Floor replacement

[68GTAir]

I have a 68 GT. Im in the process of doing a compleat floor replacement. My issue is trying to remove the belly end skin. I have started to remove the lower rivets and trim.

The lower belly ends are tucked under the main ex-skin and riveted to the lower frame rails. I can't get to the rivet under the ex-skin. Should i remove more rivets higher up on the ex-skin making more room to pull back the ex-skin or should i trim back cutting 1/4 to 1/2" of the lower ex-skin letting me have more working room and getting to the hidden rivets?

Also it looks like once i finish this process i won't have any lower support to lift the body off the trailer.

I have read some other posting but did not come across this.

Any other info will help.

[BIGED52]

68GTAir, On your trailer you should have a trim moulding at the level of the interior floor. That trim hides the main exterior skin and Banana wrap seams. Once all the rivets are off the Banana wraps from that seam to the underside of the trailer the wraps can be removed and the belly pan rivets accessed. On my trailer there are exterior skin sheets that make the bend under the trailer on either side of the door they have the belly pan covered too and the rivets in them will have to be removed too! Happy Trails, Ed

[68 TWind]

I ran into the same situation on my 68 Trade Wind. The rear belly skins were riveted like you described, a separate rivet under the outside skin making access to the head of the rivet impossible. With the interior panels removed I had access to the bucked end of the rivets. Since I could not get to the head of the rivets to drill them because they were covered by the outer skin, and after much trial and several errors, I just ground the ends off the rivets from the inside. I used a 4 in grinder with a special aluminum grinding wheel ( Ace Hardware). You have to be careful and stay on just the bucked part of the rivet and you have to be careful to keep the angle right so you don't grind away the C-channel. When you get the rivet ground flush with c-channel, take a punch slightly smaller that the diameter of the rivet and give is a couple of taps. Bingo. You may have to hold the skin up a little on the outside to get the head to fall out from under the skin. Once I figured out how to do this, it did not take long to get all the rivets out. I spent a couple of afternoons trying to figure it out.

good luck