Advice on replacing OS sill panel please!

[devoncamperman]

Has anyone got advice on replacing the off side sill panel. Just kampers sell them but advertise they need to be alter to fit as they are meant for LHD vans. I asume you cant use the full length of the panel aand have to cut of the small section near the filler cap.

I have done lots of welding in patches etc before but i am unsure the best way to weld this in. Is the only way to fit it to remove all the interor and spot weld the flanges? i was wondering if it is possible to wled in the seams and grind down and fill with seam filler so it would still look OE.

I really dont want to strip out the van

Where the top of the panel would join in the horizontal groove would this just be mig welded and filled?

Hope this makes sence and advice please.

[jaylo264]

Yes ,have done this ,

[jaylo264]

(keep having to log on for some reason ) left fridge etc in, just bent up the hardboard cupboard-backs a little , more to get waxoyl in later really.
migged new panel ( not jk ) in at "brake"(groove -- careful to be precise where to cut , use 0.8 mm disc )and at sill bottom, using inner sill as guide and to weld to.
passed mot
jaylo

[holeydub on 4wheels]

im doing this at the mo myself but mines an empty panel so is a bit easier, you can buy the jk larger sill like i have which is about £30 but its wrong by quite a margin.
The length itself is too long as it covers the lower section of the front arch if held level with the rear arch (front larger section) also im not sure if your van has the lower seam line but mine does and the jk panel doesnt have it. The panel also continues further until you reach the first crease in the side panel.

I took my panel to a local engineering company and had the bend the sill 90dg to compensate for the seam line. Also with the jk panel it doesnt curve in at each end to slot perfectly into the required area as original. So when cutting yours out if possible leave enough of the vertical seams behind to weld to (prob best internally if possible to make the finish easier to form on the outside)

Other than that its very easy to replace but if you can remove everything behind the middle panel you might as well as you dont want to catch anything a-light.

N.B if you notice that your inner sill is looking a bit worse for wear just clean it up and repair it as you cannot replace them no one makes them anymore and NOS panels are like rocking horse s#*t (same with the section of floor above you'll need to make this out of a mild steel plate)

Oh to weld the seams internally just drill out some well spaced holes and just spot weld, if you can be bothered use a seam sealant like vw did to prevent rust from reappearing...

Hope that helped and i didnt go on to much

[devoncamperman]

Thanks for the replies.
Jaylo
Where did you get your panel from?
did you weld in the seams on the outside (vertical seams)? and on the outside of the horizontal seam?

Holeydub

Can you confirm the JK panel did not have the seam is this the horizontal seam near where the water outlet would be on a devon(like mine)? Is this what you had a company do for you.
Did you have to cut the little section off as it faces the wrong way?

Anyone.

Where you welded the top into the fold section did you manage to blend it in ok?

Cheers Victor

[neil3965]

Hi there

I got a panel from AH Schofield - same as JK, you need to cut a bit off to make it fit. After trimming it, I then cut off the flange from the scrap bit and welded it to the shortened panel.



I removed the van interior, and lapped the repair panel inside the crease in the side panel, and plug welded it, as well as plug welding the seam flanges at either end from the inside.



I then plug welded the repair panel to the inner sill from the outside, then used seam sealer along the crease and down both seams before painting.



I reckon it would be hard to get a neat job by welding from the outside only, especially the seams at either end. Apart from having to cut the bit off and re-weld the flange, I found that the Schofield panel was a really good fit.

Best of luck with the repair!

[holeydub on 4wheels]

Holeydub

Can you confirm the JK panel did not have the seam is this the horizontal seam near where the water outlet would be on a devon(like mine)? Is this what you had a company do for you.
Did you have to cut the little section off as it faces the wrong way?

Hi Victor,

The seam im talking about is shown in the pics above, but with the schofields panel its just for show. The jk one just doesnt have it at all. What ive done is to have it bent by an engineering company and i'll spot weld it in, as mine only needs replacing from the seam down so i can pick mine out.

