Sill Repairs

[Carl Reading]

So MOT beginning of May got an advisory on rust local to rear sub frame mounts. Took car into a body shop today and news is not good. Guy in body shop thought it ought to have been an outright fail. Any way car needs 2 new sills plus some welding around the sub-frame mount on off side.
First question as guide any idea what the cost is likely to be - just so I can check I'm not being ripped off when I get the quote.
Secondly on Rimmer Bros they have a full sill at £163 or a quick-fit repair sill at £47.50. What is the difference and is the cheaper one worth bothering with?

[dasadrew]

post moved from technical submission area to main forum

[len]

full sill goes behind front wing , so involves partial removal of front wing ....the proper job
quick fit doesnt go behind wing...not a proper job
full sill is a lot of work expect a largish bill
Len

[mole42]

Either way, the sill is only the outer part. There is the inner piece to patch where it meets the floor and there should be an inner sill between the two. It may not be there, seems one or two members have more flexible cars with only the inner and outer sills.
The parts your MOT man failed are a significant part of the vehicle structure.
Richard

[jakesmig]

Depends on how much damage there is. If the full sill has serious problems it needs replaced, if the problem is local there is no point doing anything other than local repair.. As Len points out, to replace the full sill involves a repair panel at least to the front wing, The A & B post bases will also be disturbed during sill removal and replacement and the base of the rear panel may be cut off during removal of the sill, Depends how carefull the repairer is, he may just cut and stitch or he may carefully remove metal to expose the spot welds and remove the sill carefully off the adjacent panel by grinding off the spot welds, which means the adjacent panel might not be affected.

If the sill ends are rotten then the bases of the inner wheel arch is probably suspect, front and back.

There are many cans of worms out there, and opening one tends to reveal another one.

I know because I went there and ran the course, others baulk and that is where restoration projects spring from.

Find out if the inner wheel arches need work done, and if so are they included in the price. Inner arch panels can be bought, but are generally a poor fit and need fettled, which involves labour costs. Also, there are no closer panels at the lower point of the arches and special panels need made up to overcome this.

I had a posting on my resto, "Here's one I started yesterday............" , pictures in #113 show the filler plates.

Good luck with it.

John

[richardthestag]

photos of the impacted areas are going to help.

if the bottom edge of the inner and outer sill front to back is good then maybe get away with some localised repairs seam welded in.

Beware though once you start picking at that scab etc etc.

many restorations have started by touching in a rust spot on the front panel