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TR2/3/3A Off [with] my rocker

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M

Member 10617

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I think I am going to have to bite the bullet and replace my rocker panels. They look OK on the outside, but are rusting progressively on the inside (sometimes through). I have treated the interiors with chemicals, but that is only stop-gap.

Any advice, guidance, cautions will be greatly appreciated.
 
I did my outer rockers with parts from TRF a few months ago. They fit well except they had no curvature to match the door. The depth at the back was perfect but it was much too wide to go beneath the front fenders, so I made longitudinal cuts top & bottom tapering from just the width of a cutoff wheel halfway back to maybe 3/16" at the front and tacked that together. I didn't finish weld those gaps until the rockers were welded to the car to avoid distortion. A little trimming was necessary around the door hinge upright too. It came out very well. You'll be taking the front fenders & doors on and off several times to make sure things line up.

If you're talking about inner rockers that's a different story - I'm glad I didn't need to do that!
Andy
 
Thanks AHS. The idea of having to take the front fenders and doors on and off several times leads me to thin, that perhaps I will wait until things get a whole lot worse than they are now.... and then let a professional shop do the work. I think (have thought all along) that this job is beyond me.

Thanks, again.
 
Replacing an inner rocker structurally seperates each end of the tub. Beforehand the tub has to be braced exactly in position or the door gaps end up a mess. Replacing one side at a time keeps a reference point as to the correct component overlaps.

As noted, the inner rockers rust from the inside out, usually showing as holes along the bottom. At that point or even before, the integrity of the tub is compromised. It's worth removing the footwell side covers and inspecting the bottom of the A pillar connection to the inner rocker. Rust problems there caused by damp silt build-up over winter is also structural. After a few years it's amazing what hoses out of that cavity. Nowadays with mainly weekend usage, I prefer to leave the covers off so the cavity can be regularly cleaned out, but any speaker cutout has to be sealed so water doesn't get in cabin. Another option is to remove just the bottom of the covers for garden hose access.

By comparison outer rockers are a much simpler to replace, or at least they were when NOS was available with the matching curve to the bottom of the doors.

Viv
 
Going through the process right now, it's not too pleasant, of course I have had to replaced both inner and outer sills on both sides as I am doing a frame off restore. The inner sills weren't too difficult, but alignment of door gap to outer sills and front fender seams is quite a chore. As AHS states it's a ritual with doors and fenders on/off. The outer sills for me are the most difficult. I started at the B post and got the gaps properly set but I've really got a problem aligning the sill to bottom of the door gap. The outer sills don't fit over the inner sill and when the gap is aligned at the rear with door, rear 1/4 panel & sill, the gap between the door and the sill at the A post is wider than the rear. Since the sill is a compound bend (U shaped) there is no easy way to slit and re-form as AHS did. As of yet I've not figured out how I'm going to accomplish it. I have to also replace the lower part of the front wing with a Moss repair panel and getting the inner fender curve and door/fender gap correct is a process that I'm not looking forward to either. As Viv stated the sills are flat and need to be matched to the door curve. I wish that was all there was to it.

Bert
 
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