194 replies to this topic

[sonikk4]

Seeing nothing on the inside is not a true gauge of what is lurking behind.

My car looked pristine on the inside of the car but even though they had removed the old outer sills there was rust lurking at the bottom where moisture had pooled and also further up the inner sill.

Now this could have lasted for some time without doubt but if the rest of the car is immaculate then why have a temporary repair panel fitted instead of the correct short sill which I have previously mentioned give the correct strength profile

[Richie83]

Seeing nothing on the inside is not a true gauge of what is lurking behind.

My car looked pristine on the inside of the car but even though they had removed the old outer sills there was rust lurking at the bottom where moisture had pooled and also further up the inner sill.

Now this could have lasted for some time without doubt but if the rest of the car is immaculate then why have a temporary repair panel fitted instead of the correct short sill which I have previously mentioned give the correct strength profile

it's gone in to have them done. Wish me luck.

[Shaggy33]

Thanks guys, too risky I feel so it's back to plan b....a mini 1000 mkv that is half the price but then gives me the money to make it my own!

[Ben_O]

I've got the chance to buy a 1275 gt which on the face of it is mint condition and the bottom of car has been painted the same as the main body, the car however has had over sills fitted. The seller gave me previous owners number and I phone him and told me he did full body respray and any repairs to metalwork undertaken,
I've told the seller I'm not happy that there are over sills fitted and as I don't know what is lurking under them I would want to pay at least £2-3k below asking price.
Am I absolutely off my rocker?! Of interest I can't see any major repairs to footwell or crossmember which makes me think the car is solid. Is there any other way I can check?

If the work was undertaken properly and recently with all rust having been removed, then it might well be ok.

 

Remember, some people fit coversills because they believe they are better than the correct narrow sills so it could just be a case of carefully removing the cover sills, cleaning up where required and then fit the correct ones.

 

BUT, you really need to be sure that it's all good behind because if it has been hanging on to moisture for some time, then you could well be looking at replacing the inner sill and the heelboard too.

 

This one looked ok

 

 

But wasn't. 

 

 

And i don't think it had been on there very long either...

 

I ended up fitting a new inner sill, heelboard and repairing the lower flitch to put it right

 

Ben

[Richie83]

Here's the eventual result:

[Down&Out]

Looks like you made the right decision! 

[Richie83]

Looks like you made the right decision! 

absolutely. You wouldn't have known from the outside mind. Glad to get some solid metal back on the car.

[tiger99]

I would say that if over sills are the ONLY problem and it can be proved that they have not been on for long, the price of any Mini should be reduced by about £600 to £1000 to allow for their immediate replacement.

But their presence would make me look far more closely than usual at every other area that can be bodged. Definitely need carpets and rear bin bottom liners out, to get a better view.

[ibarnett01]

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[ibarnett01]

What do you fellas think about these sills? On a '69 Cooper S , probably for a very long time. Flakey and crunchie through the jacking point but the floor is not a total disaster area at all. Should I just rip the so and sos off and replace with m machine panels? The car won't be going out in the wet and stored in a dry, well vented garage.

[sonikk4]

What do you fellas think about these sills? On a '69 Cooper S , probably for a very long time. Flakey and crunchie through the jacking point but the floor is not a total disaster area at all. Should I just rip the so and sos off and replace with m machine panels? The car won't be going out in the wet and stored in a dry, well vented garage.

Err this is a no brainer, remove and repair. Your car is too valuable to have Oversills on.

[ClassicAsh]

^{I guess I am going to be shot down here but I really don't see the problem with cover sills. I accept that they are not original but if the inner sill has been repaired or replaced professionally by that I mean all the corrosion removed and then spayed with weld through zinc primer and then cover sills fitted, and the cavity filled with a wax type corrosion protector, then I really don't see the problem. But at the end of the day its up to the individual and there preference and as long as they are not fitted to hide anything nasty.. maybe that's is the only problem, if you buy a car with them how do you know... See I can even argue with myself sometimes !}

[1984mini25]

^{I guess I am going to be shot down here but I really don't see the problem with cover sills. I accept that they are not original but if the inner sill has been repaired or replaced professionally by that I mean all the corrosion removed and then spayed with weld through zinc primer and then cover sills fitted, and the cavity filled with a wax type corrosion protector, then I really don't see the problem. But at the end of the day its up to the individual and there preference and as long as they are not fitted to hide anything nasty.. maybe that's is the only problem, if you buy a car with them how do you know... See I can even argue with myself sometimes !}

 

Ignoring the fact that they trap moisture witch has nothing to do with being left out in the rain. As you will always get condensation inside a steel box section, hence why the sills are vented. And oversills don't offer the same structural strength as proper sills do. I once drove a mini with oversills fitted both sides and before a pair of popper sills were weed on, when pushed (hard not to with so many roundabouts and mg metro 1275) the doors used to creek on their hinges as the shell flexed.

[tiger99]

Exactly what I would expect. There will be a very significant reduction in stiffness, both in bending, and more importantly, in torsion. The increased flexing hastens things like stress corrosion cracking, mostly at or near the seams, as well as spoiling the handling. You can't easily repair a car like that, with many joints and spot welds overstressed, because you can't immediately see the damage, and it isn't always where you might think. A flexible shell is no good at all.  The affected parts of the shell will give trouble until they are replaced. And what will happen in an accident? Doubly so, if inner sill bodge panels with the cutout over the crossmember have been used. The thought of the car crumpling in the middle in a fairly minor accident is rather worrying.

 

It also should be an MOT failure, as proper partial or complete panel replacement has not been made, with the appropriate welds, and it should require an IVA test, as it is a major and unsatisfactory structural modification to the monocoque.

[pusb]

 

^{I guess I am going to be shot down here but I really don't see the problem with cover sills. I accept that they are not original but if the inner sill has been repaired or replaced professionally by that I mean all the corrosion removed and then spayed with weld through zinc primer and then cover sills fitted, and the cavity filled with a wax type corrosion protector, then I really don't see the problem. But at the end of the day its up to the individual and there preference and as long as they are not fitted to hide anything nasty.. maybe that's is the only problem, if you buy a car with them how do you know... See I can even argue with myself sometimes !}

 

Ignoring the fact that they trap moisture witch has nothing to do with being left out in the rain. As you will always get condensation inside a steel box section, hence why the sills are vented. And oversills don't offer the same structural strength as proper sills do. I once drove a mini with oversills fitted both sides and before a pair of popper sills were weed on, when pushed (hard not to with so many roundabouts and mg metro 1275) the doors used to creek on their hinges as the shell flexed.

 

 

That's interesting. My Mini has oversills, and I intend to sort them this summer.

 

However when I go into my garage, I have to go up a small ramp. If I open the door whilst the car is halfway up it (front wheel up the slope, back wheel on flat ground) then the door latch rubs on the striker plate. If the car is level that doesn't happen. Sounds like the shell on mine could be flexing as well.