The 'E' Type Forum

I’ve got a Series 2 2+2 E-Type and I’m currently working through the bodywork. I picked up two brand new outer sills from Martin Robey, but the profile isn’t quite right — it’s close, just not where it should be.

I used to have a profile gauge taken from my original outer sills, but those were in poor shape and are now gone, and I can’t find the gauge I made. Would anyone be able to share a profile of their outer sill so I can have these ones re-rolled correctly?

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Have a search through the forum, i think you will find many comments on sill profile issues. Hutsons seem to be recommended.

Hi Rich, I have recently had a similar problem and I got round it by the following plan. I welded the top of the outer sill to the inner sill with a spot welder or you can drill a small hole in the top panel and plug weld through. You will notice that the bottom of the new sill, due to it not being the correct section, is hanging down below where it needs to be, using a couple of small pieces of wood and a couple of bottle jacks the outer can be lifted into position and clamped up by mole grips prior to welding as before. Before drilling out the spot welds on my original sills I made a plan and then put my new welds in the original position to make the repair invisible. Just ensure that you jack up the new panel in an even and gradual way to prevent any distortion prior to clamping and welding. regards John.

Hi John

That’s an interesting approach. I’ll certainly give it a try, although I’ll use multiple clamps to hold the top of the sill under a trial fit. I have new MR closing panels for the outer sills as the flanges were shot on the originals.

A profile gauge to check the fit against would still be useful. I’ve turned my garage upside down to find the one I made prior to removing the old sills - knowing my luck it will turn up once I have put the final weld on the car!

Hi Rich,
this type of panel is supposed to be like this, as mentioned already, fixing one side and pulling/clamping the other is the way.

If the panel radius is too small ( or even exact ), this would give a good fit on the edges, but the middle section would need pushing in, which isn't easy and could lead to the mid section not being tight enough.

With the sill as it is you are basically fixing one edge and then gradually wrapping the panel round it's mating panel form and pulling, which will keep the mid section tight.

Aircraft Cleco pins are invaluable here, I use them all the time.

Sean.

Re-lost items which are possibly flat, I lost an extremely rare owners handbook from a 50's racing car, or so I thought until it resurfaced after 20 odd years as I was moving some old LP records, I must have put it there to keep it flat for some reason........