14 replies to this topic

[littlemissmagic]

Ive had my mini for about 3 years now and its a 1993 Mayfair
When we got it, the sills were a little rusty but we just welded some patches to get it going, it was never meant to be permenant but unfortunately, as its my daily driver i havent had time to get it off the road

So now MOT time is coming up again and it really needs to be sorted as its got a lot worse but my question is, will it be ok to just weld the holes again and try and strengthen it as much as possible or....
get new sills and get it done properly??

My only problem is I dont know where I could get new sills done or how much this is going to cost?

Any advice much appriciated thanks!

[Tom Sanderson]

You could just patch them up, but like you say they will probably need doing again next year. I personally would get new sills fitted, they look original to me and don't look in to bad shape so i would guess at the inner sills being OK (don't count on that though). I think you'll be looking at about £150 a side

[brianmini]

If you want rid of the rust for good (well a decent length of time) then the only solution is new sills.

Personally I'd get over it with an angle grinder, get back to solid metal and patch it (assuming inner sills are ok underneath)..... but then i'm tight like that!

[littlemissmagic]

I think ill get it patched then for the time being then (well for the next MOT) because my dad can do that and being a student means no money!

In the meantime ill be saving up for getting the whole sill replaced as i want to get all the rust sorted before it gets much worse

Thanks for the advice!

[lrostoke]

You can sort sills out in a day , if your dad can weld good enough to patch the holes then he should be fine sorting sills.

A full sill is only about £10.

[littlemissmagic]

can it really be done in a day?

the thing with my dad is, he can do it, he just doesnt like doing it (my mini does need a fair amount of work though!)

our garage is needing a roof atm which is slowing down any work on my mini and also whats the best way to lift the mini up to get underneath to do it?
If there was a good easy way to get to the sills then I could probably get them replaced at some point over the summer by my dad and save just patching it so i guess that would be a good idea?

and wheres the best place to get replacement sills from?

[Scallywag630]

Get the sills from any Heritage dealer such as minispares

[lrostoke]

genuine

http://www.somerford...roducts_id=1154 <===about £28

pattern

http://www.somerford...roducts_id=1157 <==== about £10

Pattern everytime, they fit no problem.

Easiest way get access for welding is use axle stands and just keep raising the car on one side axle stands under the subframe.
It can be a pain cause you end up welding upside down. just keep out the road of the spatter

[littlemissmagic]

thanks, very helpful
is there much difference in the qualities of the genuine and non-genuine?
i dont mind spending that bit more on the genuine ones if theres a big difference but otherwise just go for the non-genuine?

[MigliaMayhem]

thanks, very helpful
is there much difference in the qualities of the genuine and non-genuine?
i dont mind spending that bit more on the genuine ones if theres a big difference but otherwise just go for the non-genuine?

Personally I would fit new ones (I prefer genuine but each to their own) do them now whilst your floor is capable of taking them and get the inners protected whilst you can gain access, opt for the original narrow sill (personally hate seeing the wide sills as they look like a lazy repair) "just my view".

Keep your eye open on ebay as I've just purchased a pair of rover items for £30.

Have your dad just punch/drill a load of holes along the lip of the doorstep and a few between the drain hole pressings on the new sill then just plug weld them before dressing the tops of the weld off. Easier and looks 100% over seam welding, paint then admire your neat new metal work

[minidaves]

hold up a minute, a sill always fit the hertage item, its thicker and the proper item, also to fit a sill is a little more that 150quid, to remove clean up do the repairs and fit the sill is a minium of £300 a side.

dave

[Senile Old Git]

hold up a minute, a sill always fit the hertage item, its thicker and the proper item, also to fit a sill is a little more that 150quid, to remove clean up do the repairs and fit the sill is a minium of £300 a side.

dave

Surely each job should be priced individually? ...... A late car where the sill is just starting to go will never take 9 hours ( based at £30.00 per hour) + sill the £30.00 or even 5.25 hours if you are lucky enough to get away with charging £50.00 per hour.

Sill replacement can take in our experience anything between three and six hours depending on the damage to the inner sill.

Also repairing sills is a whole load quicker when you have the correct equipment .. IE a ramp!

Edited by Senile Old Git, 03 June 2010 - 06:31 PM.

[bodyman]

when i was doing research on how much to charge to replace outer sill on a mini my local garages wanted to charge me £150 to £200 per side so i thought im a qualified body man and i chrge £100 per side plus pannel (if any floor repairs needed then thats extra £25) so far ive been so swamped wih work

[littlemissmagic]

I thought id post on this rather than start another new thread......

i was just wondering if anyone could tell me where i could get sills replaced in the surrey area? (and who will of course do a good job)

Due to change of plan, my mini has been sitting in the garage for months.......ive been waiting for this to be done but the garage is full of stuff and the garage roof needs to be replaced
my dad is refusing to do the work on the car until it gets replaced but that could easily take another year

Im just so down about not having my car on the road and not knowing when it might be back again

Do i have any other options?
Oh and the other problem is the car is not MOT'd and is SORN due to being off the road so long, and i cant get an MOT until the sills are done >.<


Any advice?

[mattsbmw]

On the basis of your latest info, my option would be to patch the sill, get the MOT and plan to replace at a time that is more suitable.