repro sills

[fccool59]

I bought a sill panel, it looked a little how ya goin so I took it back.
a couple of weeks later I went to buy one from somewere I knew they were stamped out much better but found they are no longer making them and that they are now supplied buy the place I got the first one from.
this sill has a little less metal at the bottom and less folds.
The hole thing is not real good shape.
Has anyone got these rare spares sills onto a car, is there much hassle in fitting it?

[Jonno]

I don't think they are perfect by any means (my panel beater had all kinds of problems with them) but, its rather like the CRS gear (which also never fits perfectly)...where else are you going to get any?

They probably save time (and money) in the long run unless you can make up these things yourself...

just my thoughts..

Jonno

[mcl1959]

I have fitted a number of them and I found them reasonably OK to work with.  DON'T expect that they are going to fit up like a genuine one though, but they are the right length, they are the right depth.   Basically the rear is fine, the centre bulge is much smaller than genuine but is easy enough to make fit.  The front has to have some cutting and bending to make fit, but generally not too difficult in my opinion.  The very front of the sill has a point where it meets the mudguard which is not very well defined.  This needs to be built up to make it look original.
I think it is no harder than making floor pans fit or doing any other form of rust repair.   I think panel beaters today have lost the art of "panel beating"  they just remove and replace panels and plastic parts.
On the other hand, I have fitted genuine sills and these are a joy to work with.  The metal is thicker and the shape is spot on.

Ken

[fccool59]

I havent tried putting it on yet but there is only a slight ridge were the bottom of the door sits, not really enough room for the door. on the origional sill there is about 4mm of space for the bottom of the door.
That is only the start of the differences.

[Ed]

Hey Leon,

Did i give you a small section of repro sill?

If so (I think i did) this came from Spectrum panels (st marys) i found them to be superior to the RSP ones and very good.

Cheers

Ed

[mcl1959]

Possibly the new ones have changed and are inferior.  All I have fitted (including the ones on my car I just went & checked) have about 4 or 5 mm of gap.

Ken

[fccool59]

yes you did ED, and it looks like a origional sill section, has all the rite lines in the rite spots, only problem is that peter jackson is now spectrum and spectrum are now supplied by rare spares. I don't mean to knock rare spares, they can be handy, but this is one silly sill, I ended up putting it on but its not finished, I hope the doors wont rattle on the sills or sit out. maybe one day I will rip the silly peice of crap of and replace if I find some good price NOS ones or a full peter jackson one.
PS, I was going to take the peter jackson one in to rare spares show them the difference, they seem to reckon theres is quite usable.

[fccool59]

ive started sticking the bottom up by drilling holes 2" apart and welding them, is this how everyone else does them or is there a better way?

[Poo Wagon Bloke]

FCCOOL,
I can sympathise all the way.  I too am half way through fitting those BA RSP sills.  Mine were too short by 13mm; just for a change of pace.
Can anyone recommend to others which sills are the best quality on the market, for future reference.

Alan

[mcl1959]

That's the way you would do it for a concourse look.  I usually just seam weld along the edge - 50 mm of weld, 25mm gap etc
Fully welded around the front, centre & back, then seam welded to the floor as before.

Ken

[RET]

Pretty good article by the Guru on the topic of sill replacement here.

cheers
RET

[Poo Wagon Bloke]

RET
Thanks for letting everyone know about that excellent article.  
Without it, my sill replacement would have been a far harder job.  I have a well-worn copy sitting on the roof of the Poo Wagon for instant reference whilst completing the task.

Thanks Ken and do you have any other articles on the go?

(Oops, didn't mean to scuttle the thread)

Alan