1975 2200 SC auto project.

S

sawdustcaeser

New Member
this is my first restoration project. i have posted a few threads about it here and there but i thought it would be nice if i could keep it altogether.

it has been a very steep learning curve. i have no experience, bought a MIG welder and grinder..... and set too!!

I starterd the project at the OS rear sill area which was very badly corroded.

this is the condition of the cover plate:

PICT0144.jpg


which was removed to show a reasonably complete inner wing:

innersill.jpg


and floor section

PICT0159.jpg


i (foolishly) decided to repair the small hole in the inner wing, which blew the hole bigger.... resulting in me trying to weld a patch to it:

patch.jpg


i then realised that in cleaning the sill back to bright metal i had given it the consistency of tin foil. so i decided to hack it back to good metal and weld in some patches. which i did:

]

PICT0044.jpg


PICT0040.jpg


PICT0259.jpg



pretty eh? i was still blowing hole in the car, and not penetrating the new metal. i was advised that this was due to trying to weld 1.8mm plate to 1mm steel. what a dork :(

so i non too cheerfully cut the whole lot out, and a bit more and tried again.
 
When welding on to the tin foil like metal, I find that if you test the area with the torch first. Obviously if it burns holes you need to go further back.

Colin
 
Attempt number two. Arthuy, i remember you giving me similar advice in another thread, and that's exactly what i did.. cheers mate!! i have also enrolled on city and guilds welding course which i have to say, is only of limited value because it usually involves welding 3mm steel plate :(

i'm afraid there aren't many picture in this post because my camara broke at the time......

i decided to drilll out the spot welds where the floor meets the chasis rail and weld a folded repair panel to the inner sill. i also made a new strengthening peice, see diagram below

PICT0078-1.jpg


Before i started I had to make a reapair patch to the chasis rail. it had rusted where it meets the bottom corner of the sill closing panel (if that makes sense).

i plug welded the floor through the flange on the chasis rail, then seam welded from underneath. welding upside down is a dark art. to be honest, the strength was already in the weld, it was just to try and make it water tight. the join to the inner sill was butt welded. two local rapir patches were also required to the floor near the b/c post area.

innersillsideandfloor.jpg


the most difficult part was completing the box in the rear wheel arch. i eventually cut a piece of steel to fit, and then hammered the ends of the sill round to make a water tight seal. it's a bit messy, but seems very strong which is what i am aiming for at this point.

finishedinnersillend.jpg


the strengthening panel was put in after i had treated the steel with zinc primer. again it would have been neater but i forgot to put a flange on the bottom of it which looks a bit ugly.

PICT0084.jpg


it needs to be sprayed with some scarab blue paint, and then have that "stuff" applied.

:laugh:

DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT THAT BLACK STICKY GOO IS? Is it ordinary seam sealer? is it underseal, or is it some other form of mastick? Rover managed to get it on quite uniformly so oi'd like to complete with as original a finish as possible.

I have now moved to the front o/s sill area. more to follow.
 
I have been planning to send out the rust repair work on my TC. There is a good local shop, but his estimate is in excess of $1000 US. I'm a little afraid to learn welding, but your pictures are very encourageing. The benefit to do-it- yourself, is that you can be picky and get all the spots, whereas if you ask a professional to get it all, the price will quickly double or triple.
 
looks like a good job done there, welding is just a skill the more you do the better you will get.

Colin
 
i amm busy doing repairs to theo/s front sill area and drivers footwell. there were several holes in the floor where rust had developed under the seam where the middle sill is spot welded to the floor.

PICT0147.jpg


PICT0148.jpg


DOES ANYONE KNOW THE PURPOSE OF THIS WELDED ON BRACKET? other than to make the floor rot? if they have a use i need to fabricate new ones.

anyhow, i chopped out the rot in the floor and about 6cm of the bottom part of the inner sill which both rotten and buckled?? i think it might have been damaged by a trolley jack.

nice pictur of the rotten items:

oldsillsection.jpg


floorcutout.jpg


fabricating new panels

fabricating.jpg


before i welded in the new panels i needed to make good some rot in the bulkhead where the closing panel fits.

rot chopped out

rotout.jpg


thegap.jpg


i tack welded a small repair section in

tacked.jpg


then seam welded it and ground it flat

finished.jpg


the next job is to fit the floor repair sections.
 
I have been in the garage again today and completed the welding of the floorpan and inner sill area.

this is the front repair after tidying with a flap disc:

insidetidied.jpg


and the same repair from underneath the car

IMG]http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s229/sawdustcaeser/rover%20resto/insidetidied3.jpg[/IMG]

that left a small repair section to fabricate using angle iron as a folder.
insidetidied4.jpg


insidetidied5.jpg


i had to cut and "petal" the repair section where it met the floor due to the awkward shape of the groove.

here is the section seamed in place inside and out.

insidetidied8.jpg


insidetidied9.jpg


it just needs spraying with zinc primer. here is a photo of my assistant

insidetidied7.jpg


The next section i am a little unsure about and all opinions would be welcome. I need to replace the middle sill. I have two complete repair panels from JRW. i need to " unpick" the spots above the tread plates, remove tread plates, drill out the spots securing the b/c post to middle sill and same at the front jacking point. I will brace the door appertures with angle iron first.

then i intend to plug weld the new mid sill to the inner sill and fabricate some new tread plates.

