Restoration story of my Spitfire convertible

[spitfire]

note the very unusual site for a fuel filler cap and a unique style of opening.....

[spitfire]

now lets come to the point.......
the next project was the floor pans front and rear which was the most difficult,complex and time consuming item.first of all I would like to show you the front floor pans of the original/specimen spitfire.please note the design/grooves of the floor pan.....see these pics (ZARA GHOR SAY).

[portage1]

MASHALLAH you got a cute kid !!!

[spitfire]

the above pics are of the front right floor pan.I stripped the car (took seats ,carpets,underlays and every thing to reach the original design of the floor pan.
first of all a piece of butter paper( large enough to cover the floor pan) was placed over it and was secured with tapes from all sides.then with very fine pointer,the dots along all grooves were drawn exactly like the floor pan design.then it was taken off the floor pan,placed on the table and all the dots were joined to make lines according to the design/grooves of the floor.
I joined 6/7 carbon papers to make a large one(could not find this big) and traced all the pattern on a chart paper.afterwards with marker made all those traced lines prominent and permanent.
Now the problem was,how to shift this pattern on a sheet of steel because carbon paper dont work on steel.
so I came up with an idea.I took a thin welding wire and went to the kitchen with my traced chart paper and sat besides the cooking range.I heated the tip of the welding wire and BURNED A HOLE ON A LINE.it worked.
I made hundreds of holes along all the lines drawn on the chart paper when I finished it was full of holes like a "DOT TO DOT"game.LOL
It took several hours and all my family members made a lot of fun of what I was doing.........
the pattern of butter paper was distroyed by some one but the chart paper pattern is still with me ...and I am posting the pic.please note the details of lines and holes along the lines keeping the original floor pans in mind....here is the pic

[spitfire]

then I took a sheet larger than the chart paper so afterwards it should have margin to turn and curl so it should fit into place(may not become short) the guage was 18 which is quite thick .first of all I primed it because could not trace/draw a pattern permanently on bare sheet metal and by taking into hands and during making the lines could rub away.but primer is rough enough to have permanent lines on it.so I put my dotted chart paper on the sheet already primed and with a small marker put dots through the hole I already made on the lines so again a "DOT TO DOT" game was drawn on the primed sheet metal.joined all the dots making lines just duplicating the original design on the steel sheet.oohhhhhh it took several days to reach here.....
here are some pics of the pattern drawn on the primed sheet metal.......

[spitfire]

now my"USTAAD" took over the charge and played magic on that steel sheet........lol.....REAL MAGIC.and after about one week our first RIGHT FRONT FLOOR PAN CAME IN TO BEING.I made many steel strip's pattern(kaindas) to check the exact depths and shapes of the grooves....see the finished front right floor pan from UPSIDE AND DOWN SIDE......dont forget that this is 18 guage steel sheet and no press was used ,only HAMMERS AND DOLLYS WERE USED,it was never heated or cut during its making......see the pics in detail and compare them to the original floor pan pics......here you are.....

[spitfire]

the same pattern of chart paper was used upside down for the left front floor because pattern was just the same but opposite.....see the pics of original front left floor pan..

[spitfire]

and here is the pic of the fabricated front left floor.compare the pic with original floor pan...........

[Aqua]

simply awsome. i must say that it is the best ongoing post on pakwheels history. keep on posting updates pics with details. we are anxiously waiting for the final results. wonderfull job.

[spitfire]

then we came to the rear floor pans which were bigger and were more coplecated and difficult to make....see the pics of original rear floor pan left+right....here are the pics.....

[spitfire]

If you pay a little attention to these pics,you can see that these floor pans are very complicated.note the inner tray and the pattern of different types of grooves and their different depths and the water drain channels.I made again a pattern like I did before on a chart paper which took me 3/4 days and a lot of patience and hard work.just have a look at the pattern I made....also note that I made steel strips patterns of different depths of grooves and shapes to check and ensure the exact duplicate of the original floor pan......see the pics of pattern...

[spitfire]

here are the pics of front and rear floor pans.two rear floor pans took about 20 days to make.one thing to remember here that these are again made of 18 guage sheet metal ALL HAND MADE and without any heating or cutting,,,,,,see the details of the replacement rear floor pan....see the pics and compare with original/specimen floor pans of spitfire.......

[spitfire]

I AM REALLY SORRY.LAST TWO PICS ARE POSTED BY MISTAKE.......ACTUAL PICS ARE HERE(front and rear floor pan)

[Storm]

i can't believer the attention to detail you are putting in this car,.. well done (Y)

Also i'm amazed that your denter ustaad could beat that shape out with a hammer and not a hydraulic press.

You have to congratulate him from me on being probably the best denter i have ever seen in action till now in PK.

[spitfire]

you can see both rear floors pans,front floor pan,outer sill and inner sill (fabricated)in the background of this pic.

[spitfire]

@storm..yes bhai he is a MAGICIAN......
now we started fitting the front floor pans.see these pics one top view and two views from under the car see the pics....

[spitfire]

salamz pakwheel brothers,
here is another pic of hand fabricated rear floor..see the detail and grooves.....

[spitfire]

some more pics showing fitting of hand fabricated rear floor.you can see the seem weld where old and new panels join.

[spitfire]

another view from under the car showing both front and rear floors.see the finish and detail,just look like as originals ........

[spitfire]

as you know that there are water channels in the floor pans of every car ,in case you wash or water finds its way on the floor,it comes into those channels and drains away from the holes provided in the floor pan. I also assured that these channels (of front and rear floors)should alligh with each other so in case floors are washed or water finds its way to the floors(very commom in a convertable)it should drain away...folowing two pics are showing allignment/joint of rear and front floors....one showing upper and other showing under the car view..see...