Floor Pan Corrosion
Symptoms
The floor pans develop rust, perforation, and structural weakness. In severe cases, you can see the road through the floor. The driver's footwell and the area around the pedal box are particularly vulnerable.
Cause
The 356 floor pan is mild steel with no galvanising. Road spray attacks from below while moisture from leaking windscreen seals, door seals, and condensation attacks from above. The floor pan sits close to the road surface, and stone chips remove any protective coating.
Fix
Replacement floor pans are available from specialists like Stoddard and Restoration Design.
Fitting requires stripping the interior, removing the seats and pedal assembly, cutting out the old pan, and welding in the new one.
The new pan must be correctly aligned to maintain the body's geometry.
Cost: $8,000-$20,000 at a specialist depending on extent and whether heater channels are also affected.
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