Wicked Willy's Floor Pans

Today on trucks. Mel and Stacy made good on their promise by taking you step by step through the installation of floor pans on Project Wicked Willies. Then they'll show you the best of what they saw at one of the biggest off road events in the country. After that, it's time to give big orange the inside track on becoming the ultimate go anywhere vehicle. That's all today on trucks.

Hello, everybody. Thanks for hanging out with us again this week. Now, last week, we promised we'd show you how to replace the floor pans on Project Wicked Willies and it's time to make good on that promise. The replacement pans, like we've already told you are from classic enterprises, but since the pans are only part of our rust problem, we also need to replace the rockers as well as the inner rocker supports.

Now, don't kid yourself replacing floor pans is a big job and

there is no fun way to do this. But if you use the right tools, you can definitely make the job easier. Now, obviously, you need to cut out the old metal and we found a cut off tool works best for this.

You'll also need spot weld cutters, drill bits, chisels and a hacksaw, not to mention a bottle of aspirin because

this will give you some headaches.

Now, there is one way to eliminate some of that pain and that's where the rotisserie we got ours from accessible systems. And if you're gonna do this kind of project, it's really nice to have one of these because what it allows you to do

is roll the body up on its side. So you don't have to battle with sparks in your face. That's got it.

Now, the first thing that you need to do before you do any cutting on your floor pans is to make sure everything is stressed up, especially if you're using a rotisserie because it can exert some twisting forces on the body.

The best way to do this is to weld a piece of square tubing inside the door opening. Now, this will structurally take the place of the rocker support. When you cut it out,

then we'll take another piece and go diagonally across the cab

and this will keep the front half of the body from twisting on you.

And remember all vehicles are a little different. So do a little planning here or you could end up folding the body up like a house of cards.

Now that sta

has everything properly stressed, I can go ahead and start cutting out the old rockers. First thing you need to do is cut the wells at the end of the rockers support

then cut down this inner line to separate the rocker from the floor pan itself. Try not to get into the support because you may be able to reuse it.

Next drill out the spot wells to release the supports from the rockers.

Finally cut inside both door jams and pull out the center of the rocker. Followed by the end,

check out this old rocker station. Somebody actually tried to fill in this gap

with body filler. We've seen that before, huh?

Remember fillers and fiberglass do not give you structural strength. And here's another big, no, no, it riveted in a piece of tin here as a backing for those fillers. All that did was hold moisture and cause more rust.

Remember if you've got rust in your major structural pieces, you've got to replace them.

Now that brings us to the most challenging part of this project because it's never quite as easy as just putting in a new piece.

Remember, you've got to have good metal to weld to

and chances are you'll probably have to replace some other rust before you can even weld your rockers in.

This is where all that welding practice you've been doing is gonna pay off and believe me, when you can handle this project and you'll be able to weld just about anything

once the supports in place,

the rocker slides right over the top of it

and we're gonna weld it in solidly at either end because first of all, it's stronger.

Second of all, it smooths in that seam for a nice clean look

with the rocker and support in place. We're gonna make sure we don't ever have to redo this project. As long as we own our classic wagon. This Corolla

Rust Prohibitor from Eastwood has the ticket.

It's a special coating they use on the bottom of ships and oil platforms in the ocean. So it can definitely handle any extreme conditions you'll face on road or off.

Like we said before, each floor pan project is different. That's why any good replacement piece is oversized. So you can trim it like we did here for a perfect fit.

After you set the new pan in place, you can use it as a template to mark how much of the old pan you need to cut out.

I'd say it's about time to cut that thing out this. But before I do, I need to know what kind of weld you're gonna use in there, man. Well, up here we're gonna use a butt weld back here. We'll use a lap weld. Perfect. Now, the reason you need to know that before you cut the old ones out is because if you're gonna go with the lap weld, you need to be about a half inch inside the lawn

for a butt weld, you need to cut right down the line. So the two pieces will butt up together.

The last step before you weld in the new pans is to drill out the spot welds on the floor supports.

All right, mel roll it my way.

That's got it.

Then you can slide the new pan in. Now you'll probably need to do some final trimming

to get it to fit just right.

