Rust on the inside of the sills (few questions)

[hanvyj]

I've been meaning to respray my car for a few years now, and I've finally begun stripping it to paint, or at least prepare for painting. Slowly been gathering an air compressor, spray gun, winch (for removing the engine) and I'm about ready to go.

I just ground off the sill plate bolts and while at first glance it looked like really good condition, the panel that makes up the floor actually looks really rusty. Almost all the panels look quite good from the outside:



But looking inside, there's some chunky rust:



As I'll be removing the engine, interior, doors, glass (seals need replacing anyway) I was wondering whether it would be worth rolling the shell over so I can strip the underside of all it's crusty old underseal, and spray it with some nice fresh paint anyway.

Now, it looks like I might need to replace these panels? Does anyone have any recommendations for what kind of welder I'll need to get. MIG? How thick is the steel here? Don't have a lot of spare cash at the moment, as I'm going to be in-between jobs for a few weeks (time I was planning to spend spraying!). The panels look really cheap, but a welder will probably set me back £350 (mask, Co2, regulator, welder).

Is it possible to replace just the floor edges, but not the boxing panel, or anything else (looking at this picture). Are the "floor edge panel" separate panels to the floor itself?:



It really is just the "floor edge panel" that's in bad condition (from what I can tell).

Also, the winch I've got for the engine is rated to 250kg. I've got an old mattress, does anyone know the weight of the shell without doors, engine, and interior? It'll make my life easier if I could roll it with a winch onto it's side with the old mattress to protect it. Might take the wings off.

[ManyMinors]

The boxing panels look to be in amazing condition and I certainly wouldn't consider replacing them. Have a poke around and see if you can make holes in the underfloor panels. If you can, then they should be replaced. If you cannot, then a good clean out and rustproofing will keep it going for many years yet. That looks a very sound car!

Certainly the underside repair panels can be replaced as individual sections. Again, once you've done so, thorough rustproofing is important.
My advice would be to purchase good quality British made repair panels. If you do all the preparation, cutting out etc, you might find a local garage/welder who will do the welding for you cheaply but if you buy a mig welder now, you will have it for future projects as well. The mid-range Clarke welders are good value.

Good luck with it!

[Mark Wilson]

Not the worst I've seen, but some replacement needed. The diagram isn't labelled all that well - the floor was originally one piece, with the main internal sill step section, the one which is usually carpeted, spot welded to it from above, and the outer sill welded to its edge flange. The floor extensions were part of the main floor, but are now available as front and rear replacement panels.These are the ones which you appear to need, but you may find that the sill step and boxing panel flanges may also need repair.

Replace each piece one by one rather than cutting it all out. You'll need to brace the opening up before rolling.

I paid £70 for a very old Clarke MIG and it's still going after six years of a total rebuild. (Which started as a sill repair.....)

Mark

[hanvyj]

The boxing panels look to be in amazing condition and I certainly wouldn't consider replacing them.

I know! I was really surprised how good they are compared to the floor of the sill. I think the car had been stored for a long time, so maybe there was some sitting water inside that didn't get jostled around much so the rust is really focused.

My advice would be to purchase good quality British made repair panels.

The bull-motif do UK made parts, can anyone recommend them? Looks like these are the ones I need:

http://www.morrisminorspares.net/shop_item.php?ID=2813

Just won an auction for an old SIP welder for £100 - but it includes a gas bottle which looks like it would set me back at least £70 or so. I may upgrade to a nice Clark one when I've got a bit to spend or a good deal comes up. But hopefully it'll get me started.

You'll need to brace the opening up before rolling.

I'll probably do it anyway, but are you saying I'd need to brace the opening (between the doors) before rolling even if I've not cut out any panels? I was thinking of rolling and then cutting (but given it's on the edge of the car, it might actually be easier with it on the ground...)

[firedrake1942]

I would always brace before rolling, even if you leave the doors in, but vital if you have taken them out. both across the car and in the door frames. Any weakness in the structure - and you cannot see everything - you run the risk of twisting

[hanvyj]

I would always brace before rolling, even if you leave the doors in, but vital if you have taken them out. both across the car and in the door frames. Any weakness in the structure - and you cannot see everything - you run the risk of twisting

Great, will definitely do it. Glad you pointed it out, I was planning to brace before cutting anything but didn't consider rolling.

[kennatt]

have you got a photo of the underside of the sill,looks like it may have been plated over ,its a common bodge strip of steel welded to the floor pan and to the flange on the outer undersill. looks like a length of welding wire poking up through it,(best way to describe the sections as inner and outer undersills).Don't cut anything on the sill before welding a good brace between the bottom of the door gap,it will sag otherwise.you may find that once you start to try to cut the old inner undersill the outer gets damaged and you can't mate the new with the old,so be prepared for replacing both inner and outer.

[ManyMinors]

When I replaced all the sill structure of my Minor saloon I bought all the panels from Bull Motif Spares and was very happy with them. I had to make a few small alterations but the quality and price were very good.
I didn't remove the doors from my car so I could check alignment as I went along and didn't do any bracing whatever but nothing moved out of line and everything fitted back together perfectly well afterwards. They are a strong car provided you don't take TOO much metal out!

[hanvyj]

have you got a photo of the underside of the sill,looks like it may have been plated over ,its a common bodge strip of steel welded to the floor pan and to the flange on the outer undersill. looks like a length of welding wire poking up through it,(best way to describe the sections as inner and outer undersills).Don't cut anything on the sill before welding a good brace between the bottom of the door gap,it will sag otherwise.you may find that once you start to try to cut the old inner undersill the outer gets damaged and you can't mate the new with the old,so be prepared for replacing both inner and outer.

I was thinking this, notice the welding wire! The drain holes are there though, and I poked the bit with he most rust and it went through and poked through the underneath, so seems like it's single layer... I'll find out for sure when I started cutting bits out.

Are these the parts I need:

http://www.morrisminorspares.com/body-i ... de-p828488

http://www.morrisminorspares.com/body-i ... de-p828489

Edit: looks like these are the upper sills which are fine, I need the floor edges

[hanvyj]

One other thing, I was thinking of rolling the car, would it be easier to weld this with the car on its side or not? I.e. is most the welding from underneath?