Missing Sills ??

[David Ambrose]

Hi,
I have just removed my wing to replace the sills as I found a rust hole which needed to be fixed.
However after removing the wing it seems that the sills has completely rusted away but also now looks like there was never any castle section.

I have taken some pictures of the front sill section which the wing removed and also from under the car on both sides where you can see it seems to be missing the expected protruding square section of the castle rail and just seems to be completely straight.

The main question is, would you expect to see this on a MK1 MGB (1967) or has anyone ever seen this before and why might that be?
Was not sure if maybe the MK1 MGB's did not have the square section of the castle rail.

Many thanks
David

[Ian F]

Hi David,
it's difficult for me to clearly see what's what from your images, but I'm pretty certain that all MGBs/GTs have the same structure underneath, so it looks like your car needs quite a bit of remedial work to get some strength back into the body shell. I'm guessing that a previous owner has been a bit naughty with "repairs" and that you have been lucky not to have had a bit of a collapse in the body - do the door shut lines look OK?
As long as you have got some sound metal to attach the first parts to, it is all fixable, although it will take some time and skill with a welder to get it all done properly. When I did my BGT I used around 15 panels/part panels on each side to restore the shell. Very strong when finished!

Good luck with it!

Ian F

[George Wilder]

David
Ian is correct - all MGBs have the same structural parts. As your car would now be considered structurally unsafe.

See the body panels page of the Moss parts Book or look online here
http://www.moss-europe.co.uk/body-panel ... r-mgb.html for bigger illustations

I would suggest that you do not remove any more metal until the shell is correctly braced to stop it distorting.

Many articles on sill replacement including the castle section to be found on the web

George

[David Ambrose]

Thanks for your responses.
I did think this looked a bit odd but was hoping that maybe the Mk1's had a different still sill which maybe did not have the squared castle section but it sounds like it has just been bodged instead.
I have removed most on the outer sill which seems to have just been fitted over the old rusted one.

Not sure how easy this fake castle section will be to remove as it looks like it has been welded all the way along.

I have taken another photo of the progress so far.

[Ian F]

Hi David,
good to see you are remaining calm!! Where abouts are you? I think if you have a good MGB somewhere nearby which you can go and have a good look at whilst you do the work it would be very valuable. Alternatively there are several very good comprehensive guides/articles on doing this job - something all MGBs have probably required at some stage in their lives. If really rusted out then the other option is a new bodyshell of course. This may seem expensive to lay out all at once, but you do get something which is probably better than new and should last indefinitely.
If you are going to restore the shell you have got then there are a couple of things I would mention~
# do one side at a time to preserve structural integrity and provide a reference
# when fitting the sills you will need to remove at least the bottom section of the rear wing as the structure behind there is fairly complicated.
# when finally fitting the lower outer panels I found it essential to have the door fitted to ensure you get the alignment correct - both vertical and horizontal alignment can be easily done incorrectly.

IanF

[David Ambrose]

Hi, Just wanted to update on the progress of the Sills.
All the old rusty metal has been removed and new sills welded into place, treated, Filled and primed ready for re-spray.