Floor Side Member Panel


WhippleGT

GT Owner
May 23, 2022
33
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.
 
Pic would help of the impacted area so members can assist.
 
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.
 
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.
 
Careful application with a heat gun?
 
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?
 
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.
 
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?
 
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.
 
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!
 
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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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.
 
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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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).
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
Hello Pete,
thank you. That could be a possibility. Maybe it works.