Finished floor

It's been a warm summer this year, way to hot to spend out in the garage with no a/c (or even a/c with no ventilation!).  Now that the weather is cooling down, I had a chance to get back to finishing the floor.  To remind you, this is what I started with.  What you can't see well are the holes in the floor.  It also needed the transmission tunnel widened to fit the T56.

This winter we replaced the floor pans, and I have been waiting to finish off above the transmission until I could match the tunnel to the motor in the frame.  I ended up adding about 4" between the floor pans to get the extra space for the new transmission.  The tape marks where the shifter came through for the T56 - hard to tell but trust me, it is about 8" further back than the Muncie 4-speed, and centered vs. offset to the drivers side.  My first plan was to remove the original panel that surrounded the Muncie, and adapt that to the new hole in the floor.  After talking through options with my brother-in-law Jay, we decided that it might be best to cut out the entire area and build one new piece to fit the shifter, rather than trying to make old parts fit. The shifter solenoid also sticks out more on the left side, so a new part allows me to get the extra space.

Using a piece of paper, I mocked up a template to copy into steel.  

It looks ugly, but this is what it took to make the final filler piece.

And finally, after hours of hammering and tweaking into place, it is welded in place.

I used the Muncie plate to mark the shifter opening, so I can use the stock shifter boot around the opening.  I will need to move the console over to fit the center shifter, but there should be plenty of room with the seats I have chosen. I think the final product turned out okay.  Once everything is painted, the seams sealed, and sound deadener and carpet over the top, it should look nice and smooth.

 For comparison, here is a picture from a similar angle to the before, so you can see the repairs.  Next up will be fitting the drivers seat and center console, then off to the body shop for work on the shiny side.