Sill Replacement - 1988 Daimler XJ40

[MattTodd]

Hey Paul,

I noticed no movement at all to be honest... BUT... I didn't really have to do anything with my inner sills, they were in amazing condition, painted, smooth, just great.

I would imagine if you were cutting out the inner sills as well then you might want to worry a bit more, the door bars are there more for my piece of mind really I think, I think I could do it without them to replace the outer skins.

Cheers,

Matt

 

[Spot the welders dog]

Cheers Matt,

That's what I was hoping...

As I'm just replacing the full outer sill (leaving the step in place), and a slight repair to the inner​

...that the car would be 'stable' enough without any bracing - and I can leave the doors in place.

Thanks for sharing, takes some of the pressure off

Paul

 

[MattTodd]

One thing I found paul, I don't if it'll be of help or not but....

I could probably have done my sills without removing bodywork, but I stripped the front of the car so I was able to remove the front wings, and both the doors, and the extra space to work that it gave me was invaluable. It's much easier to do the caps if you can see what you're doing, I don't think I would have made as good a job if the wing etc had still been there!

Cheers,

Matt

 

[Spot the welders dog]

Yep, one of the plus points is that the wings can be unbolted in no time at all...

The reason I would like to keep the doors in place is because I am intended on 'invading' my mums back-garden (well, who needs a 60ft garden full of flowers! ), and was hoping on keeping the wheather & creepy crawleys out.

Actually I just thought: I could unbolt the doors and just 'latch' them back in at the end of the day..

Anyhows: I don't want to hi-jack your thread with my problems; let's see more work on the big cat

cheers

Paul

 

[MattTodd]

Sills are on!

Well! I've now got a matching pair of spangly new sills on the car. Yes it's taken until wednesday to get the bloody pictures up, but I got there in the end! The rear end cap on the passengers side needs adding, as I've not done it yet, and the bottoms of the rear arches where the sills meet the arch needs shaping better as it looks crap at the minute.

Apart from that, it's bloody sound! I'm really chuffed with it, it was a big job, and it's come out really well I reckon. I've got more pics of the process but they're on another camera so I've only got these at present:

Next job is to weld the end cap in, and then troubleshoot my hyraulic system. Rear suspension has taken to sitting VERY low at the moment. It looks great I reckon, but also means something is sadly wrong as it's hydraulic, and the front is 4x4 high. After that, my new wheels should arrive today, and then it's MOT time!

Cheers,

Matt

 

[Spot the welders dog]

Hey Matt,

The passenger side now! Looked simple, it's proving to be a bit more of a pain than I was expecting, more plate I think

Never mind, plenty of time, I really want her on the road this summer though.

I make it roughly 7 days or so....someones been busy
Looking really good, but you should lock the big cat away: there seems to be a local yob having a wee-wee on your drivers door

Paul

 

[MattTodd]

Hey Matt,

​

I make it roughly 7 days or so....someones been busy
Looking really good, but you should lock the big cat away: there seems to be a local yob having a wee-wee on your drivers door

Paul

Well spotted Paul, think we've caught that one just in time, what a state he looks too, anyone would think he's been welding all day

Ah well, good looking or photogenic, can't have both I guess

 

[sawdustcaeser]

hi there. my name's dave. i'm in northumberland too. i'm just about to start work on my first project. inner sills on a rover p6 so i've been reading your thread with interest. well done!!

 

[MattTodd]

ah nice one, got any pictures yet?

Whereabouts in Northumberland are you then Dave? I'm way up past Morpeth in the hills!

 

[Swampy]

Superb thread...have got to do a set of sills [inner/outer and baffles] on my Mk2 Zodiac this summer [once I've saved for me welder/compressor combination...] and this thread has been a really good read...good job that man...

 

[MattTodd]

Superb thread...have got to do a set of sills [inner/outer and baffles] on my Mk2 Zodiac this summer [once I've saved for me welder/compressor combination...] and this thread has been a really good read...good job that man...

Thanks, I'm saving for a compressor at the moment too, need to paint mine up and then I'm happy I think, I'm using the saving time to fix a hydraulic leak.

I've had a look at your Zodiac thread, that's going to look fantastic when it's done. There's something really satisfying about working on older cars, I spent 8 hours working on my better half's pug 206 this weekend and hated every second of it!

 

[Swampy]

Thanks, I'm saving for a compressor at the moment too, need to paint mine up and then I'm happy I think, I'm using the saving time to fix a hydraulic leak.

I've had a look at your Zodiac thread, that's going to look fantastic when it's done. There's something really satisfying about working on older cars, I spent 8 hours working on my better half's pug 206 this weekend and hated every second of it!

...Thank you Sir... ...got the steering apart at the moment...it had a bent draglink arm, so the wheels did not point in the same direction...doh...but it is all so superbly basic...I love it...it has soooo much character...and you CAN work on them out the front of the house...which is an added bonus because all my work will have to be carried out on the drive/hardstand...we do not have a garage... ...in fact I do not have a drive yet either...me brother-in-law is coming over this Saturday with his drawings/design and work on that should start next month...all go so that I can get cracking on the car...reckon to have it up and running road legal by next Spring...then just work on it a bit at a time after that so that it is always on the road for Spring/Summer...rolling resto so to speak...but want to go down the Street-Rod road, want it to look like something you might of found parked outside the Ace Cafe in the late Fifties/Early Sixties...we will see...