Once you have it, how you want it, then you can put the heat to it, followed by the final step and that's taking these bars out.

Keep in mind the original floor pans came from the factory which is spot welds. So you don't have to run a full seam unless you just want to

man stays. It's hard to believe all this work is just gonna be covered up by carpet.

Yeah, but it's almost time for paint

and if you've been watching trucks, you already know how to do that.

So the next time you see project wicked willies, it's gonna be wearing some paint too. But for us to be able to afford that paint, we need to pay some bills. Don't go away. Trucks will be right back

later on trucks. Big orange gets the inside track on off road and on road exploration. But up first, the guys have rounded up some extreme footage from one of the biggest j

events in the country.

Welcome back everybody. You know, one of the biggest off road events in the country is the Rosser round up in Mont Eagle, Tennessee, where people literally come from all over the place to test their setups against the Smoky Mountains and let's face it any time you get over 500 off road vehicles and some really gnarly trails. You've got an awesome weekend

up next is the best of what we saw at this year's event.

This trail here. Uh, you're looking at least 38 inch tires, uh, locker front and wear a mandatory winch pretty much and horsepower tires and momentum.

Yeah.

Oh, the rides right there. That's right.

This ride and that ride a bit.

And

what

else?

Hard to tell where it was originally? Now,

bottom line, you're heating your machine into the side of a mountain. Sounds like a good time.

Get plenty of rest and we'll see you at the Rosa

round up in 2000.

Welcome back to the shop a few weeks ago, at the end of a show, we unveiled these tracks from a company called Matt Tracks. Now, if you're anything like us, nothing quite grabs your attention like a vehicle with tracks on it, whether it's an old tank or heck, even a bulldog.

There's just something about them, but the best part about them is their function. Madre

built their tracks in such a way that you don't have to own a military vehicle or a dozer to get that advantage. These things basically bolt right up to the stock lug pattern on just about any vehicle

but before we bolt them on, here's a little tracks. 101.

The drive sprocket here bolts right to the stock wheel studs.

Now, when this turns, it catches these lugs here on the track and that sets everything in motion.

Now, these little guys here called the bogey wheels and they're solidly mounted and they spread out the load. So we have a long contact patch on the ground.

Hm.

And that's where the ultimate function of a track comes from. Now, the reason you air down your tires off road is to give yourself a greater contact patch.

But as you can see, there's no way we could ever air down our 35 14.5 enough to get the kind of traction we're gonna get with the tracks bottom line wider is better.

Installing these things is very simple, basically jack up the truck and bolt them on. Keep in mind you will have to use OEM style lug nuts.

One of the main laws of physics is that for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction.

What I'm really trying to say is that when this track goes forward, this internal assembly is gonna wanna try to wrap the other direction.

This is exactly why they've got this torque arm here. It basically acts as a traction bar to keep you from ripping your axles out.

Now, once the tracks in place you can connect the torque arm bar to the front leaf spring bolt,

depending on your application, you may have to reverse the bolt or get a longer one. Fortunately, we don't have to worry about that on big orange

on the front, the set, it's the same with a few minor changes. Of course, the track bolts to the stock hub just like the rear. But the torque arm

will either go to the lower ball joint nut or the tie rod end, depending on your application. We can tell you on the Chevy, it's the lower ball joint nut.

One of the coolest things about this system is once you've installed all the brackets, you don't have to remove them when the tracks come off. But when you're ready to use them again, they're as easy to put on as changing your tire.

One last thing to keep in mind before you use this system, make sure there's no brake lines or obstructions that can get hung up in the tracks. When they're in motion.

Big Orange was pretty awesome before we put the tracks on it now, it just looks flat out angry. We need to take a break right now, but when we come back, we'll show you exactly how these things work off road and on.

Welcome back. Everybody. You know, the biggest question that people have about the mat track system is how does it steer?

And the answer is very different.

You definitely have to have momentum to get it to turn it all. And you can forget about turning on a dime

no matter what your surface is. But hey, that's not the purpose of tracks. Anyway,

the real reason tracks were invented was to go through places. An average tire would have no chance of passing

the mat track system will take you through mud, snow, sand, deep water and climb just about any grade. You can imagine making them the perfect choice for anyone who has to use their truck in extreme conditions.