Not sure what you mean by cutting the little section off??

Im hopfully putting it all together on monday i'll try and take some pics as i go to help out...

Cheers Scott

[dugcati]

dont get carried away with sill/seams you'll end up like me!.......




I ended up replacing inner and outer sills and half of the b pillar and then some of the c pillar..

[devoncamperman]

Thanks everyone this is a great help, pictures are fab.
Just one question regarding neil3965 pictures from the inside you cant see the vertical seams where you welded, i take it you can get access to this its just the camera angle. It looks like it is behind the strengthening pillars.
Cheers Victor

[neil3965]

Just one question regarding neil3965 pictures from the inside you cant see the vertical seams where you welded, i take it you can get access to this its just the camera angle. It looks like it is behind the strengthening pillars.

Yep, plug welded from inside - access is easy. don't have any pics though.

[Cruz]

I would recommend that you strip the interior out and see what the damage is otherwise it will most likely just eat your new side sill again as the likelihood is that is the source of your rust.

https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Ar ... chen_panel" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

See the pictures below for my extreme case of van rash

https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/images/Rotte ... dfloor.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/images/Os_sill.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/images/Os_sill_outside.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/images/Os_sill_inside.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I was lucky in that VW still sold the lower side sill from the lower horizontal seam on the side panel down to the join with the inner sill and incorporated the missing floor on the inside of the van.....sadly that part is no more

The part of the side panel from the horizontal seam up to the first swage line or crease was also removed and a replacement fabricated including a new hole for the hook-up socket. I also had a rear sill lower repair piece fitted from schofields. That's why if you look hard at the 3rd picture there is no seam around the lower part of the rear wheel arch from the crease down.

Here's the van now and you can hardly tell
Picture

PS. I also had to fit new inner sills to both sides like Dug

[Cruz]

N.B if you notice that your inner sill is looking a bit worse for wear just clean it up and repair it as you cannot replace them no one makes them anymore

This is not entirely true.......yet.

VW in the UK still sell the n/s inner sill and VW in Germany still sell both sides

see https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Ar ... nner_Sills" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[holeydub on 4wheels]

N.B if you notice that your inner sill is looking a bit worse for wear just clean it up and repair it as you cannot replace them no one makes them anymore

This is not entirely true.......yet.

VW in the UK still sell the n/s inner sill and VW in Germany still sell both sides

see https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Ar ... nner_Sills" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

n/s not the problem as jk sell them and many others as well i didnt realise the germany sold them but gonna cost an arm and a leg surely???

ive got a n/s german vw one bought by mistake so gonna trace the o/s this time lol

[Cruz]

N.B if you notice that your inner sill is looking a bit worse for wear just clean it up and repair it as you cannot replace them no one makes them anymore

This is not entirely true.......yet.

VW in the UK still sell the n/s inner sill and VW in Germany still sell both sides

see https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Ar ... nner_Sills" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

n/s not the problem as jk sell them and many others as well i didnt realise the germany sold them but gonna cost an arm and a leg surely???

ive got a n/s german vw one bought by mistake so gonna trace the o/s this time lol

JK just sell on VW sills for a mark-up. The o/s inner sill cost me 100 euros (approx £88 at todays rates) and that was delivered to my door.
Just read the wiki article by phade on how to order from germany

https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Pa ... ain_Dealer" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

E D I T: Click http://www.volkswagen-classic-parts.de/ ... pl?lang=en" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (now in english) and search for the part number 253801252.
Green means in stock so select 1 and click add to cart.
Then on next page click E D I T shopping cart
then on next page click continue
yet another page opens which you fill in for a price request via email then click submit

You will then get a price offer and it's then up to you how to pay. either email back with your credit card details or if your really brave ring them up as I'm sure they speak adequate english

[Steve P]

Mine's being done at the moment. I stripped out all of the interior just in case welding caused a fire.

Good luck with it

Steve