Connect sill repair part 1, 2 , 3 showing before repair

[metalworker0]

The top seam was done ..and I'm half way through grinding it down.
came up with a better idea than the broom - "the welders mate"..piece of threaded rod inside a tube.

[metalworker0]

This is as far as it gets with dressing the welds down ..i don't make them disappear ...they would be too week then ..so grind to this point and the stonechip will cover them up and make it look a good job.

picture shows spot welds on bottom of sill....the spot welds to the left are about to be ground

[metalworker0]

Note: where there is a thick steel plate for the jacking point, this requires that you set your welder to a higher setting to gain penetration - otherwise the weld would be like glue and will not become part of the steel plate. more heat has to be given to the weld , as the thick steel will take the heat away should you choose a lower setting.
This could also be said of the backing plate joint, without the backing plate my welder would be set on number 2 of 6 settings to avoid blowing holes - with the backing plate it can be set on number 3.

on number 2 setting this is what you get on a 180 amp mig welder - diagram should say "not reaching the back"

second picture is after grinding ..a very weak joint

[metalworker0]

Sealing vulnerable areas with old lead paint - something ford never did.

Picture One .
Used blue tack as temporary sealant along bottom edge of sill .

Picture Two.
Made up device to pour it in ...old piece of hose and pop bottle

Picture Three
Showing it being used in the waxoyling holes i drilled, bottle and pipe were put into each end..and dragged out as i pored very old lead based undercoat from the 1960's into the bottle. any paint will do.

Picture Four
Showing higher waxoyle holes in the inner sill dribbling out..so i know this stuff got everywhere- including all over myself

About half a litre used in each sill ...blue tack was left in place for 1 hour...to let the paint penetrate the spot welded areas...then i had to watch it drain for a half hour as i pocked the drain holes to make sure they remained clear.

it will also be waxoyled in a weeks time after the stone chip and orange 2k gloss has gone on.

[metalworker0]

Just got top take it for an MOT
otherwise finished.
youtube video:

https://youtu.be/hNHRIdGQUy8

all the best.mark

[Boghopper]

You've done a good job there, ninety-nine times out of a hundred that van would have been scrapped. To do it with no lift or car-pit is also to your credit, most wouldn't even entertain the notion. These vans rot from the inside out! I have, over the years, tried so hard to keep the rust at bay on mine, but today, I noticed a hole on the nearside inner cill. Gave it a cleanup and it grew laterally from being a 1/4" hole to a 4" chasm. This was while I was still trying to get my brakes to bleed. I looked to the heavens for mercy and cracked my head on the subframe and loads of shite went into my eyes.

What do you do, I know what I can see on the exterior is the tip of the iceberg.

[metalworker0]

Yes, it will be the tip of the iceberg.

Having done the job..here's my say:
Lots of people running around in these ..saying to themselves and others: mines ok it's had new sills!
..To do the job properly would bankrupt the garage or the person paying for it ...so their new sill job is a short-lived new sill job me thinks---- I'll even say that most for sale with claimed new sills are going to be dodgy cover up jobs.

What would i do, if faced again ...walk away from it as i have inside knowledge - literally ...

Anybody else if landed with one, should maybe patch it up so mot-able (that would have only taken a couple of days) sell it on as fast as possible.

Then look for any van ..but not a ford rust bucket ..and not anything with tdci or particulate filters ..which means you're looking for something over 15 years old.

No need to go for anything fast here in wales ..because this time next year we will have a 20mph speed limit (it's been passed by the Welsh parliament) ....and all the other limits will come down 10 mph after.
So driving is going to be a really miserable experience.

all the best...mark

[Boghopper]

Well, I have two of these vans, a 2007 Connect and a 2012 Tourneo, I decided at the time that I was going to keep them as I am not the least bit interested in these newer electronic contraptions, which will be used as pay-per-mile a few tears down the line, for those who can still afford the fuel. So, I will have to go through what you have, to a greater or lesser degree, depending on what I find behind the cills.

This is the start:



I bought a new welder a few years back but have never really used it and I have not done any of this for a long time. Last time was on an Escort van that I had.

I saw these the other day:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374000753684 ... BM4pfOuv9g

Did I read you somewhere say that you would not use any of these types? Trouble is, is that it saves a lot of time and effort by buying them like this and I don't have the facilities, or capability to bend and form long lengths of sheet.

I think you should be happy that you have now got a decent van and one of its biffest failings is now sorted out, I would be.

No need to go for anything fast here in wales ..because this time next year we will have a 20mph speed limit (it's been passed by the Welsh parliament) ....and all the other limits will come down 10 mph after.
So driving is going to be a really miserable experience.

They're introducing all these laws everywhere, Agenda 21. They want to take the freedom vehicles give us away, along with everything else. Those "Welsh Parliament" lot will all be singing from the W.E.F. hymn sheet, same as in Scotland, Ireland and England. I was only listening to Ann Bressington a few months ago and a great deal of what we thought was the stuff of nonsense back in 2008, is now upon us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8Va-4g0XC8

[metalworker0]

I think they were these ones, see below:
They were cheap at £30 the pair then.
Had to fabricate each end ..so would not recommend them ..they don't have the little arrows for the jacking points either ..they are just a folded piece of metal.

The thing is with buying complete ones ...you can take off as much as you like ..so its up to you ..note you will be taking them down, because if you remove all ..the van will fold ..unless you're doing it inside ..and can weld something across the door.

Probably won't be much left of that £200 sill ..you got to think about what you are about to waist or not, also note it's got a pile of round holes drilled in it ....i know they were on the original ..but recon these holes are part of reason they rust and cause of the rust....I'm a believer in you should only have holes draining out ..not letting in!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284668370603 ... Sw1S9WcVfp

[metalworker0]

That row of holes ..were taped up on mine under the factory underseal

i noticed there is provision, originally ...bungs in holes, here there and everwhere ..looks like they were intended for putting cavity wax in...but this was never done at the factory..why?

i don't know, searched everywhere for pictures of the sills, fitted as they were originally and could not find any.

only this, which isnt clear enough
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com ... 35_opt.jpg

all the best..mark

[Boghopper]

You reckon the van will fold if the outer cill is cut off, are you sure of that?

Yes, mine had holes and bungs along the bottom, I used to use them to blast waxoil and fresh oil in there, I would then synthaprufe the bungs and put them back in. Once in I would synthaprufe all along the bottom of the outer cill. I don't think those bungs let in water myself.

[Boghopper]

I see in a few pictures that you have a load of round magnets for holding your pieces of steel in position, where did you get those, as they look handy?

[metalworker0]

OK ...fold is an exageration ..it will sag if you don't think it through

They (car restorers) usually take the door off and weld a temporary steel strut across the door opening.

In this thread you'll see, because i was outside ..i could not do that ,...so put in angle iron running with the internal box section

Those internal box sections are really thin...the whole sill , that's middle, inner, box sections and outer act as one ..take any of them away and the strength goes...it's a piece of crap design that leads to failure because of the thinness allows it to get quickly consumed by rust. has all the attributes of corrugated carboard box.

all the best...mark

[metalworker0]

I see in a few pictures that you have a load of round magnets for holding your pieces of steel in position, where did you get those, as they look handy?

i originally bought some off ebay ..the seller claimed they were super strengh ..#
had to send them back as they were no stronger than fridge magnets

After that ..my friend ordered them off amazon for me ...and wow these ones were very strong think it was 20 for £18
. Sorry can't tell you. which amazon ones they were.

[Boghopper]

Rough idea of the diameter and do they look the same on the other side?

Cheers.