Rust in hatch area

Floor is under them…on a non-rusted Z31 atleast.

Thats what i figured but just in case wanted to check. Do you know why they were put there?

And thank you

I know this is an old post, but Did you ever figure out a way to remove those metal panels? I have been searching the net for this with no success. If anyone has done this in the past, any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Remove whats left of the #2 phillips head screws that attach them. Then start at one corner and begin prying. They are attached with a sound deadening/seam sealer type adhesive that attaches them very well
to the metal beneath. Some have even removed the larger panel by carefully cutting it into chunks with a cutoff wheel and prying it up in pieces.

You could help the adhesive release a lot by covering the panels with dry ice and letting it chill for awhile then whacking it a few times all over with a mallet. This makes the adhesive very brittle and it then may release easier with a flat pry bar or putty scraper. It's the same method used for removing thick undercoating or the interior sound deadening applied beneath the carpeting.

Thank you so much! That’s exactly what I needed. Do you know what they are for? If I take them off, do I need to replace them? Mine, especially under the toolbox is rusted. It seems solid, so I was going to grind it down and paint, but then I got concerned that the underside of the plate may be rusty too, the reason I want to take it off.

Mine were rusted as well. I think they put the metal plates over the sound deadening material to keep the foam from either wearing against it or just sticking to it.
There is nothing they are covering other than more sheetmetal. I removed the metal plates and scraped all the black crap off. The metal beneath was then sanded to bare
metal and treated with a rust treatment, primer and then sealed with seam sealer before repainting.