Lowered Floor bracket

[Brightonuk]

I am about to undertake installing lowered floors in my superlite 

While the actual installation look straight forward but time consuming (I hear Arch does it in 90 minuets) I do have a couple of question 

The photo shows what I assume are new seat supports eliminating the old chanel ones but much shorter and a angled bar,

I have been told this a a support piece that is riveted in front of the seat runners onto the cross beam 

Does anyone have a photo of this piece installed and why is it now needed. as I do not see how it support anything riveted to the cross beam? 

Do I use the old floor as a template for holes I need to drill in the new floors or is there another trick as to how I line up any existing rivet holes.

What is a good paint option I was thinking a black type rubber coating on the inside?

I am sure as I attempt this 90 min job I will be posing a few more questions. 

 

Thanks 

Steve

 

[SLR No.77]

The two flat bars fit on the upper side of the floor under the seat runners, ie. they're a spacer for the seat runner. IIRC there's dimples or holes in the lowered floor where the 3 rivets locate each section.

The angled piece is riveted to the cross member in front of the seat and to the floor below, the large hole in each is for the seat adjusting bar below your right knee. I seem to recall each side is fitted slightly differently but there's some flexibility in how you do it, I think I fastened mine to the rear face of the cross member.

Stu.

[SLR No.77]

Also ... before you remove the old floor, mark a line at the limit of where the outer side skin folds under the floor all the way front to rear of the floor. When the old floor is out, you need to cut this marked edge off the old floor and re-insert it between the outer chassis tube and side skin and rivet it back in, exactly where it came from. This will fill the gap that is left between the side skin and the chassis tube and prevent deforming the side skin when you rivet it back together, the new lowered floor doesn't go into this gap.

Stu.

[Brightonuk]

I was not thinking regarding the bracket, the floor is no longer attached to that center beam but 2" lower...... Dhu!!

Do I still need to re attached the two seat support channels under the floor?

Still need a way to line up the existing holes I will be re riveting into (that would be the inner side of the floor)

Kinda wish Caterham sup[plied a basic how to guide but then again that what you guys are for (-:

Thank you all for the advise I plan on tackling this over the weekend 

 

[Wrightpayne]

No U channels on underside of floor. Mine came with two 3mm ally strips that go between runners and floor.

The L bracket pictured goes between steel chassis tube and new lowered floor.

Exactly like Stu said!!

I used the old floor as a drilling template, however, I offered the new one up in place first and used a new rivet with a cut down mandrel sharpened to a point to mark the new floor - just stick in a rivet hole in the steel box and press the ally against it to mark your ref point. Drill this one hole in the new panel offer up again to double check. If ok overlay the old panel inserting a rivet through old panel and ref hole and drill the rest. I may have done a ref hole at each end of the run of rivets to align everything.

Hope that makes sense.

Ian

[Tazio]

Before you start, why not have a chat with Bruce at Arch, he will be able to answer your questions, and is very approachable.

[Wrightpayne]

[SLR No.77]

I cut the edges off the old floor then over later them on the new floor to drill the new holes, unfortunately because if the vertical lip on the new floor it’s impossible to over lay the complete old floor so you need to butcher it.

I did all the work to fit mine but only actually secured with half a dozen rivets, when I was happy with the fit and all the new holes I removed them both and took them to be powder coated. It’s worth doing a good job.

Stu.

[Wrightpayne]

Outer rivets are easy - just use the interior panel! 

[Brightonuk]

Yep thanks again everyone I will give Arch a bell tomorrow and see if they have any words of wisdom.

It really does look kinda simple labor intensive as I am on my jack (the wife is still not talking to me after the big Caterham box arrived and me trying to explain why I need new floors)

Thanks Ian it is difficult to explain a procedure I was planing on cutting the floor 1/2" in from the rivet holes front to back so I will have a strip which is easier to handle for the template  then punch a di=imple where the floor needs to be drilled.

I don't want the tube looking like Swiss cheese

Not reinstalling the underside channels is a + I have Tillet spacers from the old seats and I am sure I will need to angle the new one up a bit, should I use the spaces between the floor and new support or support and seat mount (They are adjustable seat mounts)

 

Powder coating is not an option I have spent the budget for this year (and part of next year) so I was just going to scuff, etch and paint it with a rubberized truck bed paint

[Brightonuk]

Yet another question 

I am, getting new seats from the UK should be here by Dec 14th and will hopefully be using the runners that came from the old Tilletts.

