Seats on vw pan

I strengthened the under-seat area on a very early Dune Buggy way back in the '60's, didn't see a great deal of benefit and haven't done anything on another pan since.

The quality and strength of some of the replacement pans, compared to originals makes me want to double up the material in the seat pan area.  I think Gordon is correct with a good quality pan, there would be no real need to reinforce it.

If you get hit, you're dead either way. 

 

Im more worried about my big ass bending the pan getting in and out of my car.  Was windering if anyone ever fabbed up some sort of something under the car to stiffen that area!

a treadmill might help lighten the load on the pan!!!! 

That's what I did on that Dune Buggy - I added a pair of front-to-back steel straps, each about 2" wide and as long as the seat rails right under the rails on the underside of the floor pans.  While it made the seat attachment stronger, they really didn't stiffen things up much (because the seat rails are very close to the sides of the floor pans).  I think that a formed, rippled or ribbed panel, spot-welded to the floor pan at a dozen places and reinforcing the entire area under the seat might make a difference, but I still think it would be of questionable benefit.

Thats funny!

I put big fender washers on all the bolts, doesn't seem to be a probem. 

 

That was what I was thinking.  2" wide strips but lateral and horizontal to stiffen the overall area.

OK, that un-enforced area under the seat explains why I'm sitting a couple of inches lower in my VS than when I first got it 30 lbs 15 years ago ! 

Im going to make some frame work that welds to the tunnel and go's across to the steel body frame and bolt it to that to support my ass. 2 or 3 on each side of the tunnell should do just fine. I did the washers on my bug, they dont work, it needs structure, and small washers are not structure.

i did exactly this.  i had to to pass the insanely rigorous chassis inspection on insurance and registration.

You would be better off going with something like this:

http://www.evhcompany.com/

 

Adding these frame stiffeners would be kind of overkill given the 2x4 box steel subframe already around pan perimeter. And these won't add any strength to the sheetmetal floor between the perimeter and tunnel that he's bolting the seat to. You'd still need the reinforcement strips already mentioned.

If it's flat iron I don't see the point.

My TD has an angle iron cross brace, looks like a 2 x 2. PO did it--don't know if bolted or welded but my whole floor is also encased, top and bottom, in fiberglass. . . So it's a pretty much permanent fixture.

Ill probably use some 1x2 rectangle. angle will bend&twist. But it could be better than NOTHING.