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[Joiner]

Hello folks,

The daughter has a Ford KA which I have had to do a fair bit of work on but the last thing for its MOT is the sills.

As you would expect for a 15YO KA they are completely rotten and beyond 'patching' so have bought a pair of sills for it online.

When it comes to welding I have all the equipment and all the experience so for that I am ok but having only ever patched cars I am not sure about replacing complete panels so to speak.

I know that all welding has to be continuous fused welding (in this case MIG) but what I am not sure about is if I can just plant these new sills over the old or do I have to remove the old sills?

If anyone has any pointers it would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers, Chris

[Andy B]

Hello folks,

The daughter has a Ford KA which I have had to do a fair bit of work on but the last thing for its MOT is the sills.

As you would expect for a 15YO KA they are completely rotten and beyond 'patching' so have bought a pair of sills for it online.

When it comes to welding I have all the equipment and all the experience so for that I am ok but having only ever patched cars I am not sure about replacing complete panels so to speak.

I know that all welding has to be continuous fused welding (in this case MIG) but what I am not sure about is if I can just plant these new sills over the old or do I have to remove the old sills?

If anyone has any pointers it would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers, Chris

If you were restoring a classic car back to its former glory, you'd support the car & remove all the rotten metal & replace with your shiny new sills. However for a Ka, that you're limping along till the next MOT, I'm sure a cover sill over the old rotten sill will suffice. 

[al brown]

Apart from the fit being poor if you just cover the old ones, all the rust and rot will still be there and won't take long to root away the metal you have welded the new sills to. Far better to remove the rust completely. does need to be fully seam welded as you say, just be careful they don't warp while welding long panels.

[al brown]

Hello folks,

The daughter has a Ford KA which I have had to do a fair bit of work on but the last thing for its MOT is the sills.

As you would expect for a 15YO KA they are completely rotten and beyond 'patching' so have bought a pair of sills for it online.

When it comes to welding I have all the equipment and all the experience so for that I am ok but having only ever patched cars I am not sure about replacing complete panels so to speak.

I know that all welding has to be continuous fused welding (in this case MIG) but what I am not sure about is if I can just plant these new sills over the old or do I have to remove the old sills?

If anyone has any pointers it would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers, Chris

If you were restoring a classic car back to its former glory, you'd support the car & remove all the rotten metal & replace with your shiny new sills. However for a Ka, that you're limping along till the next MOT, I'm sure a cover sill over the old rotten sill will suffice. 

True, mot won't care if it is just covered over as long as there is no sharp edges left. Depends how good a job you are after and how long you want it to last.

[Joiner]

Apart from the fit being poor if you just cover the old ones, all the rust and rot will still be there and won't take long to root away the metal you have welded the new sills to. Far better to remove the rust completely. does need to be fully seam welded as you say, just be careful they don't warp while welding long panels.

Hi Al,

Yes, I know all about staggered welding to avoid warping/distortion. I used to be a fitter welder doing mig/tig/mma fabricating and vessel work. I was more concerned as whether to remove the whole of the old sills or just cut out the bulk with an angle grinder and a slicing disc?

[Marks DTM Calib]

Place the repair sill in place and tack it to hold it, mark around the edge.

Remove (grind off the tacks) and cut the old section out 10mm inside the markings (where there is good metal to allow this!).

Prepare the metal with a flap disc ready for welding.

Place repair piece and tack to hold.

Then weld in nothing more than 25mm strips doing opposite corners/sides so as to minimise heat distortion until the whole thing is fully welded.

Grind the welds back with a flap disc.

Idealy you would paint the panels with a weldable paint first but either way, you need to rust proof inside after.

And beware, the metal is bloody thin so its a 30A job.
 

[aaronjb]

And beware, the metal is bloody thin so its a 30A job.

You mean it's a case of "Damn, a hole. *weld a bit* Damn, another hole. *weld a bit* Damn, a hole. *weld a bit* Damn, another hole."

Well.. for me, anyway

[Marks DTM Calib]

Or a case of dam a hole.....small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld = hole fixed. 

[aaronjb]

Or a case of dam a hole.....small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld + small weld = hole fixed. 

By the end of it I'd probably have constructed a whole new sill that consisted primarily of weld

[Marks DTM Calib]

I recall welding a plate onto a friends Mk3 Escort under the drivers footwell following an MOT failure.

It passed but the MOT tester questioned the use of a 'keep left' sign (we did not have chance to paint it before it went for its MOT!)

[Andy B]

.....
It passed but the MOT tester questioned the use of a 'keep left' sign (we did not have chance to paint it before it went for its MOT!)

  No keep right signs available then 

[05omegav6]

I recall welding a plate onto a friends Mk3 Escort under the drivers footwell following an MOT failure.

It passed but the MOT tester questioned the use of a 'keep left' sign (we did not have chance to paint it before it went for its MOT!)

He should have been grateful it wasn't a Give Way sign

[Kevin Wood]

I recall welding a plate onto a friends Mk3 Escort under the drivers footwell following an MOT failure.

It passed but the MOT tester questioned the use of a 'keep left' sign (we did not have chance to paint it before it went for its MOT!)

Should have got one of these to really wind him up.

http://www.jhmbuttco.com/acatalog/Shop_MOT_Signs_698.html

[Vamps]

I recall welding a plate onto a friends Mk3 Escort under the drivers footwell following an MOT failure.

It passed but the MOT tester questioned the use of a 'keep left' sign (we did not have chance to paint it before it went for its MOT!)

Should have got one of these to really wind him up.

http://www.jhmbuttco.com/acatalog/Shop_MOT_Signs_698.html