I need to make a floor for my ’26 Runabout. I’ve been doing some research since I don’t have one to copy and I’m finding variations in the details of floors shown in photos on this forum. I’m wondering why there are differences. Is it an early vs. late or Canadian vs. US version?
Many of you may have seen the thread started by Hank Lee where he made a floor for Jennifer. This is a link.
https://www.mtfca.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=37743
He used a template that was made by Ken Buhler. When Hank was finished, he sent Ken’s template to me with a bunch of detailed photos that Ken took. I have been comparing those photos with others on this forum and offer these variations.
There are two main differences in the battery access opening. Some photos show full-length ledges on the left and right sides to support the battery cover. Ken’s floor has a full length ledge on the left and a short ledge at the front on the right side. All photos that I have seen also have a ledge at the rear of the opening. I assume that Ken’s floor is Canadian-made since he’s in Calgary, but I could be wrong. The other floors that I have seen are most likely US-made. I am planning to make a floor like Ken’s with a short ledge. I think that access to change a battery would be better with the short ledge on the right.
- Ledges
There are differences in the battery cover hold-down at the rear. The hold-down in Ken’s looks the same as the front floorboard hold-downs on my Runabout. But some photos show two narrower hold-downs.
- Latches
- latches.jpg (24.49 KiB) Viewed 410 times
Another difference is whether the differential hump is formed as a separate part or integral to the floor stamping. Ken’s photos clearly show that the hump is a separate piece. It’s placed in a hole of the floor stamping and attached from underneath. If anyone has a measurement of the radius at the corners of the hole, I would like to know what that is. Other photos look like the hump is pressed in the overall stamping. I plan to cut a hole and install the hump that Howell’s makes. If anyone knows of other differences or has better photos, let us know.
- Humps
- Howell's
- howells.jpg (19.85 KiB) Viewed 410 times
Hank used a bead roller to form much of Jennifer’s floor panel. The bead roller that I had access to was, apparently, decommissioned so I need to work on another forming method. I have thoughts on that. But for now, I’m creating a 3-D model of the floor and will eventually create a scale drawing that I can share in the forum Gallery. I have a lot of measurements to confirm before finalizing the design. I can imagine that the final rivet holes may need to be drilled in situ. Each body and platform might have slight differences. But I will include them on the drawing with a cautionary note. Here is a work-in–process of the floor.
- Preliminary Floor
