11 replies to this topic

[Big_Adam]

Yo,

Well I did a little searching on oversills and found two post with opposing views. Dan hates them and Guessworks seems to think their all good as long as the original sills are removed.

Now I respect both of these chaps so I take their view seriously but sort of screw me over when choosing what to do.

El Gordo has oversills but the orginals have been removed as I cut a rather large hole in my sill and found the other thing under it to be air and the bottom/outer sill. .... ... which I cut through .

So remove or leave. Their seam welded all the freekin' way round so I'd rather leave them as it took me a fair old while just to cut a hole in one (feck me their thick).

Also! On the front of El Gordo I've been hacking away and I think I cut of a bit I shouldn't of. Theres a bit that goes from the side panel (Where the holes for the radiator are) to the front panel, got a lot of weld round it. Should I have cut that off?

Finally, are M-Machine panels any good?

Ta for the help!

[THE ANORAK]

the reason overhills get a bad name is because people use them as a quick fix and put them over the rot, but they can be very helpful if your rotten sill has taken a bit of floor with it, then the extra width of the over sill is very helpful, at the end of the day it's better than making a patch from sheet steel, but you must remove the old sill first .

in this case i think their good but....

if you buy a car that has overalls then you only have the word of the seller that the rot was removed first.

in this case they can be a nightmare

Edited by THE ANORAK, 03 August 2007 - 06:07 PM.

[Ethel]

You can always pull off the plastic trim to examine the seam along the top of the sill if there are 3 pits of steel in the sandwich then odds on the old sills still there.

That mystery bit of body work... is it a 2-3 inch "finger" with a rounded end pointing backwards? That's part of the front panel best to leave it put but don't think the car will fall apart if you have chopped it.

[Big_Adam]

Okay, had a look and found that passenger side has a f**ked doorstep and need new sill. Driver side it's been replaced along with the door step and the original sill was removed.

so.....YAY!

[jonny d]

HI YA the trouble with oversills is the fact that the vents are not open so any water that does get in seems to stay in there
and rots out the inner sills and the floors at an alarming rate

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[ginigwunkle]

had my sills replaced with original sils, the guy who changed them said he wished hed used oversils

cut the old sills out and whack the oversills on as some of the floor had gone, he had too fix the floor before he could start fittin the sills, still looks amazin now though like new!

when fitted drill the inner sil and pump with waxoyl! then rubber bung the holes up! last for years!

[Big_Adam]

Aye, think I shall full it with waxoyl or similar.

Another question, and I don't want to make another thread. The overhand bit for the rear seats. Can I cut that out with no major problems. I do want to fit a rear hoop cage jobbie (proper one mind) but I'm also getting rid of the old rear seats so wanted to cut them back.

edit

Also how the C**p do you take the studs off for the master cylinders. They welded on?

Edited by Big_Adam, 05 August 2007 - 10:50 AM.

[jonny d]

had my sills replaced with original sils, the guy who changed them said he wished hed used oversils

cut the old sills out and whack the oversills on as some of the floor had gone, he had too fix the floor before he could start fittin the sills, still looks amazin now though like new!

when fitted drill the inner sil and pump with waxoyl! then rubber bung the holes up! last for years!

HI You should be glad he didn't use oversills, because he had to do the job correctly without them, also good tip with the waxoil and rubber bungs

[Dan]

On later cars there are already holes all along the inner sill through which Waxoyl can be applied. They are small rectangular holes about an inch long with rubber grommets fitted.

You can trim the rear bench overhang back so long as you leave enough steel to keep the lip that the heelboard is spotwelded onto stable. If you leave the lip thin enough that it will twist the spots will start to tear. Either that or seam weld along it, but still leave a good stable join.

The master cylinder studs are part of the pedal box and will come out with it if you need to remove them. It is about the hardest bolt on part of the car to remove IMHO.

[schneill]

Thought i'd write in here rather than starting a new topic on practically the same subject. When i bought my car, the guy i bought it off said that he'd replaced the sills. I discover the other day that they are in fact oversills. Is it worth taking them off and having a look at what is underneath just for peace of mind? Its currently in the "stripped shell" state and needs new front floors anyway as the current ones are full of man made holes (no rust tho). If so, is it the same way to take an oversill off as it is to take an original sill off as described in the FAQ section?
I just don't want to re-build my mini with the possibility that there is a bit of the ol' iron oxide (posh term) lurking somewhere!

Schneill

[Guess-Works.com]

As above, simplest way to see if there's an original sill under the oversill is to look at the thickness of the seam adjoining the sill and doorstep, > 2 sheets of metal means the old sill is probably under there...

Also inspect the condition of the inner sill, as that will probably show signs of deterioration aswell...

The other option when fitting oversill in replacement of gen sills, use a suitable rust inhibitor and then fill the beggers with expanding foam, that'll stop any moisture getting in there...

[schneill]

Hmmm *thinks about the hole on the inner sill just below the doorstep*. I think i'll take them off for good measure.