Not that I've done this job yet but...
I was watching an episode of "Trucks" on TNN a few weeks ago and they
were replacing the sills and floors on a Willys. They tacked welded a
couple of square tubes accross the door openings just above the sills
and near the top of the door. They also taked a couple in an x pattern
accross the inside of the cockpit. It seemed to make a whole lot of
sense to do this to maintain the original alignment of the body.
Comments?
Michael P. Ohleger wrote:
>
> Bill,
>
> There are many schools of thought here. One problem that you face is that you
> ARE dealing with the structural integrity of the car when you replace the
> sills. I have experience where one side of the car was nearly 2 inches longer
> than the other due to a DPO bodge job, but that's another story. You are far
> wiser to replace the sills and repair cross member first, then tackle the
>floors
> last. The importance is that the car will be "true" before you insert the
> floors, which makes for a much easier installation. The cross member should
>be
> probed carefully, what looks like surface rust can go all the way through.
> Frankly, when it comes to structural welding, I'd leave that to a professional
> shop. That way you should get a guarentee and can rest assured that the
> integrity of the car (and the weld) isn't compromised. As far as the doors
>are
> concerned, if you are DIY, leave'em on. Alignment of the body is easier.
> You'll note that the Haynes book shows all of this work being done in a
> professional shop, that's why the doors are off, since they have the skills
>and
> the tools to accomplish the tasks at hand. Just my 2 cents worth.
>
> Michael Ohleger
> 67 MGB
> 70 MGB
> 61 MGA
>
> Scotsman wrote:
>
> > I have just purchased my first LBC! It is a '68 B Roadster, British Racing
> > Green.
> >
> > The car has the typical rot in the sills, floorboards and around the exhaust
> > notch on the crossmember.
> >
> > My questions:
> >
> > I just got Lindsay Porter's restoration manual (renamed Haynes Restoration
> > Manual). In the book, they replace the sills with the old floorboards in
> > place. Is this necessary to maintain the "structural integrity" of the car?
> > It would seem much easier to work on the sills if the floorboards were
> > removed first. Also, it has been suggested that the door be left on the
> > car, to make aligning the parts easier. Does this make sense? In Porter's
> > book, they have the door removed.
> >
> > As I mentioned, the crossmember is rotted around the exhaust pipe notch on
> > the crossmember. The rot "seems" to be localized there. The rest of the
> > crossmember seems to have bad surface rust, but not rotted thru. Should the
> > entire crossmember be replaced, or would this problem be a candidate for a
> > patch? If the crossmember needs to be replaced, is this a job that should
> > be done by a body shop? If not, would I be best off replacing the
> > crossmember before or after I do the sills?
> >
> > I have only been a member of this fine list for about 2 weeks and I do
> > apologized for repeating a question that I am sure has been quite thoroughly
> > discussed prior to my joining the list. (I can't seem to find a digest of
> > past postings).
> >
> > Thank you,
> > Bill Lawson
> > Long Island, NY
> >
> > P.S. If there are any list members in my area that have undertaken this job
> > in the past please email me. Any support would be appreciated. Especially
> > since my wife now really thinks I have gone over the deep end!
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