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Last updated I was cutting up my nice new panel, in an effort to make it actually fit the car.
I had got one issue sorted and now for the next problem. The new sill was deeper than the original inner sill.
After a quick check I found it was actually 11 mm too tall. I can compress the ends but not the middle.
The reason being the reinforcement for jacking point.



And then a bit of carful cutting with a grinder and a hacksaw, resulted in this.



And then a bit of welding.



Then a lot of clamping and plug welding resulted in a solid repair.





Next step tomorrow will be the piece that goes from the sill to the rear wheel arch.

Nothing worse then trying to undo someone’s else’s previous bad work.
I have to replace the bottom half of both my rear doors. Can’t say that I am looking forward to that job.
Do love what you are doing to your van. It will be pretty special when it’s done.

I had a look online today to see if anyone else had issues with the panels from the supplier. And found someone else who had the same problem.
Also mine needs the reinforcement for the jacking point cut down. As at the moment the bottom of the sill doesn’t line up properly with the bottom of the inner sill.

One step forward two steps backwards. Started the day by waking up with a migraine. So took some painkillers and hid in a Dark room until it subsided. Then managed to muster up enough enthusiasm to venture into the garage.
Yesterday when I checked for panel fit, it was all looking good. Except For one area.



Something is not quite right towards the front bottom edge of door and sill.
With the door open it’s clear that the new sill is narrow in comparison to the original.



Some what annoying as it’s a £200 panel. But I can’t leave it as it is. So with an extra large dose of brave pills I sliced up my new panel.



Then it was a case of opening it up till it looks right, and weld in some extra metal and flattened off the welds.





And then offer it up and see how it looks now.
A lot better then it was, the bottom of the door matches the sill and the A post fits better as well.





And that’s all I managed to get done today. It did take a while to weld it up as I was trying not to distort the panel.

Well another day of chipping away at long list of jobs on the Austin.
First job was to sort out the scabby bit on the B post.

A quick bit of surgery with the grinder.



Followed by a zapping with the welder.


The I had a fun time trying to remove the remaining bit of old sill that was still firmly attached to the A post.


Once that was done I could finally trial fit the new sill. I used my cleco pins to temporarily hold it in place.
It lines up along the top of the inner sill ok. But the bottom was sitting slightly lower than it should.
Careful use of a bit of wood and a car jack, and I could get it fairly well lined up. The only bit that sill sitting low.
Is the central part which has an internal brace for jacking up the car. So it looks like I will have to take a few mm out.
And weld it back together.

The gaps don’t look too bad, keeping in mind that the back doors are rusty and not in the best of shape.



And that is the most complete the poor old Austin has looked for a while. So fingers crossed I might actually get the sill on permanently tomorrow.

That’s actually a good idea. Another job for me to add to the list.

There was a Trabant Kübel that was produced.

Also Wartburgs have a frame under the body. So that could also be a possible candidate.

Thanks, it’s a bit scary when you start removing large parts of the bodywork like this. But I suppose it’s just metal at the end of the day.

Not much of an update, but I had a bit of spare time. My curiosity got the better of me. So I thought I would take a look at this dodgy bit of old MOT patches.

Before I fired up the wheel of death, I thought it might be a good idea to put some braces in. As it would be nice to have a Austin shaped car at the end of the restoration.
So the only thing I could find hanging around the garage, was the old exhaust that I removed from the Trabant. I took it off originally because I fitted a bigger performance one to complement the other engine mods that I did.
So a quick chop and some welding we have this.

It probably would have gone a bit better if I had remembered to turn on the gas. Though it is the first time I have done that. Actually I did have a go yesterday on some scrap metal with the new tips. What a transformation, the welds look good and it makes that crackling sound that Mig should.
So what’s behind door number 1.

Oh well could be worse I suppose. Who ever did the repair in the past didn’t close of the end of the sill properly.
As a result all the mud and spray from the rear wheel got into sill and rotted it from the inside out.
This is just some of what was inside.

I’ve gone this far I might as well see what the rest of it is like.

Well this is taking me out of my comfort zone. Actually I have to say I thought it would be worse than that. In fact the bit under the B post is still shiny unprotected metal from the factory. Amazing really considering the car was built in 1955.
That’s as far as got this afternoon. I don’t normally work on the car on a Sunday. Just to make sure I don’t upset the people around us.
So I will carry on tomorrow and see how far I get.