Inner sill condition.. 3.5 horsebox

Michen

Well-Known Member
Joined
22 January 2014
Messages
10,910
Visit site
Hi HHOers

I had the following advisory on my lorries MOT today: Inner sill in poor condition. Garage says not to start welding/investigating as it would open a huge can of worms and end up in needing a lot doing once you start digging into it (box has had welding down before with previous lovely owner so I know it'll need more at some point). They said to wait until next years MOT and see if it has degraded further or not.

I am a little worried though having done some googling... does this "poor condition" mean the integrety of the floor/wall attachment is compromised? Or am I mis reading what the inner sill actually is entirely :D

Should I be insisting on having the welding done, whatever the outcome may be? Money no object when it comes to ponies safety.
 

Toby_Zaphod

Well-Known Member
Joined
8 August 2005
Messages
9,259
Location
Midlands
Visit site
Take your vehicle to an accident repair shop & get them to take a look. We have a really good & honest one near us & they should give you a factual evaluation & tell you what actually needs to be done.
 

turnbuckle

Well-Known Member
Joined
14 April 2014
Messages
1,512
Visit site
What sort of chassis?

If it's an advisory it's still safe, but you cannot hit rust soon enough. (I should practice what I preach I guess, but...)It may be a can of worms but it will be easier to stop the sooner you get onto it. Might be worth looking for a classic car restorer near you. Coping with rust is what they do.
 

Michen

Well-Known Member
Joined
22 January 2014
Messages
10,910
Visit site
What sort of chassis?

If it's an advisory it's still safe, but you cannot hit rust soon enough. It may be a can of worms but it mat be stoppable. Might be worth looking for a classic car restorer near you. coping with rust is what they do, as a rule!


Ummm it’s a Renault master mk11... platform type chassis so has a solid metal floor..
 

Beausmate

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 May 2008
Messages
2,821
Location
Endor
Visit site
I would definitely get it looked at sooner rather than later. Depending on how structural the sills are, you might be reducing the structural integrity of the vehicle. If they think that sorting the rust issue (and where you can see rust is just the tip of the iceberg) opens up a can of worms, then how bad is it?

My Jeep failed its MOT on a small rust patch on the outer sill. That part isn't structural, but it's counted as part of the chassis. The MOT tester told me to put a patch on it and bring it back, so OH took the angle grinder to it and revealed what was left of the big rollover support for the A-pillar. If I had turned the car over, then there was a good chance of the roof just collapsing onto my head as there was no strength to it anymore. The rust continued into the box section behind it. We fixed it properly and it took all weekend. Garage costs for the work would have exceeded the value of the car.

It was really shocking just how bad it was inside and I feel so much better, knowing it is safe now.
 

Beausmate

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 May 2008
Messages
2,821
Location
Endor
Visit site
Bit of a small hole
normal_2015-06-11-2244.jpg


Not such a small hole
normal_2015-06-13-2248.jpg


And beyond..
normal_2015-06-14-2260.jpg


Always worth getting rust sorted if you aren't planning of scrapping the vehicle anytime soon. Rust always gets worse and beware of 'patching it up for the MOT' type welding too.
 

Michen

Well-Known Member
Joined
22 January 2014
Messages
10,910
Visit site
Thanks for this. I’ll do a bit more investigating into it when life gets a bit quieter. It’s had lots of welding with its previous owner, won’t be a surprise to need to do it again...

I suppose the box is probably worth around 6-7k as a 1998 coachbuilt racemaster so whatever needs doing it should be worth fixing.


Bit of a small hole
normal_2015-06-11-2244.jpg


Not such a small hole
normal_2015-06-13-2248.jpg


And beyond..
normal_2015-06-14-2260.jpg


Always worth getting rust sorted if you aren't planning of scrapping the vehicle anytime soon. Rust always gets worse and beware of 'patching it up for the MOT' type welding too.
 
Top