 

[MattTodd]

...Thank you Sir... ...got the steering apart at the moment...it had a bent draglink arm, so the wheels did not point in the same direction...doh...but it is all so superbly basic...I love it...it has soooo much character...and you CAN work on them out the front of the house...which is an added bonus because all my work will have to be carried out on the drive/hardstand...we do not have a garage... ...in fact I do not have a drive yet either...me brother-in-law is coming over this Saturday with his drawings/design and work on that should start next month...all go so that I can get cracking on the car...reckon to have it up and running road legal by next Spring...then just work on it a bit at a time after that so that it is always on the road for Spring/Summer...rolling resto so to speak...but want to go down the Street-Rod road, want it to look like something you might of found parked outside the Ace Cafe in the late Fifties/Early Sixties...we will see...

Ah that's exactly my plan! I'm trying hard to get mine on the road for some time this summer, but I intend on taking it off again for the winter. With the exception of the sills, I have a really sound shell, all the pillars are great, the bulkhead and front subframe, normal rotting points are all in great condition.

I want to cover some miles this summer as I've a feeling the gearbox in my car wont last long, but I may be proven wrong, and before I do any performance tinkering, I want to iron out any problems that may confuse the issue.

What engine plans do you have? I'm intending to buy a 4.0 AJ6 lump for mine, and then I plan to strip it, and turbocharge it over next year, and then swap it straight out with the 3.6 i have in there at the moment. I've been reading everything I can about the 2 turbocharged versions of the XJ40 that were around, the janspeed and turbotechnics conversions, but I fancy doing a bulkier single turbo conversion I think.

Cheers,

Matt

 

[Haze]

turbocharging is so last season, a supercharger is simpler and a lot prettier under the bonnet, not to mention you wont sacrafice driveability.

 

[MattTodd]

I'm 20 and I drive what my girlfriend loving refers to as "grandad cars", if I was even remotely worried about street credibility I'd be charging round in a Civic Type R or some other souless creation lol.

I hear what your saying, but I've spent a LOT of time looking into it, and a turbo is more what I want, I don't drive quickly, what I want is a technical challenge, to be able to say I've done it, and occasionally, a disgraceful amount of torque from 45-70 ish.

Also if I supercharged it i could quite happily drop in a AJ16 XJR engine already supercharged, which would be very boring. It's more of a challenge for me, than it is a project to end all projects or anything like that.

 

[Haze]

since its already been done by others on a commercial level, its not really a challenge is it, if you want something to struggle with, try a supercharger and a turbo, I know many people who have done it, but not with that engine

 

[MattTodd]

since its already been done by others on a commercial level, its not really a challenge is it, if you want something to struggle with, try a supercharger and a turbo, I know many people who have done it, but not with that engine

That would depend on what your background in mechanics is lol, in my case, 10 months ago I took advice on how to change the oil in my car lol. Also, I want to maintain a degree of reliability, so if the end goal has already been proven, that's good enough for me :P

 

[Swampy]

Ah that's exactly my plan! I'm trying hard to get mine on the road for some time this summer, but I intend on taking it off again for the winter. With the exception of the sills, I have a really sound shell, all the pillars are great, the bulkhead and front subframe, normal rotting points are all in great condition.

I want to cover some miles this summer as I've a feeling the gearbox in my car wont last long, but I may be proven wrong, and before I do any performance tinkering, I want to iron out any problems that may confuse the issue.

What engine plans do you have? I'm intending to buy a 4.0 AJ6 lump for mine, and then I plan to strip it, and turbocharge it over next year, and then swap it straight out with the 3.6 i have in there at the moment. I've been reading everything I can about the 2 turbocharged versions of the XJ40 that were around, the janspeed and turbotechnics conversions, but I fancy doing a bulkier single turbo conversion I think.

Cheers,

Matt

...for now I shall just keep the straight six in there, but would eventually like to put a 302 in... ...and theres a list of other stuff as long as your arm, but I reckon a lottery win would be necessary for most of it... ...for now its save to get the drive done, the Portamig and compressor bought and some parts to start the build...
...got one other question for you dude...those door jam/turnbuckle/stay type thingies...do you know what they are called, properly like, because I cannot find them anywhere...I know that they are probably very expensive, but might see if I can hire a set when I do my sills...else its welding lengths of angle to the door posts...and I'm not sure if I want to do that...but I have tried all sorts of combinations of stuff into google and do not seem to be able to find anything anywhere near similar...Cheers...

 

[MattTodd]

I can't find them anywhere either, I've just looked too! I'll ask the guy who lent me them where he got his from and what the proper name is tonight if I can :-)

Cheers,

Matt

 

[sawdustcaeser]

i'm in blyth. i'll post a pics of my sills. i'm busy cutting the rot out, and cleaning up ready to let in some new sill. my first ever project!!

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s229/sawdustcaeser/sill5.jpg
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s229/sawdustcaeser/innersill.jpg
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s229/sawdustcaeser/PICT0147.jpg

some rot underneath as well.