11 replies to this topic

[Penfold13]

Hello,

 

I’ve just purchased a mini which is a project but not in horrendous condition. Lots of work to do, so expect plenty if questions in the near future…

 

The car has had a lot of welding by the previous owner where they’ve replaced both the inner and outer sill, packing the intermediary space with a dense, black foam product. I know this as they didn’t refit heel plates! Unfortunately they also used oversills rather than standard sills. I’ve faith both were done based on pictures, might be disappointed, and the car hasn’t been on the road/outside since so I’m optimistic that there won’t be any appreciable hidden corrosion.

 

I plan on getting some standard sills and heel plates to get the car into a better state. A few questions to help me out:

 

- Which sills are the most appropriate to buy? 

- What’s the best guidance to follow? All I’ve found are dealing with corrosion, hopefully it doesn’t apply here.

 

My rough plan is to cut out the oversill, remove the foam, prime and paint internal surfaces (both sills), weld together and then prep/finish with external paint.

 

Any advice, links etc will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Chris

[mab01uk]

The fact that oversills have been fitted means it is quite likely you will find corrosion as they are usually fitted to cheaply cover up rusty original sills and sections of the outer floor edges.

Which new replacement sills are the most appropriate for you to buy, will probably not be clear until you have removed the oversills to reveal the full exent of any corrosion beneath and what is required to repair the area.

 

The thread linked below is a useful reference if you have not seen it.

 

Oversills, What They Are And Why You Want To Avoid Them:-

https://www.theminif...-to-avoid-them/

 

The 'Mini-Machine catalogue' in link below shows a good selection of their different sills and repair panels available:-

http://www.m-machine...s Catalogue.pdf

 

Edited by mab01uk, 07 December 2024 - 09:41 AM.

[sonikk4]

Oversills although they got many a car through a MOT over the years were purely a cover panel so structurally incorrect.

So to your car and this is going from experience, I had oversills on Paddy ( see him in my signature) and although none of the horrendous damage you see on many a car fitted with these, there was a lot of pitting damage. Now I put up with this for a while, treated and painted and new short sills fitted and it lasted for my needs until the full body resto.

So the best thing moving forward now is to replace the inner ills to first flute which handily M Machine supply and I highly rate these. Please bear in mind though it’s a lot of work to replace these properly. However if the rest of the floor pan is bad and you do not want to do multiple repairs then you may want to consider replacing the whole floor.

So providing the floor is good then have a look at Project Paddy in my signature as you will see a step by step replacement of these very panels. The one thing you need to do which I didn’t is to remove the seat crossmember to get the best access possible. Do it carefully and you can reuse the crossmember.

[Penfold13]

Thanks both, really usedul information.

 

mab01uk - I’d not seen the mini-machines catalogue before, that’s very useful.

 

Sonikk4 - that’s a beautiful car and the sill pictures have got my head around a few bits, thank you.

 

When I asked which sills I wasn’t clear, I meant which brand is best? I’ve seen quite a few now at various prices, which are the best value for money?

 

Thanks again. 

[sonikk4]

Thanks both, really usedul information.

 

mab01uk - I’d not seen the mini-machines catalogue before, that’s very useful.

 

Sonikk4 - that’s a beautiful car and the sill pictures have got my head around a few bits, thank you.

 

When I asked which sills I wasn’t clear, I meant which brand is best? I’ve seen quite a few now at various prices, which are the best value for money?

 

Thanks again. 

 

M Machine own pressed items are very good, good thickness and well formed.

 

Heritage are the top of the pile but to be honest i would go with M Machine's own ones everytime.

[sonikk4]

Inner sill to first groove.

11.31.04.37 Floor Inner Sill to First Groove, LH £42.00 £50.40  11.31.04.38 Floor Inner Sill to First Groove, RH £42.00 £50.40

 

Outer sill

14.32.00.01 Sill, LH, Mk3-on, 6 Flute £25.00 £30.00 14.32.00.02 Sill, RH, Mk3-on, 6 Flute £25.00 £30.00

 

However when calling to talk to Doreen (the font of all panel info, DO NOT Email) you can ask her who's product is who's.

[Penfold13]

Fantastic, thank you both again!

[Cooperman]

M-Machine do a complete inner sill/outer sill sub-assembly, all welded correctly and incorporating the jacking point.

It's easy to fit and comes with quite a bit of floor as well which you simply rebate to suit your car.

It saves a lot of time and a lot of welding, added to which it looks absolutely correct and original.

[Penfold13]

I’m watching lots of youtube videos and preparing to do some chopping, hopefully before the week is out. Will know how far I’ll have to go then in terms of new parts etc!

 

Thanks all.

[sonikk4]

I would recommend removing the companion bins, they are spot welded in. This will give you all the access you will need to get right into the heelboard.

While you are in that location and providing you are not replacing the heelboard ( still pertinent even then) add some additional weld to the captive nuts on the heelboard. Stops the buggers from spinning.

You’ll thank me later.

[coopertaz]

another recomendation for me from m. machine always use either them or heritage. have had pattern sills with a curve in them before. as stated above remove comapnion bins it makes for a much easier job to plug weld sills on. if the floor is bad a full floor may seem daunting but not too bad so long as you brace the shell.

[Penfold13]

sonikk4, on 10 Dec 2024 - 7:30 PM, said:
add some additional weld to the captive nuts on the heelboard. Stops the buggers from spinning.

 add some additional weld to the captive nuts on the heelboard. Stops the buggers from spinning.

I’ve seen this mentioned in a few spots so definitely part of the planned work!

 

Thanks all.