53 replies to this topic

[wardyxxx]

Hole:

[Darkscamp]

After two nights of work on Mini-the-Minx's car Vader, we have finaly removed the bodge oversill. Only one more to go on the other side.
They had put the oversill over the original outersill, and pitched up the innersill by placing patches over the holes. They hadnt removed any of the rot either so it was a right mess underneath.

Basically due to oversills, the car now requires full outersills, full innersills, and doorstep repairs to correct their bodge.



In my opinion Oversills should be banned, they have wrecked too many minis and are mainly used by people wanting to cover up holes to get a quick MOT before they sell their mini on to an unfortunate new owner!!!

[wardyxxx]

In my opinion Oversills should be banned, they have wrecked too many minis and are mainly used by people wanting to cover up holes to get a quick MOT before they sell their mini on to an unfortunate new owner!!!

I'm afraid its a bodge. And bodges will never disappear.

EDIT: by bodge, I mean just stuck over the existing rust.

Edited by wardyxxx, 20 February 2011 - 07:34 PM.

[Shifty]

Now i don't agree there!!

Oversills will have saved more minis from the scrap heap than people realise....no I'm not mad either...

Not so long ago minis weren't "classics" they were A-B transport and simply weren't worth spending money on to get through an MOT, by nailing an oversill on saved that car from the scrapheap. If the owner at the time hadn't have done that then you'd have been eating baked beans out of your mini, not driving it!!

Now people are more willing to spend the time and money doing the job properly these cars can now be repaired properly and the oversill removed.

I've fitted loads and loads over the years, some fitted properly and some just nailed on, depending on the car, fitting them was common practise for any garage at the time.

[Darkscamp]

And when down at the local classic mini centre where i spent any of my spare time at over a 8 year period, i saw the aftermath of these bodges and how the extent of the work needed to repair them was not financially viable, some even needing a jig to sort them out. Needless to say many of them were scrapped, so it didnt infact save them, just extended their life until until the rot spread to destruction.


Rot is like cancer to minis and unless you cut it out and treat it correctly, it will always return in those areas and be even more difficult to fight.

[Shifty]

See, you said "many" and not "all"!!!

Thats a plus!!

[mattista]

Pah....

Look at this for a bodge then..



Beat that one..!!

sorry to spam the the thread, and its not a sill but dose this beat it ?


block of fiberglass / newspaper with 10 mm off filler over the top :/

[miniman24]

Pah....

Look at this for a bodge then..



Beat that one..!!

sorry to spam the the thread, and its not a sill but dose this beat it ?


block of fiberglass / newspaper with 10 mm off filler over the top :/

Hmm I may be able to top that!





(also displaying the side effects of oversills )

Or what the seller tried to convince me was a "perfectly good repair"
The writing is from when i was trying to get the right panels

Edited by miniman24, 20 February 2011 - 11:16 PM.

[BMCPaul]

From previous experience and being paid in the past as a employee at a mot station to fit over sills on mot failed minis i would not go there. Ive fitted and had to fit (as was told to do not to think!) oversills, and in some cases a over sill to a over sill.... people with minis sadly wouldnt soend money to do a proper reapir and just wanted the cheapest option to gain a 12 months mot certificate.
Please fit proper orginal sills, i think it also lowers the value to a car by atleast a 1000 pounds with oversills fitted. Put it this way ive spent the last month looking for a mini, and after viewing a fair few, over sills are still out there and for me i just walked away from them even on cars that looked quite good. Ended up buying a mini 30 in the end and not a cooper as gave up looking, and yes the mini 30 has mint body coloured outer sills and original ones at that, you get what you pay for and minis with oversills are for sure de valued unless you get somone who doesnt no what there looking for buying a car with them fitted, and as so many people keep on saying when you ring them about there mini for sale, whats it like underneath, and they say its motd - saying motd means NOTHING! Trust me, i no !

SO ALWAYS FIT GENUINE, LOOK BETTER, EASIER TO FIT AND WONT ROT AWAY YOUR FLOOR AND ALSO KEEPS ITS VALUE, EVEN IF YOU NOT PLANING ON SELLING, IT KEEPS ITS VALUE FOR INSURANCE PURPOSES IF YOU WANTED TO GET A PROPER VALUATION DONE BY A MINI SPECIALIST.

[MigliaMayhem]

Has to be narrow sills all day long, cover sills and over sills were OK to get an old car on the road but with the worst Mini's now demanding £500 for a complete car and anything half decent upward of £1500 then if a job is worth doing it is worth doing properly.

Remove your outer sill and see what you have, the panels are cheap (I got a pair of genuine Rover outer sills for £30 on ebay) if the floors have gone then repair them, do it right and do it once. I would be suspect of any car with seam welded cover sills that were recently fitted if looking to purchase.





The original spec sills just look so much better and is often the 1st thing a buyer will look at, It's the differance between a nicely preparred Mini and one done on the cheap or to get shot of.

[ado15]

We have this conversation on an almost daily basis with customers! Dave spoke to someone yesterday about it and advised the use of 'proper' sills, but the customer bought wide ones today At least we gave him the correct advice. After that, it's up to the customer. But it makes us cringe every time someone insists on wide sills.

A recent conversation related to a body shop who always fits wide sills because it stops the water getting in! He couldn't see that the drains were there to let water out! The box section will generate condensation and it has to get out somewhere. But he just couldn't grasp it. I even asked why he thought the factory did it this way? And every high end Mini restorer wouldn't even think of wide sills. But to no avail.

On the subject of foam filling..... the factory did this on the very first cars, but because the moisture could still get between the foam and the steel, it was a disaster and quickly discontinued.

[andymini12]

my car has over sills on, but didnt really know what they were when i brought it.
so might take them off in the summer and have a look once i can weld.

[ado15]

my car has over sills on, but didnt really know what they were when i brought it.
so might take them off in the summer and have a look once i can weld.

You are not alone. Obviously, you aren't to know until you learn from places like this forum. It's now a balance between leaving them until they need doing and maybe having more work to do, or getting with them sooner and finding they aren't yet that bad!

[midridge2]

i remember working on early minis with the foam in the sills and they were really rotted away, lots worse than older minis with no foam.

[ado15]

i remember working on early minis with the foam in the sills and they were really rotted away, lots worse than older minis with no foam.

Years ago, we had an early 1960 that we dragged out of a field. It had lovely foam sills..... no metal around them, just foam sills