1955 Austin A30

So went in to work today only to find out I didn’t need to be there until next week.
Better get back to the garage then. Nothing to special to report just lots of grinding and drilling trying to remove the remaining bits of sill.
Whoever was operating the spot welder on the production line, must of loved their job. There’s so many you can’t tell what’s a weld and what’s just a ripple in the seams. But got most of it removed, so time to have a look at this invisible repair.



Just how many times have they botched this up in the past for MOT’s .
After cutting away some of the patches and rust I’m left with this little job.



It’s not to bad i suppose. Tomorrow I will try to repair this are ready for the new sill.
Funny to think that a few weeks ago, if I had found that lot I would probably curled up in the corner of the garage rocking.
Where as now it’s no big deal, just get on and sort it.

The scrap pile is steadily growing.

Correct I removed 4 layers. And also the rear end of the sill was just the same.

Today’s goal was to sort out the multilayered mess at the front of the inner sill.
So a little bit more cutting and flap wheel action resulted in this.



All ready for the first patch to go in.



First one all welded up, but this area has two layers. So next bit prepared.



Followed by more welding and grinding and burning skin. And we end up with this.



Next step is to rejoin the new panel to the wheel arch.



I cut out a suitable piece of metal, and then carefully hammered a lip down one side. Then formed a curve by hand in my vice.



More welding grinding and thankfully no skin burning,we finally have a solid front inner sill.



All that was left to do was give it a quick coat of zinc to protect it.





I purposely left the bottom of the new panels longer so I can trim them down once the new outer sill is in place.
Tomorrow’s mission is to sort out the rear end of the inner sill. And hope my new outer sill arrives before the weekend.
It would be nice to have this side of the Austin sorted before I go back to work next week.
Then all the big structural body work would be completed. And the rest would be good for doing at weekends.

Thanks, it’s a bit of a steep learning curve. But I’m really starting to enjoy it now.

Thanks, having a decent welder certainly helps. I started out with a B&Q special. Except it wasn’t very special.

It's funny, when you look at all the rust at first you think 'Oh God, that's beyond repair' but as soon as you have chopped it all out - even wth all the metal missing, it suddenly looks totally repairable and almost easy! (I'm sure it's not though).

I did this thread mainly to give myself some motivation, to carry on doing the work on the Austin.
But I’m very happy if someone else does take some interest in what I’m doing. Helps me keep going.
I know what you mean about going around scrapyards as a kid. I used to go with my uncle getting bits for his cars.

A late start today as I had to do some work related stuff first. But just as I was about to open the front door.
There was a knock and a man with a big box. My new sill and wheel arch had arrived. Perfect timing.
So a quick mock up to see how much work the new panel will need to make it fit.



It actually fits quite well unlike the one on the drivers side. The gaps are good accept the bottom of the back door.
But putting a straight edge along the bottom of the two doors.it’s clear that the door is not right. No surprise really as it’s rotten and full of filler.
The new sill did need one little tweak to get a good fit. As with the other sill I had to cut a section out of the jacking point reinforcing.
Otherwise it would sit lower than the inner sill. So I had to remove 6.7 mm from it.





With that done I could secure it in place with cleco pins and weld it in. After about an hour of work this is the result.



The next stage is to fit the wheel arch repair panel. If I get time this weekend I will try and get that crossed off the list.

Mate done sills on his a30 2 door didn't brace didn't trail fit doors all welded up to find the doors didn t fit sills had to be split and portapowered out to fit. Ye learn by your mistakes