Quote:
Originally Posted by Arctic
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Like an idiot I scraped my nearside sill along a Tesco trolley bay, resulting in considerable damage to the sill and trim, but luckily none at all to either door.
Tom made me two sill panels which, when welded together, would replace the damaged area from about half way along the front door to the back of the sill. He explained why it was made in two parts but I didn't follow.
As @Arctic says, he wasn't interested in fitting them, so I visited a couple of body shops in Nottingham to see if they would take on the work. I decided on a firm called Fleetcare. The chap there said he would much rather try to repair the existing sill panel with his puller tools than replace it, because cutting the original out and welding in a new one is a bigger job, more invasive and is generally a less "elegant" solution.
We agreed that he would try the repair first, and if it isn't successful then he would cut and weld in the new sections. So I might have bought the panels from Tom unnecessarily. If so, I'll stick them on eBay so someone else can benefit from them.
Everyone who has examined the damage commented on the unusually good condition of the sills - apparently it is normal to find a considerable amount of rot near the jacking points, but on mine there is none at all.
Incidentally, Rimmers stock the long trim that runs the full length of the sill along its top edge, just under the doors. They also stock those plates that you can see on the top surface of the sill when you open the doors (the front ones have 'Rover' engraved on them) and they are remarkably cheap: less than £20 (but plus VAT). You get both the plastic backing and the aluminium trim as one part.
I'll report back on the quality of the work when it's finished.