Replacing hat channels

I have a 62 CJ-5 that I bought in 1986 when I was in high school. The front left floor board was rusty so I cut it out to replace it. Unfortunately, I didn't know what I was doing back then and cut out the hat channel as well . I did the same thing for the tool box floor under the passenger seat. What is the thing to do to replace the hat channels and what has been the experience with this?

Thanks,
Randy
Liberty, TN

 

You can buy pieces of the channels, or whole kits with all of them. Try Jeep Panels Plus or D.L. Bensinger I believe.

http://www.jeepanelsplus.com (call, website broken)
http://www.dlbensinger.com/

 

bought some from www.eastwood.com also have had it bent up a local sheet metal shop

 

I have a 61 cj5 and need to replace the hat Channel on the driver side, it appears they are spot welded, is there a write up on how to remove the channels?

 

Remove body. Place upside down or on side on floor. Drill through spot welds. Remove old hat channels. Weld on new channels.

Maybe a little flip, but that's basically it. You can try to do it with the body in place... possible but probably easier just to remove the body. The only way to deal with spot welds is to drill them out. You can use a regular drill or a purpose-made spot weld cutter. Harbor Freight has a cheap one http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?category=&q=spot+weld+cutter or try Eastwood Company or any paint/auto body retailer.

 

Thanks timgr,
Not flip at all, when you’re new to this stuff it can be intimidating. A little advice goes a long way to help a novice. Thanks for the link to Harbor Freight.

 

On the CJ-6 I used 1"x2" rectangle tube. I think .095" wall or .120" wall. Worked well also. If you're going for a correct restoration then the ones from Classic Enterprises or Jeep Panels plus should work well.