As part of the lowered floor bits I have these two seat ali supports. I understand the runners sit on top of these (and they are installed in the cockpit not underneath) but what are the three holes in the bar and what are the four holes in the floor 

The floor holes are spaced further apart than the length of the bar but the same dia

I called Arch but did not really understand their explanation about lining up the seats with the holes that does not seem correct 

(The holes in the ali bar do not line up with the seat runner bolts)  

 

 

 

[Tazio]

[Tazio]

The above are the same supports on my newly refurbished chassis, I will be setting the seat in a position that works for me, and will drill the mounting holes through the seat supports. The distance between the centres of the two supports is 31.5cm, the spacing between the Tillett seat mounts is near enough the same.

[paul richards]

Outside of floor can be marked for rivets using holes in the internal panel. Rivet holes on floor on transmission tunnel can be marked by putting masking tape on floor and dirty grease on chassis. Offer up the floor in the correct place and dirty marks on tape should show where holes are needed. 

[SM25T]

Paul ... he has already fitted the floors.

[Brightonuk]

OK Just have to wait til the seats come in for the distance between seat runners. but I am still  unclear over the four holes in the floor.

Are they to set the support bars position front and rear?

if so do I use the front ones or the rear (As the photo show the bar does not extend to both holes) 

 

[Tazio]

I don't know why you have the holes in the floor either.

[TomB]

So, shall we open a book on whether it take 90 minutes....

[SimonR300]

"As part of the lowered floor bits I have these two seat ali supports. I understand the runners sit on top of these (and they are installed in the cockpit not underneath) but what are the three holes in the bar and what are the four holes in the floor "

What led you to understand that the seat supports do not go underneath?

My R300 race car was built by DPR Motorsport with a lowered driver's floor with the two ali  seat runner supports riveted to the underside of the floor with 3 rivets each.  The same seat runners as yours were used with the 4 bolts going through the floor and more or less down the centre line of the 2 ali plates.  This I believe gives extra thickness and strength to the floor panel to ensure that the bolts don't pull the nuts and washers through the single floor skin or bend the floor in the event of a major shunt.  To have them inside the cockpit makes no sense to me and the plates are unlikely to be spacers.  I would ask Caterham to be sure.

I don't know why you have the four holes in the floor either.  I sent my car back to DPR to fit a lowered floor on the passenger side which they did very well.  I had to drill holes for the seat runners myself.  I suspect your floor may be pre-drilled to take some version of a seat, they could be a distraction and probably best ignored.

I laid a sheet of new corrugated cardboard precisely into the new lowered floor and then placed the Tillet seat with the runners attached into the cockpit.  Once in the correct place, I applied some pressure which left a clear imprint in the cardboard where the bolt holes needed to be drilled.  With the seat out, I just drilled through the cardboard, through the floor and got a pretty good result.

 

[Tazio]

Just for info, my drivers side lowered floor, as fitted by Arch, had the supports fitted to the inside of the cockpit.

[Brightonuk]

Yep I spoke to Arch they said it is to raise the seat up slightly as the new floor configuration can interfere with the seat moving forward and back. 

The cardboard template is an excellent idea Thanks 

 

The car is getting a new coat of paint when it is back I will call Arch again and get a definitive answer 

 

 

 

[Englishmaninwales]

An easy way to get the correct hole positions for the floor on the underside is to buy a 5/32” hole finder for about £12 on eBay. Trial fit the undrilled floor, making sure it is fully fitted up to the chassis, drill a few pilot holes with the hole finder and secure the floor with Cleco skin fasteners as you go. Then drill the remainder with the hole finder (you’ll need to release and refit the fasteners in sequence to get the hole finder in).

Remove the floor and apply sealant, refit with the fasteners and rivet. (Right angle compressed air drill and riveter helps too).

Malcolm

[Eriedor]

I just pulled my seats for the first time since Caterham fitted a lowered drivers side floor in 2015 and noticed they didn't install the 2 reinforcing alu bars on the floor beneath the seat runners, the runners were attached directly to the floor. Are the alu bars a recent addition to the lowered floor kit? My floor is actually warped slightly around the front left hole, most likely because of the lack of these alu bars. Is this a weakness that means I should fit a whole new floor? Or is it ok to just flatten it back out as best I can and fit the alu bars before reinstalling the seats?

[Jonathan Kay]

Are all of the rivets still secure, especially in the area that has warped? 

If so I'd be happy to fit the bars. 

Jonathan

PS: There's a much stronger DIY reinforcement solution described in the archives. 

[SLR No.77]

Also, the cross bar looks corroded which is easy enough to sort out with some POR15, but on the underside of the bar there will be some rivet holes where the original floor was fitted.

I doubt Caterham will have plugged the holes with anything so it would be worth squirting some corrosion inhibitor into the chassis tube through the holes and then plugging the holes with some sealant, eg. Tigerseal, Sikaflex etc.

Maybe have a look with a torch and mirror.

Stu.