ADVICE?????
 
Hi Sawdustceaser,

I've every sympathy for you :( , as I've done all those areas myself....over the last TWO YEARS!

The brackets are there purely for factory drilling I believe. The base units were sat on jigs located by these brackets to ensure all the other holes were drilled in the right place. They don't really serve a purpose beyond that.

Don't give up! (I nearly did..)

Phil.
 
DaveHerns said:
I'm impressed
Cuitting out the rust scares me and I usually end up plating over the top

Dave
Click to expand...
Wait until you start cutting out perfectly good sections and moving them around, that's when you know your going mad ! :D
 
Hi,
I removed the lower inch or so from the whole of each middle sill. The bottoms were totally non-existent.

The near side was replaced with made-up sections (with varying degrees of success!) but to save time & swearing I bought a pattern sill for the driver's side which I've trimmed heavily to fit to the lower section. I'm currently fitting this & should at least have it tacked in place by the end of the weekend. This has proved easier than the other side, although I'm always a little curious as to why they make replacement sections of much thicker steel. I'm not constructing a tank & with a bit more rust prevention than in the 60's I'm sure normal steel should see me out!

I have not replaced any tread plates but have repaired one or two localised holes.

I'll try to post some pictures in the next few days.

Phil :) :D
 
I believe the minimum thickness you are supposed to use is 22 guage, most of the repair sections are 20 guage, I tend to use 18 for everything (quite a bit thicker still), in the past I've repaired sections and had to do them again 6 or 7 years later. The act of welding removes some of the surface corrosion protection in the steel, you will notice that the area around the weld always rots first.

I always find it amusing that its the bottom 3-6 inches of the car that rots, the rest tends to be fine.
 
REPLACING THE MIDDLE SILL.

Did you know there are 37 spot welds that attatch the b/c post bottom cover to the mid sill? is it just me, or is that a little excessive? or is mine just a joke car :angry:
each and every one needed a centre punch done upside down into very hard steel otherwise the spot weld cutter just flew everywhere.

bpostfront.jpg


bpostunder.jpg



any how, the cover in unattatched at the front and underneath. the mid sill is now unattatched underneath. tomorrow i start drilling out the spotwelds along the top of the treadplate where it mates with the inner sill.

i also need to drill out the spots on the rear treadplates but i am going to leave the spots intact at the d post joint and trim the new sill. i will butt weld it to the remains of the old mid sill in this area.

similarly, i will trim the new sill around the jacking point and butt weld to the ols mid sill remnants there. Does that make sense? anybody else out there done this???

will keep you posted.
 
I removed the complete B/C post to move it back, and there are something like 100 spot welds in total !!
12sml.jpg




Edited By webmaster on 1194875872
 
The middle sill is off !!! that was a lot of spot welds.

driversilloff.jpg


this is the drivers door tread plate and sill coming off. I'm going to make some new tread plates with my home made folder (2x 1 m lengths of angle iron in a vice and some 2x4). After i get the new sill in position with pop rivets i will have to mark the position of the trads, then get the sill off and plug weld the treads from the back before putting the sill on properly.

bposttotidy.jpg


aposttotidy.jpg


this is the condition of the D and A post before tidying up. The remains of the old sill are trapped in a sandwhich between inner sill and d/a post feet, They'll bloody stay there as well!!

aposttidy.jpg


here is the a post after tidying it up. some of the old sill are still in place but enough was removed to allow me to hopefully get some good plug welds into the a post foot. the rest of the sill will be plugged at the top where it joins the inner sill, and again from the underneath.

cdposttotrim.jpg


i need to attatch the new sill to the remains of the old sill underneath the d post. i'm not sure how yet. \butt weld will be neat but more difficult. i might try and overlap and seam. or i might plug weld to the old sill.

next job is to Kurust the inner sill, zinc prime and paint, and add some primer and paint to the inside of the new sill before i weld.

i'm hoping to have the new sill trimmed and held with pop rivets by the end of the weekend.

awaitingnewsill.jpg
 
You can't see from my photo, but as with your inner sill repair panel, the inner sill is one continuous section that runs the full length of the car, whereas the tread plates stop for the B/C post. I don't suppose it makes any difference to you though !
 
I am seriuosly impressed.

Recommend a welding machine for a novice. Im going to have a go (and maybe my very small repair budget will then go a lot further!!)
 
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