Mk2 front wheelarch/bottom of A post

[cortinaman]

Hi folks

I am in the process of stripping, rust proofing and painting the underside of my '65 Mk2. I've started on the front wheelarch and found that where the closing panel at the rear of the arch meets the wing/end of the sill/bulkhead there is a rather large rust hole! Now, carrying out the repair is not a problem as I am reasonably capable with a welder, but from what's left it is difficult to see how the panels went together originally, as there appear to have been repairs made in the area in the past.

Can anyone either point me towards any on-line photos of that area? Or if someone has a really good rust free Mk2 and could take a picture of the area in question I would be really grateful.

Many thanks in advance.

Richard

[Martec]

Hi Richard,

Hopefully someone on here has digital photo's, I only have my old film pictures and would need to scan them and mess about before uploading them.

In essence at the front end of the inner sill for approx 8" there is a doubt box section which is then covered by the outer sill and the front end then closed off. The lower section of the wing fitted over the set-in part of the outer sill and the joint is lead loaded.

The front end of the sill rots off from under the front wing and takes the box sections with it. I replaced both inner and outer sills as they were totally rotten and using what little was left of the box sections plus Geof Maycock's book (Practical Classics Mk2 Jaguar Restoration ISBN 1 873098 07) I replaced them in a similar fashion.

This is a very important area of the car, if you look closely the front end of the sill carries a lot of load and twist from the front bulkhead. These cars are as stiff as a wet paper bag and everything needs to be in good order and solid, this is the reason I bought a wreck and totally rebuilt the shell to ensure it was sound and not a cosmetic repaired load of rubbish.

I seam welded everything including the joint between the wing and outer sill, filled it with weld and ground it flush (probably a little overkill). When assessing another MkII I always look along the sill to see if there is a bulge at this point (corrosion or no box section). The chassis rails underneath look good but the body shell is the main structure and it is still whippy, hence I was advised not to fit a rear antiroll bar!

Be wary of the cable runs in the sills!

Best of luck

Brian

[cortinaman]

Thanks for the quick and detailed response Brian.

I take your point about the need for strength in this area - I've been welding Mk1 Cortinas for years - so I'm used to wet paper bag structures!

I'm going to cut back the rust to sound metal to see what I have left!

Good pointer on the Practical Classics book - I will invest in a copy.

many thanks

Richard

[Tilleyjon]

Hi Richard,

I may have missed something, but are you talking about the closing panel, see pics ?

They tend to rust at the bottom where they meet to bottom edge of the wing, you will see the holes that were in mine if you look in the shadows in the second picture.

Jon