hole in the sill...thoughts?

[cmacmillan]

The passenger-side sill has a hole roughly the size of two golf balls side-by-side. It looks like a jacking mishap as the inner sill looks quite good and the rest of the car doesn't have much in the way of holed rust. Any thoughts on patching a rocker and at what point is the hole too big to patch and must be completely replaced?

(I'd post a pic but the car's in Canada and I'm in Scotland...just making my list of to-dos!)

 

[YankeeTR]

patch it...

 

[DougF]

Is your sill original? If not, now is as good a time to as any replace. Water can easily get passed the rubber seals and cause this rust, especially after the rubber deteriorates with age. Corrosion can be accelerated if the panel was not treated on the inside. There could be more rust under the front fender. Check this area before making your final decision.
If the panel is a replacement, wait until the end of the driving season and put a new one on.
If it is original and you want to keep it, you might be fixing one hole that is 4-5 times the size of the two existing holes.
Regardless of the choice you make, treat the inside of the panel with a corrosion inhibitor, making sure not to clog the drain holes.
The outside gets painted body color and is then chip coated up to the trim piece.
Sills are inexpensive and fairly easy to replace. They fit well, although not exactly the same as original. The biggest difference being the joint at the front fender.

 

[cmacmillan]

Is your sill original?

At present, most, if not all of the car is original, save for oil filters and such. I'd like to keep it that way if possible but realize that something might have to give.

Does having the original sill in place mean anything more than just originality?

 

[YankeeTR]

There was a post here recently showiing how poorly a TR6 repro rocker panel fit and it required much tiime to get it to fit correctly. A repair is much faster, the material is of a heavier gauge than a Taiwan panel and the car keeps more of its origional integrity.

Do what you can to rust proof the rocker after the repair.

 

[TR6oldtimer]

One really does not know how badly rusted the rockers are until you start poking around. This entails removing the trim strip, front fender, and tar coating on the lower part of the rocker.

The thumbnail below of the car does not look to bad. (click on images to enlarge)


However, once the trim strip tar coating was removed, a different story (the holes were enlarged so I could look inside)


Here you can see the rust had expanded well below what was originally visible.


As mentioned by another, you need to remove the front fender to get a good look at the forward part of the rocker. The picture below show rust holes on the lower part. This rust damage continued forward along the under side.




In addition to the under side, the top of the rocker was also holed by rust, as was the lower part of the "A" post.






Replacement rockers are about $100, but require a great deal of metal shaping to get them to fit and look right. Not a task for the uninitiated.

If your damage is not as severe as mine, that is localized to the lower part of the rocker, I'd patch it and drive.

 

[YankeeTR]

One really does not know how badly rusted the rockers are until you start poking around. This entails removing the trim strip, front fender, and tar coating on the lower part of the rocker.

The thumbnail below of the car does not look to bad. (click on images to enlarge)


However, once the trim strip tar coating was removed, a different story (the holes were enlarged so I could look inside)


Here you can see the rust had expanded well below what was originally visible.


As mentioned by another, you need to remove the front fender to get a good look at the forward part of the rocker. The picture below show rust holes on the lower part. This rust damage continued forward along the under side.




In addition to the under side, the top of the rocker was also holed by rust, as was the lower part of the "A" post.






Replacement rockers are about $100, but require a great deal of metal shaping to get them to fit and look right. Not a task for the uninitiated.

If your damage is not as severe as mine, that is localized to the lower part of the rocker, I'd patch it and drive.

That about sez it all...great reply!

 

[cmacmillan]

Those pictures haunt my dreams! I guess the fenders come off and we'll go from there.

Thanks...good to know there's some hope for the original sills...I've read some of the replacement fitting horror stories.

 

[billspit]

Can you get OEM sills? That's what I got for my Spitfire and they were fantastic. Rear fenders too. The rear valance was aftermarket and total crap. The two sides are not the same. I welded it on before I checked to see how it lined up with the fenders. Killed my spirit for years until my daughter finally got me going again.

 

[TR6oldtimer]

Can you get OEM sills?

Nope, from what I could determine, only after market rockers are available for the 4,5,250, and 6. Close but no cigars. To make my point, when looking at TR4-6's as they come up for sale, just take a look at the rockers where the meet the fenders. You will be shocked at how poorly some are fitted.