Floor Side Member Panel


WhippleGT

GT Owner
May 23, 2022
25
I have to replace the floor side member panel on my GT. (Drivers side) The panel is heavily damaged. It is riveted and glued to the frame. I´ve already removed the rivets but its impossible to get the panel off. I think its a kind of epoxy glue. Has anyone removed the sheet metal yet? Do pipes or lines run under the panel?
Thanks for the support.
 

Art138

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jan 4, 2011
628
Weston,FL
Pic would help of the impacted area so members can assist.
 

PeteK

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Apr 18, 2014
2,283
Kalama, Free part of WA State
Is this the panel along the outer side, under the door? Or the inner side, along the bottom of the tunnel? A picture would help.
 

WhippleGT

GT Owner
May 23, 2022
25
Is this the panel along the outer side, under the door? Or the inner side, along the bottom of the tunnel? A picture would help.
Hello Pete,
it is the panel left and right side of the fuel tank under the car.
 

2112

Blue/white 06'
Mark II Lifetime
Careful application with a heat gun?
 

PeteK

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Apr 18, 2014
2,283
Kalama, Free part of WA State
Hello Pete,
it is the panel left and right side of the fuel tank under the car.
Regrets, I haven't tried that job yet. Do you have a shop manual?
 

WhippleGT

GT Owner
May 23, 2022
25
Regrets, I haven't tried that job yet. Do you have a shop manual?
Hello Pete,

I have a workshop manual but its not described there.
I´ll ask my coachbuilder. Maybe he can repair the panel.
 

WhippleGT

GT Owner
May 23, 2022
25
Careful application with a heat gun?
Thank you. I´ll try it.
 
I have to replace the floor side member panel on my GT. (Drivers side) The panel is heavily damaged. It is riveted and glued to the frame. I´ve already removed the rivets but its impossible to get the panel off. I think its a kind of epoxy glue. Has anyone removed the sheet metal yet? Do pipes or lines run under the panel?
Thanks for the support.
That's too bad. Can you tell us what happened to do so much damage?
 

WhippleGT

GT Owner
May 23, 2022
25
That's too bad. Can you tell us what happened to do so much damage?
It was a large angular stone. The man in front of me drove over it. I couldn´t avoid it anymore. Several big holes in the panel. Fortunately no further damage.
 

2112

Blue/white 06'
Mark II Lifetime
It was a large angular stone. The man in front of me drove over it. I couldn´t avoid it anymore. Several big holes in the panel. Fortunately no further damage.

I had the exact same thing happen to me in my Z8 about 20 years ago.

I eventually shipped the car to the BMW Aluminum Repair Center in California for factory authorized repair. Of course they did a perfect job but it was expensive.
.
 
It was a large angular stone. The man in front of me drove over it. I couldn´t avoid it anymore. Several big holes in the panel. Fortunately no further damage.
Thanks! Must have been very painful. I've had a couple of similar but fortunately much smaller "drive over events" leave their marks in the same panel. The perils of actually driving your GT!
 

B.M.F.

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jan 29, 2009
1,785
Minnesota
You have to heat the panel to 200+ degrees with heat gun or butane torch.

Also you will not be able to get the rivet ends out of the extrusions, so do not be surprised if you hear them rattle.
 
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WhippleGT

GT Owner
May 23, 2022
25
You have to heat the panel to 200+ degrees with heat gun or butane torch.

Also you will not be able to get the rivet ends out of the extrusions, so do not be surprised if you hear them rattle.
Thank you for the advice. We´ll try it with a heat gun. The rivet ends are really a problem. Maybe we find a way to get them out.
 

B.M.F.

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jan 29, 2009
1,785
Minnesota
Thank you for the advice. We´ll try it with a heat gun. The rivet ends are really a problem. Maybe we find a way to get them out.
I just did a pair of pans.. Thankfully shell was stripped and we put it on a rotisserie and had to make some access holes to get them all out.
 
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Tomcat

GT Owner
Also you will not be able to get the rivet ends out of the extrusions, so do not be surprised if you hear them rattle.
I believe I understood that some reputable repairers shoot expanding foam into the void and this bonds the rivet heads in place (and/or minimizes the rattling around).
 

B.M.F.

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jan 29, 2009
1,785
Minnesota
I believe I understood that some reputable repairers shoot expanding foam into the void and this bonds the rivet heads in place (and/or minimizes the rattling around).

We toyed around with that idea. Thankfully the chassis I did was bare and I suspect when i have to do one on a car that is together that will be the only option.
 

Tomcat

GT Owner
We toyed around with that idea. Thankfully the chassis I did was bare and I suspect when i have to do one on a car that is together that will be the only option.
I probably understated the qualifications of the person that told me this (expanding foam) BUT it is their first-person story/technique to tell.
 

PeteK

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Apr 18, 2014
2,283
Kalama, Free part of WA State
One problem with using foam to fill void spaces: If the space is not fully sealed afterwards, water can gradually waterlog the foam, which will then accelerate corrosion. I've seen that problem in older vehicles with steel bodies. The results were not pretty. Furthermore, polyurethane foam needs a slight amount of moisture to cure properly. You will note the cautions on the cans that. say not to spray into sealed spaces. Another, and safer alternative, IMO, is to use plain old paint, or sound-deadening undercoating (good undercoating like Wurth or 3M, not the asphalt stuff most McParts stores sell). Either of those should glue the loose rivet ends in place in the bottom of the panel.
 

WhippleGT

GT Owner
May 23, 2022
25
Hello Pete,
thank you. That could be a possibility. Maybe it works.