Rear transition pan metal work, part 4 - dual exhaust reinforcement plates priming and installation

While my car had dual exhaust when I got it, I don't think it was installed properly. It was just attached to the floorpan in this area by a few large lag screws. Non-ideal solution, if you ask me. The exhaust is suspended from several points at the back of the car from rubber hangers that should be hard-mounted to the car. Lag screws though 19 gauge metal don't do much except tear up the metal and poke your passengers in the posterior if the bumps are big enough.

The pans come as uncoated metal that need a good cleaning. Child labor to the rescue! Wire brush attachment on a cordless drill is fine here.

The Apprentice is starting to suspect more 'character-building' is happening... 

The pans clean up nicely. Ready for clean/degrease and priming.

Using the same SPI Red Oxide primer, I shot them front and back and let them cure for a day or so. I left some spots blank (the orange stickers) on the pans and in corresponding places on the floor pan so I could just peel them off after priming and weld the pans in place. You can't weld through cured epoxy primer (well, I can't anyway).

If you look close, you see one of them has the big hole for the seat belt bracket bolt hogged out. I failed to make a proper measurement when I welded the bracket onto the floor pan. Oops. The smaller diagonal row of three holes is where the exhaust hanger support bracket is installed. In any case, the reinforcement pan will now fit well with the corresponding holes in the floor.

Now there is primer on all surfaces here - the floor and the both sides of these pans - so there will be no rusting due to trapped moisture later on. Six plug welds in each hold them to the floor. All this will get another coating of primer later, so this is where we stop for now.

I love the before-after comparison. 

This area is now stronger, cleaner, and more correct than it was before. This little transformation took me on-again/off-again nights and weekends over the course of three months. 

Next up is the cleaning, stripping, and priming of the bottom of the transition pan and trunk area.