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Sill Replacment

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John Moore

John Moore

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I thought I would show you guys what I've been up too. This winter my plan was to strip my car and get it painted. I knew the outer rockers had been replaced, but what I didn't know what that the inner sills had a bodged repair job and were rusting inside out. So anyway. I'm doing a complete sill replacement as well as replacing both floor pans. I'm teaching myself to weld at the same time. I've gotten both floor plans removed as well as having the right sill cut out. Just this week, I've aligned and replaced the right inner sill and last night welded in the new castle rail Here's what it looks like. (see attachment)
 

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Looks good. Welcome to the club (see attachments)! Be prepared to take endless hours to get your door gaps straight.
 

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John,

Well obviosly you got the right sources for teaching yourself to weld. Any hints in that department?
 
Scott,

I had to do a double take on your photo! I assume your door has the outer skin removed! But yes, I've keep the door gap and other measurements consistant, I'm sure realigining it will a bear. And yes, I have lovely speaker holes in the bulk head, I will weld them up shortly.

Radford,

The best advice I can give, it to get a MIG and start making sparks! I bought a few books, talked to guys and got a general idea of what I was doing, but welding is something that just takes alot a practice. My seams have gotten better, but in general they are ugly. So I've also gotten real good with the angle grinder! lol!
 
ah.. the wonders of sill replacement..
if anyone is interested, a friend of mine has started his amatuer sill replacement on his 73B and has a good set of photos of the work done thus far. https://tj.lhc-group.com/
Scroll down on the left navigation box to the photo galleries link.
 
Guy,

Your friend had a much worse starting point than I. Oooh, his was really nice and crispy. Mine was well hidden but insidious none the less.
 
[ QUOTE ]

Oooh, his was really nice and crispy. Mine was well hidden but insidious none the less.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's amazing how crispy the inner gets, while the outer looks fine. Mine looked reasonable from the outside, but this is what lurked underneath...
 

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I'm doing the same thing right now. Guy, tell your buddy not to lose heart. Mine looked about the same as his. I've got one side completed and one to go. Wish me luck. The downside of this is that I just(yesterday) found a complete rolling chassis with no rust, needing only floor pans for $100 here in Charlotte, NC. If I had known about this 3 months ago, I'd probably be driving the car by now! Oh well.....
 
When this all started, I looked high and low for a better shell with out any luck. The ones I found were a compromise in some way or another. What I find is crazy is that I hear they crush good shells in California, cause they can't find homes for them. Oh well, at least I will know what I got when I'm done. I'm just hoping I will get my car back sometime later this summer.
 
One more tip, make sure you refit the front fenders and the hood. You'll need to align the three screws/bolts that connect the fender to the sill. I used small socket head cap screws in case I ever need to get them out again (the screws rust away).

And dont forget the Waxoyl.
 
Well, I have gone over everything but the bodywork and rebuilt the front and rear suspensions, installed a new carpet and have leather for the seats to put on now...and I really do wish I had redone the sloppy job on the the sills and lower body before. You guy will have no regrets, I bet /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Bruce /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
 
Scott,

Did you put in the Waxoyl before you welded up the inner seal? Is it flamable or would be damaged by the welding process?
 
No, I didn't spray Waxoyl until after the car was painted. I figured it would probably burn, as it reeks of petroleum. The last thing I wanted was a sill flambe'. When you get to this point, warm the stuff up in a bucket of near boiling water. You want it really, really thin when you spray it. You might want to keep a small access hole in your side bulkbeads to spray Waxoyl down onto the forward sill "ledges" under the fenders.

What I did instead is scuff sand and etch prime all of the Heritage/Steelcraft panels inside and out before welding them up. And I coated whatever didn't show with POR15 or Corroless before and after welding/grinding (i.e. the inside of the outer sill, both sides of the vertical membrane, the inside of the rails bracing the floor pan, castle rail, etc).

One more tip, I used an additional pair of jack braces (the little triangular piece that sits above the jack point) to further brace the sill (3 total). I didnt fit jack points and didnt want a kink in my new sills when someone jacked under the sill with a floor jack.

Dont know about you, but this is a job I don't EVER want to do again!
 
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Dont know about you, but this is a job I don't EVER want to do again!

[/ QUOTE ]

That's a huge understatement!

Good tip on the braces, those are fairly cheap, or maybe I could fob up a few... they don't need to be pretty!

I'll probably do like you said, scuff it up or sand, the treat with POR-15. Then after it's done, squirt wayoyl or similar in the holes in the castle rail.

Thanks,
 
ROADSTRTR6, send me an email at lbcnut@aol.com. I live in Charlotte and might be interested in that car if you didn't snag it. Are you a member of the Metrolina MG Car Club? If not, you really should join as it is loads of fun and at some times, a real lifesaver. I also might know someone with some knockoff minilites for sale. Thanks, James
 
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