhead inside the cockpit, about 2.5" in from the sides and about 0.5" off the floor, measuring about 0.75"x 0.75". Slide the seat forward and you should be able to see them.

[V7SLR]

Just re-rivet the floor using steel rivets rather than ally.

Stu.

[Aeroscreens]

My solution was to make some brackets similar in idea to NF above. Steel rivets might not break or come out but they won't prevent the holes in the ali floor from stretching or 'ovalising'. This is the problem I had.

My seats now bolts through the floor and the support bracket, but the weight is taken by the chassis and not the floor.

[Bahnstormer]

Cheers - will get some steel rivetts this eve .

[mickrick]

Better to stick with the ally rivets. You'll get corrosion problems with your ally floor around the steel rivets otherwise.

[V7SLR]

Steel rivets are usually zinc or similarly coated. The hole in the chassis into which the rivet goes is not protected in any way, just drilled steel. Steel chassis, ally panel, steel or ally rivet, matters not, bimetallic corrosion will occur at some stage due to water ingress - in fact it could be argued that a zinc plated steel rivet in contact with ally sheet and a steel tube is less likely to give a bimetallic problem than an ally rivet in the same situation ..... the difference is you can see the corrosion on the ally panel whearas corrosion in a tube is out of sight and out of mind.

I liberally injected Waxoyl into my chassis tubes a few years ago when I did a minor rebuild - I couldn't believe the amount that escaped _through_ the rivets, steel or ally. If wax can get out, water can get in - makes the use of steel rivets to stop your backside landing on the floor fairly incidental!

Stu.

[mickrick]

Waxoil is good stuff. It's up there with WD40 IMO. (And Nuvite )
To be honest, the galvanic corrosion thing isn't worth worrying about, as rainwater isn't much of an electrolite anyway.
I think most of the corrosion you see is plain old oxidization.
My thinking behind ally rivets, is they are exposed, along with the ally floor, to the elements, and not mixing the metals would eliviate the problem, if it exists.
The other thing is, I'd rather put 150 ally rivets in, than 150 steel ones!
I already have tendonitis!
Whatever floats yer boat I suppose.