At least 2 different floor pans for the Mk 3 Coupe

[manifold]

Come on, hands up. How many of you knew there are more than 1 kind of floor pan for the Mk3 Coupe?? There is at least 2 that I know of.

Mine and I assume Eddies is an early one with a built in bum area to drop the floor to make it a 2 plus 2 (tiny) with rear seats. Redundant in mine as I needed the space for the rear beam and arms (Alan and co take note!)

Later ones have a flat area in this place instead, so I assume the 2 plus 2 idea was dropped as more people were favouring the large boot space. But why change the mould I wonder?

Also, the Convertible floor pan is different in the rear subframe housing area too, as the gap between the subframe and the top of the floor (above subframe) is higher too. I know this as I have just been pulling my rear subframe off to fit the beam and its definitely different. I am guessing the later convertible and couple share the same/similar floor pan but I haven't seen one to compare.

I was wondering at what build number they changed the floor pan.

[Jon]

My youngest Gold was chassis number 142 which I collected from Corby in January '89. It had the seat depressions moulded in the rear floor.

[manifold]

Is that the white one that went to Alistairs with the cracks in the A pillar?

The one I saw at Alistairs had small depressions, but not bum shaped like mine or Eddies.

[Stuart]

Is that the white one that went to Alistairs with the cracks in the A pillar?

The one I saw at Alistairs had small depressions, but not bum shaped like mine or Eddies.

My Mk3 060 also had shallow depressions, so an early change by the look of it

[Jon]

David,

Alastair took the shell of 142, which was white so it probably was the one you saw.

The seat depressions on 142 where exactly the same as on 104, pictured below with its tow bar.

[Jon]

I've just found some photos of 142's rear seat area. When my original brake pressure limiter siezed up, I had to take the rear subframe out to replace it. I didn't want to have to do that again, so I put the new one inside, and made a couple of access holes so that I could undo the brake flexi hoses easily. I also had a fuel solenoid valve tucked above the undertray, which I could close off manually from inside the car.

[manifold]

Thanks for the photos Jon.

Your photos shed light on the fact that that is another floor pan as it is definitely different to either my coupe or the convertible. Interesting as these things cost a small fortune to make. Quite surprised they went to all that length to make these different moulds.

Heres mine. Not quite good light levels but you can make out where the seat goes. Modified to suit my suspension arms travel.

You can just make out where the seat is more rounded to suit a bum shape, whereas yours are squared off more and a lot shallower. Looks like they cut the bottom out and left just a recess on the later ones. Mine are more or less down to the top of the box section, in fact the inner part of the radius arm pins were pushing though the sides of the seat, unlike yours which is an inch or two higher than the pin.

[mikeeskriett]

Maybe something to do with the TUV approval seems odd and quite costly to make two floor designs unless the gold and convertible floors come from the same mould but are laid up differently? I've seen both types mostly boarded over, question is anyone got one with seats in? Also on the convertible there are two types of floor construction, thick and thin.

[Rich]

Does the difference relate to the changes in the companies who built the car?

[Stuart]

Does the difference relate to the changes in the companies who built the car?

Nope