[ROVERNET - UK] Re: Sill Repair

Christopher Smith csmith at ssl.berkeley.edu
Fri Oct 22 18:58:17 BST 2004


Folks
I am about to embark on repairing both the sills 
on my 3500s, and I am looking for the best way to 
go about it. Does any one in the Bay Area know a 
good ... and cheap ... place to get welding done 
near San Francisco USA? Is it worth ordering the 
replacement bits from JR Wadhams? Including 
shipping, I think, it is around $600 for both 
sills. I was also thinking of doing it myself. I 
have never welded before, so I would need to buy 
the equipment and take a class. Is this a job that 
a beginner can do? If I need to replace each 
entire sill do I need to rig up something to keep 
the car body aligned? Any tips and advice would be 
greatly appreciated. Of course my wife and I just 
had our first child so I am probably crazy to 
consider doing this myself.

Chris


> 
> Roger,
> On each of my Rover 2000 restorations,I climbed
> underneath the car after supporting it on 4
> Jackstands. I proceeded to scrap off loose original
> undercoating.  In order to get the pressure (upside
> down and backwards) I ended up using a 1/2 inch or a 1
> inch wood chisel.  As I was scraping I noticed veins
> of rust running under most of the undercoating.  I
> decided that I should remove it all.  When all the
> undercoating was removed, I saw a variety of
> conditions. I saw large expanses of unmarked paint
> primed finish to a large network of rust from fine
> veins to serious patches.
> 
> I used a rust inhibitor called "Extend". It contains
> phosphoric acid which changes the iron oxide to iron
> disulphide (which doesn't rust). However, other people
> have tried "POR 15" to great effect and I would love
> to try the stuff but I can't find it out here.
> http://www.por15.com/Default.asp?
> 
> Anyway, I painted on the rust inhibitor firt.  Then I
> painted on black Hammerite rust resiting enamel paint
> to protect the Extend.
> http://www.hammerite-diy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/HAMUK/Home/Jsp/Home_Page.jsp
> 
> I finished with a spray-on black rubberized
> undercoating similar to waht has been mentioned
> already.
> 
> This process holds up well.  It lasted for about 10
> years before rust returned in the sill area.  The rest
> of the underbody is in great condition.
> 
> I cut out the returned rust with an angle grinder and
> welded in the same metal thickness but in stainless
> steel I bought as scrap from a scrap dealer.  The
> sills were welded by me using stainless 10 years ago
> and are still in mint condition.  I expect the
> dissimilar metal problem caught up with me after 10
> years. The rust was in the 4 sill corners just beyond
> the stainless sills.  Now the stainless extends
> further.
> 
> If you can catch the rust before it starts, that's the
> best plan.  However, I found that Rover sill rust
> seems to start from the inside out so by the time you
> see it on the surface, it has a serious hold behind.
> 
> Eric
> 
> 
> =====
> Webmaster & Magazine Editor:
> The Rover Car Club of Canada -  www.roverclub.ca
> 
> 

-- 
Christopher L. Smith
Thermal Engineer
Space Sciences Lab - U.C. Berkeley
Addition, Room #132
Phone: 510-642-2461
Fax: 510-643-4478
Email: csmith at ssl.berkeley.edu
www.ssl.berkeley.edu



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