FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

Hi everyone, just had my replacement sills delivered today  (rare spares ) and started fitting the drivers side. I have never replaced a sill before and have tried to inform myself best as possible before I started. Removing the old sill and keeping the floor and inner sill intact wasnt too much of a drama ( two full days one side ) but trying to fit the new sill to the dogleg and b pillar is a joke, I thought that these things just welded in. Is it correct that you have to cut and trim around all pillars to get the most reasonable fit and then patch and body fill around the dog leg and b pillar?Iam not joking when I say its not pretty. I have read the Ken Mclean how to 20 times before I started but need help. So if anybody has any suggestions it would be much appreciated. Oh yeah the b pillar has tongue type piece extending up into the pillar and almost reaches the bottom of the sill. not attached to the sill, if this stays you have to cut out the new sill to allow for it.Does it stay or does it go and what is it for. Thanks
Gary C

No they just don't weld in. This has been discussed regularly on the forum and I'm not going to go into why's and wherefores about it right now.
Rather lets just look at what has to be done.

B pillar - yes remove the small structural piece that goes up into the pillar. You can also leave the top of the old sill in the B pillar because the new sill does not extend up as high as the original. (doesn't matter if you have cut it out - it just means that filler pieces usually need to be bigger) You should be able to trim the old pillar fairly well to mate up to the new sill - even if you have cut more off than needed, it is not difficult to add small filler pieces to make up the difference. The welds are covered by the scuff plates anyway.
If the welds go higher than the scuff plates then you will have to use some filler to smooth up the welds.

C pillar - The fit needs to be obtained by slitting the new sill to match the dogleg profile and then manufacture filler pieces to suit.

A pillar - usually the new sill will need to be custom fitted to the front because the base of the A pillar is almost always rusted out and a completely new piece must be made before the sill is fitted. This new piece should be made in conjunction with the sill so that the best fit is obtained bearing in mind that the subframe bolt needs to be kept aligned.

The small amount of modification needed for the fitting of the sills is minor when compared with the remanufacture of the base of the A pillar, the front of the inner sill and the special crush tube inside the base of the A pillar.

If this is your first attempt at sill replacement then you need to take your time and ask lots of questions - especially about repairs to base of the A pillar - so well done so far. ;)
Remember it always looks at its worst before any welding is done and you will be surprised at how much better it looks one the job is finished.

Ken McLean

Thanks Ken, I was probably a bit optimistic (praying) that the sills would just slip straight in and be perfect. I have since spent about 6 more hrs and the drivers side is getting close, the main problem is when the gap under the door alignment strip and the sill. When this gap is close to original the new sill only just reaches the inner sill ( 10mm cover) about 15mm short of the old sill spot welds. There is a slight difference in the left and right hand sills also, the left sill has the b pillar cutout whereas the right sill is solid there is a difference in both ends also. The right sill is dated late 07 and the left late 08. It always makes it more difficult when you live slighly remote of any major city when you have to wait extra weeks and pay extra freight. Thanks again for your help, if you need a weekend in Broome W.A just let me know I will still probably have the left side to do.
Gary C

Hi Gary,you may pick up a couple of pointers from my thread "it has begun but will it continue" and probably many others,mainly with regards to the dogleg part.Be sure to have the doors on the car on the side you are replacing the sill as you will need them to get the gap right (you may have said this already).I can send you some pics if required.Cheers,Jamie.

Thanks Jamie, I just went through your thread mentioned. It was a great help and you certainly have done a great job. The photos will be a great help over the next couple of weeks. Thanks again much appreciated, Gary C.

 :)

Gary,

There is also a good article on "Sill Replacement" in the "Technical Info" section of this forum.

Rusty.