Bill,
There are many schools of thought here. One problem that you face is that you
ARE dealing with the structural integrity of the car when you replace the
sills. I have experience where one side of the car was nearly 2 inches longer
than the other due to a DPO bodge job, but that's another story. You are far
wiser to replace the sills and repair cross member first, then tackle the floors
last. The importance is that the car will be "true" before you insert the
floors, which makes for a much easier installation. The cross member should be
probed carefully, what looks like surface rust can go all the way through.
Frankly, when it comes to structural welding, I'd leave that to a professional
shop. That way you should get a guarentee and can rest assured that the
integrity of the car (and the weld) isn't compromised. As far as the doors are
concerned, if you are DIY, leave'em on. Alignment of the body is easier.
You'll note that the Haynes book shows all of this work being done in a
professional shop, that's why the doors are off, since they have the skills and
the tools to accomplish the tasks at hand. Just my 2 cents worth.
Michael Ohleger
67 MGB
70 MGB
61 MGA
Scotsman wrote:
> I have just purchased my first LBC! It is a '68 B Roadster, British Racing
> Green.
>
> The car has the typical rot in the sills, floorboards and around the exhaust
> notch on the crossmember.
>
> My questions:
>
> I just got Lindsay Porter's restoration manual (renamed Haynes Restoration
> Manual). In the book, they replace the sills with the old floorboards in
> place. Is this necessary to maintain the "structural integrity" of the car?
> It would seem much easier to work on the sills if the floorboards were
> removed first. Also, it has been suggested that the door be left on the
> car, to make aligning the parts easier. Does this make sense? In Porter's
> book, they have the door removed.
>
> As I mentioned, the crossmember is rotted around the exhaust pipe notch on
> the crossmember. The rot "seems" to be localized there. The rest of the
> crossmember seems to have bad surface rust, but not rotted thru. Should the
> entire crossmember be replaced, or would this problem be a candidate for a
> patch? If the crossmember needs to be replaced, is this a job that should
> be done by a body shop? If not, would I be best off replacing the
> crossmember before or after I do the sills?
>
> I have only been a member of this fine list for about 2 weeks and I do
> apologized for repeating a question that I am sure has been quite thoroughly
> discussed prior to my joining the list. (I can't seem to find a digest of
> past postings).
>
> Thank you,
> Bill Lawson
> Long Island, NY
>
> P.S. If there are any list members in my area that have undertaken this job
> in the past please email me. Any support would be appreciated. Especially
> since my wife now really thinks I have gone over the deep end!
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