With the crude body repair taken care of and the internal structural repair done on the inner rocker panel area, I was finally able to add the angle iron supports that I intended to add. I needed the inner rocker panel metal in place to give me a surface with which to weld the angle iron to. Since I couldn't get any angle iron that was long enough to span the gap from one side to the other and go through the driveshaft hump, I ended up just using 2 ft long pieces that would be welded to the outside of the driveshaft hump and the inner rocker panel metal. The first set of angle iron pieces were welded directly to the rear of the seat mount panels to aid in reinforcing those panels so when the seats are in place, the panels won't flex excessively. The second set of angle iron supports would go over the last set of body mounts on the Ranger frame. Before I could fully weld in the last set of irons, I had to line up where the bolt that would pass through the body mount needed to go on each angle iron piece. To make the angle iron be able to go in place without it interfering too much with the floor pans that will also go in afterward, I situated the irons in an A position with the corner pointing up. I ended up welding in a washer to the spot over the body mount, then welding the bolt to the washer. Once this was done I welded a large washer to the body mount bracket. I was able to position the angle iron piece over the body mount, using a piece of cut rubber radiator hose to serve as a washer/cushion between the angle iron and the body mount. I welded the angle iron in place and secured the bolt with a washer and nut to complete the attachment to the Ranger frame body mount. Both sides were done in the same way with the angle iron so with that the last set of body mounts were addressed, along with the reinforcement of the seat mount panels on the body. This section being centrally located, will add to the reinforcement of the body and its attachment to the truck frame while also giving the front seats the added support they'll need to be safer to use compared to if the seats just sat on the seat mount panels by themselves. A short piece of sheet metal will be welded between the angle iron supports to close in this section of flooring. The smaller pieces of sheet metal will eliminate the flexing issue that has been a concern of mine with the floor repairs on this body. Once the sheet metal is welded in place between the angle iron supports, I can start figuring out how I'll get the final section of flooring done going into the rear seat area. I'll probably end up welding in some supports to divide the open space into sections so instead of one huge piece of sheet metal going in place over the open space, it'll be a set of smaller panels going in, each attaching to the supports on either end. This will lessen the likelihood or severity of the flexing issue and the resulting noise while giving the floor of the car the strength it needs to be able to support our weight while either sitting in the car or crawling around in the rear to move things around. I'll have to bring out the interior panels that mount on the sides where the rear seat goes in order to see how much of these panels I'd have to trim off to accommodate the higher floors in the rear. Hopefully I won't have to trim too much material from these. I also still have to see if its possible to use the rear seats...
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