Please would someone be able to advise on the hazards in replacing the front door pillar. In particular, how structural is it?
I would like to replace the whole caboodle, but am a bit worried about the interface with the sill, ie when I cut/drill out the hinge pillar, is the whole side of the car going to sag?
I'm reluctant to just cut and fill the obviously grotty bits since I'm going to all the trouble of removing the wing/sill cover etc anyway.
If the under door sill structure is in good condition then you should
have no trouble, especially as you have the roof adding to the
strength. If in any doubt then use several jacks to brace the
car so that the door is sitting'squarely'in the aperture when closed.
I assume that you are referring to the hinge pillar section?
Removing just this section should give no problems but you need
to mark alignment points for the hinge mounts very carefully first.
It doesn't take much misalignment to make door refitting very
difficult. AND, don't forget to transfer the sliding threaded hinge
plates to the new part before you start welding it!!!!(it's been done).
The hinge pillar section is welded to the A post and is available as
a separate item.
thanks for the help. You're right about the hinge plates. My first experience of Minors was to help change hinge pins. Yes, we took the door off and clang - the wonderful sound of the bottom hinge plate falling to the bottom of the pillar.
(luckily? the pillar was so rusted, I could put my fingers up inside to hold the plate in place.
what I might do is remove the wing/door and see just how far the rust has got. I may be able to use a repair panel- the crumbly part is around the hinges themselves. New sills/floor were done about 4 years ago - then someone must have run out of money or patience.
