Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi,

Has anyone tried to sillicone the edges of the kick plates (beneath the doors) to the bottom of the b post and door pillar or even b post and c post on a 4dr. I have no choice but to keep my mog on the drive, and check the side chassis every six months. However, I have been repainting the side chassis this week, and the amount of standing water that catches in the side chassis is stupid. Is sillicone the kick plate the answer?

Appologies for spelling in advance.

I suggest good ventilation is the best answer - and drain holes where there is water ingress.

And spray plenty of dinitrol 3125 inside the sills. This will stop the inside of the sills from rusting.

I've not tried the silicone idea, but I'm amazed that I haven't thought of it - it sounds brilliant. Of course having drain holes, rust proofer, and ventilation is essential, but stopping the water in the first place is even better. If the car is used daily then any water that does get in "should" slop around and get out of the drain holes. I'm off with the silicone gun now.

Sillicone-ing up the sill covers are a very bad idea for a few very good reasons:-

1. The sill structure needs to dry out and trying to seal it off will inhibit drying airflow. Water will still get in and when it does will take a lot longer due to the sillicone seal to dry up. Hence silliconeing in the sill covers could actually encourage rust- plus the sillicone won't last. It is designed for household sealing duties, not automotive. Great for sealing shower units and UPVC windows, kitchen work surfaces where the join does not move, but not good for automotive use where the silliconed joint will be subject to vibration, movement and flexing, thus cracks will develop water will get in and the situation will be worse than non-silliconed sills.

2. Maintainence is the key to stopping rust and if you seal up the sill covers this will dis- encourage tha annual, clean up/ paint/ re- dinitroling that is essential to keep the sills healthy.

It is a fit and forget strategy in keeping with disposable modern cars- old cars are designed with maintainance in mind. Plus I don't think the gaps around the sill covers are tight enough to enable a good sillicone bond.

Oh, and as classic cars often get bits re-painted, sillicone is the last thing you need to be applying to your vehicle as sillcones are notorious for horrendous paint reactions.

Possibly second only to filling your sills and B pillar with expanding foam for home DIY techniques-applied-to-the-car gone wrong.

I've never seen standing water in there, plenty of rust though which suggests some moisture can get in there.
Water from the gutter should run down the outside edge of the front door post I think.
If there is something causing it to flow down the rear (hinge) side and into the sill a small bead of silicon to direct it to the outside edge might be a good idea.
A quick experiment with a glass of water into the gutter should tell a tale.

Even better, drill some drain holes then use a screwdriver or rod to make an approximation of the right shape which is like a small round rear facing louvre.

I had a two door saloon once, which the previous owner had run for years without the kick plates on at all.The sills were in as new condition!

Hi all,

an interesting mixed reaction. I expected as much.
Through my recent experiment I have noticed the water holding as the boxing plate meets the outer sill, more in the middle of the door area than the edges. Whilst the drain holes help towards the ends I am not convinced the water once in the middle of the panel travels from the middle to the ends. I may be tempted to try it on one side for a year and see how it goes. I'll let you know.

I have used a sealer on the kick plates to good effect, It was windscreen sealer rather than silicone. I removed the plates years after doing this and was amazed how well the paintwork underneath had kept. I had however treated the whole area with wayoyl prior to sealing the plates.

Silicone is a no no. It gives of acetic acid (vinegar smell) that will eat into your paint work.

If you are going to do it get something automotive rather than household.

J

Will need to have a look at products out on the market then. How about a panel sealant like they use for modern cars - between wings/inner wing?

Maybe we need to fit downpipes?
If you look at modern cars they don't even have gutters.
They rely on design and better seals on doors and windows to keep the water out.
Certainly touch glass window seals are a good start.

I'm sure JLH do these?

Downpipes?
How about hopper heads?