Rust Traps in the Sills
Having spent forever replacing the sills on the Oscar India I’m not about to have them rust again. These cars have stainless sill covers that trap wet mud against the sill creating the ideal conditions for rot. I’m planning to make some small modifications to stop the mud getting behind the sill covers in the first place and, as this is impossible, let it out again once it’s found it’s way in.
Here’s one of the worst offenders - the sill extends rearwards to form a mounting surface for the rear wing. Mud will be trapped on top of the sill, and some will fall into the stainless sill covers and rot away inside them.
I have two cunning plans. First one is to space the stainless sill covers away from the bottom of the sill by nearly 1/2 inch, and drill lots of holes in the bottom so water can drain.
Second is to screw a sloping cover to the top of the rear sill which will prevent mud from collecting in the first place, and to cover the gap at the rear caused by spacing the sill cover outwards. I make a cardboard template which demonstrates the idea.
Should be the end to the major V8 rust trap once I’ve fabricated the cover from aluminium.
December 22nd, 2005 at 2:00 pm
Just a quick line in support of your efforts to bring your restoration to life. My own Oscar India (1980) has also been undergoing chassis restoration this year so I’m sympathetic to the cause. Undoing 25 years of running repairs and getting the chassis back to better than ‘as new’ is not a light undertaking…but I know it’ll be worth it! More and more of these cars are going to be needing this treatment as yet another repair does not become viable. Given the cost involved, this could mean a thinning of the herd unless new owners are prepared to make the investment required…