Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Sounds a weird question maybe but whilst hunting for a new wing , I have seen new sills for sale and they are not at all expensive. Are these single metal folds that I have seen the whole thing. what Imean is are there not inner and outer sills.

I have seen it written ( on the web so pinch of salt) that they weld straight over where the old ones were hacked off and that it isnt as major a job as is often suggested.

And no I dont have rotten sills on my beauty , I just didnt realise it was one L shaped piece of metal about a yard long and folk do estimate it as a very dear job changing them.

If someone could enlighten me I'd appreciate it.

Mas

The genuine Pork OPC ones are quite a complicated shape & yes only cover the outside. THe problem is when the outers get lacey the inners are totally knackered which on mine went up to where the seat belts mount EEK This means lots of fabrication to sort out. Pics of mine are here, but not for those of a nervous disposition or small children

http://www.pbase.com/tr7v8/porsche_repair_pics

I thought new sills on a Porker from OPC were £120 a side. That makes them cheaper than MGB sills (both of which require around the same level of effort to fit).

With the sills, you're looking at £700+ a side to get them fitted (about the same as it would cost on most BL Monocoque cars). Some may get them fitted cheaper, but considering they are crutial for the strength and things like doorgaps etc. it's best to get them fitted by someone who knows what they're doing.

Another thing is with bodyparts I'd only ever buy genuine new or used. Ever wondered why some old Peugeots have no rust at all and some do? The crash damaged ones with pattern parts fitted are the reason why most of the time. This seems to be the case for most cars out there.

700? mined need doing at the rear wheel arch, dont seem all tht bad under the door., thought it was just a case of cuting out along the seem line and wealding a new one from the inside then tidying up. so there 2 layers? what about culbsport? £45 a side. can the inside just be plated over, fixed a high up as poss 2 a strong remained peace? what sort of perpartion would b required in betwwen rust inhibour and wax?

If one part of the sill is goosed, then there is normally a good chance that the rest is following suit. As for simply plating it over, that's the art of a bodge monkey. Rust is like Arthritis. The only way to get rid of it is to cut it out. All these chemicals will merely hold it back at bay for a given amount of time. This is why some people go to serious measures to sort out the sills. Do the job once, do it properly.

What can be suitable is to cut out the rotten parts, and then make up a new section or use part of a section which can be effective. This still takes longer than merely plating over. But if the side member has rusted (as it seems to have done in TR7s case) then the only real option is to change the entire sill and possibly brace the car via the door (although the roof some reckon can do this too).

I've seen one 944 with 4 different plates over one part of the sill where each plate was simply disguising the old part, and the seller said the sills were 'fine'.

One of the bits in mine near the rear suspension mounts was over an inch thick, had at least 4 layers & also 2-3 pounds of pudding on it

I agree with the previous comments - having just done this on my 944 project . Cutting off the outer sills (both sides) revealed the centre section had also rusted through along its almost entire length. I cut this out and fabricated new centre sills. I was fortunate in that the floor and inner sill section was still solid including the jacking points. It was quite complicated around the rear suspension mounts at the back of the sills but just take your time.
After fitting the outer sills I've ground back the welds and whilst I am pretty bad at bodywork usually, a small skim of filler should make it hard to tell there was a repair.

I was surpirised at how bad these 1989 944 sills were - coming from running 924's before. My 81 turbo and 80 n/a both still have excellent sill structures by comparison...why are 944 sills such a weak point?

cheers
ed

There are many possible reasons, but from discussions I have had it seems to be S2's/later Turbo's. Something to do with the additional trim which traps dirt/water. The earlier cars seem to hold up better.