68-72 GS/Skylark under rear seat floorpan

Well as usual with a project like this, things get out of hand pretty quick. The small pinhole I found under the rear seat area and for which I cut a piece off one of my parts cars soon turned into holes on both sides and when I put some serious weight on the passenger side, it creased and would not return. Oh-oh....either the floor is real weak or I need a diet (both actually, as it turns out)!

Anyway, now faced with replacing this panel, I ordered it from the only source I could find. That was The Parts Place Inc, and it arrived in an oversized carton only matched in size by the UPS brokerage fees. It is a nice piece, and measured out as .040 thick. This is more than many repro parts. I'm sure it was originally made for Chevelles (as most of our structural A-body sheetmetal is), and in the time since I purchased this part, I have seen it pop up in many more catalogs, so perhaps it was a new piece.

The only issue with this one is mounting the rear seat seatbelts. My convertible has the retracting seatbelt assemblies and they mount further up so the belt sticks out between the upper and lower cushions, as opposed to laying all over the place. This required moving the hole for the seatbelt bolt up and out, as per the picture below. The original hole was welded shut when the seatbelt anchors were all transferred over. You can see this panel after installation on my convertible pages. The resto shop guys said it went in with no major problems. Sure looks good installed and no more rust.

Sorry for the quality of the pic, it was taken before I got a decent camera and is the only shot I have. You can also see the replacement panel for the rear seat support (used, from a 72 Skylark).