And thanks to the unique triangular design, we get awesome approach and departure angles

and of course, the six inch lift on Big Orange doesn't hurt in that area either,

but don't get the wrong idea. This system is just as effective on a stock truck. It hasn't been lifted at all.

We also found the design of the tread cleans itself extremely

well when driving in muddy conditions, which is important for optimal traction.

We also found there are very few obstructions the mat track system can't handle. However, since the tracks are impossible to turn, if you're sitting still, we wouldn't recommend you use this set up for extreme rock crawling or on real tight trails.

One of the biggest benefits of tracks is they spread the load over a greater contact area

which gives your truck a much lighter footprint allowing you to go just about anywhere you can imagine without tearing up the terrain.

Now, you might think using your tracks on pavement would tear them up.

That's not necessarily. So

you can actually go up to 45 miles an hour without doing any major damage. That is as long as you're not using them to drive yourself to work every day,

whether you use your system on road or off a big concern for people with a track vehicle is throwing the tread.

However, that's not really a problem with this system because the tracks are shorter.

Now, this eliminates the twisting forces that try to pull the track out of its seat

on the drive sprocket and the bogey wheels.

And believe us, we did everything we could to try to pop the tread off our tracks just to see if we could.

There's no doubt big orange is awfully impressive looking with tracks on it. And as you've just seen, it's about as close to the ultimate going anywhere vehicle as you're going to get.

Unfortunately. However, there are some things even mat tracks can't handle, but for just about everything else, you can't do much better than tracks,

you probably realize the benefits of a magnetic screwdriver. Heck, they keep you from chasing screws all over your work bench.

The problem is when you go to the hardware store to buy one, they're a hard to find and b always more expensive.

So I'm gonna show you how to magnetize a standard screwdriver without spending a dime. Now, all you need is an old magnet or speaker. Take your screwdriver, slide it down one side of the magnet and presto magnetic screwdriver. Now, should you ever wanna change it back, slide it down the other side of the magnet

and you're back to normal. So when it comes to screwdrivers, now you have more choices than just Phillips or flathead

and now, truck gear, parts, tools and equipment for pickups and sport utilities.

Whenever you bolt after market accessories on your truck or SUV, you have to have cranking power

you can count on. And the optima battery has distinct advantages over regular batteries. Its unique spiral cell design

rolls the cells into the cylinders which keeps the plates entirely covered in acid at all times. It also helps the battery survive major vibrations on the track or off road.

And since it's totally sealed, you can mount it in any position safely, turn yourself on with an optimal battery for about 100 and $40.

The power of your engine depends on these fragile wires that run your spark plugs without them.

The engine just won't run

and you probably know that high temperature is their worst enemy.

Well, that's where these excel extreme 9000 spark plug wires can be a lifesaver.

They've got a special silicone boot and jacket which reflects heat, which is great. If you're running headers, they're also available in custom fit or universal sets. So you have the choice of how you wanna run your plug wires.

And since they started about 30 bucks pretty cheap insurance, considering the alternative.

Well, if you've ever had to work on your vehicle on the side of the road after dark by yourself, then you know how frustrating, trying to hold a flashlight while making a repair can be. Fortunately, y tech has the answer. With their new diamond light, high gain flashlights. The handle rotates 360

degrees and it's ratcheted so it can be set up for hands free lighting. They come in four different sizes and can fit in most glove compartments or tool boxes. Give yourself a hand with a high game from Y tech starting at about six bucks a pop. That's gonna do it for truck gear. Here's a preview of next week's show.

Mel and Stacy, take a brand new Cherokee Sport and get ready for the trail by bolting on a three inch lift kit.

Then they'll bring you back down to earth with the fastest growing race series in the country. The NASCAR

Craftsman trucks. After that, it's back to the shop to show you how to add durability and value to your pickup with a paintbrush. That's all next week on trucks

that's going to do it for this week's show. Thanks for being with us and we look forward to trucking with you again. Next week,

trucks is an RTM production