Mk2 - my sill restoration experience

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rob

Mk2 - my sill restoration experience

Post by rob »

As you might have read, back in May I discovered that the Mk2 MR2 is not as immune from rust as I had thought.

For those of you who don’t know me, I have been an active member on this club from the very first day it began, having bought my car in February 2002.

My car is a UK GTi-16 (although there isn’t much UK spec left on it) :D
It has covered 110.000 miles and is only used on the weekends and, if I can avoid it, not driven in the rain.

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The car is washed and waxed regularly. As I am always tinkering on it I know it pretty much inside out and back to front. I like to think it is pretty well cared for as cars go (other than the fact that I have no nice dry garage for it). Rust has never been a concern with this car – there have never been any blemishes other than tiny marks that were immediately sanded, treated and protected with new paint.

Whilst my car was up on ramps in May having some suspension geometry work performed, I noticed an ominous looking brown area in front of the rear drivers side under body / arch.

When I got the car home I set about the area with a wire brush, expecting to give it a lick of paint and under body sealant. Whilst brushing the brown didn’t go, so I got a screwdriver out and to my horror, went straight through into the sill – the metal was perforated.

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I prised the air vent plugs from under the sills and took pictures inside the sill.

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I also did the same from inside the car having taken off the seatbelt trim cover panel, allowing access to the inner sill strengthening areas.

Inside this area Toyota put foam sound deadening blocks. Over time, these sag to the bottom of this area and sit on the sill strengthening shelves, and with condensation inside at winter, the foam soaks this moisture up and rots this part from the inside out. Go and check your cars – pull this foam out and bin it straight away! It makes no difference to the sound attenuation in the car!

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More horror awaited me underneath the foam, the base of the sill strengthening shelves was going through – and this will eventually be an MOT failure....

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I took a flapper wheel to the black anti-stone chip area of the very end of the sill and watched as little pencil sized patches of air appeared as the thinnest areas of rust / metal just fell through that were being masked by perfect looking paint!

I figured that the only way to fully assess the problem was to get my Dremmel out and cut open the face of the sill to see inside better. This was a sad day – taking a cutting blade to your beloved car is gutting.

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Inside the rust was bad enough for me to accept that it needed dealing with before matters got worse.
I searched for a car restoration specialist in the Berkshire / Hampshire area and came across Paul Baker Custom Metalwork near Eastleigh. http://www.pbcm.co.uk/

I booked a half day off work and headed down for them to take a look and give me a quote. I have now got the car back following their work on the sill and thought I would share my experience to try and save a few more 2’s from what I expect will dramatically diminish the number left on the road in the next few years.

You cannot buy the ends of the sills or the arch panels from Toyota without buying the entire rear quarter panel! They would then need cutting off and blending onto your car along with all new structural shelves in the sills.

The main reason why I took my car to these guys is because they can make pretty much any bodywork component from scratch with special Zintec coated steel – including the correct profile rear sills and not the (in my opinion) awful looking Ford KA sills with a straight angle to the end (the rest of the car is all curves – why would you want weird looking angles?)

Furthermore they have a superb website showing you their extensive restoration work on vintage Jensen Interceptors, Ferrari’s, Porches, Jaguars etc. etc. If they are good enough to do full resto’s on these cars then I would happily trust them with my old J-tin 

So enough writing – picture time….. (all pictures here on were supplied courtesy of PBCM)…….

Car as delivered to them….

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Removing the rot….

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Last edited by rob on 18/10/11 21:58, edited 2 times in total.


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rob

Re: Save your Mk2 - my sill restoration experience

Post by rob »

Rebuilding the structural elements and protecting with rust inhibitor / paint….

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Fabricating completely new sill ends and inner arch panel….

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Filling new metal work with metal filler to prevent cracking….

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Priming….

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Top coat, stone chip and Waxoyl type sealant to the arch area….

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Washed and ready to be collected….

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You get what you pay for and, although not cheap, these guys do a really thorough job that puts your mind at rest. You can get the sill covers done for less, but then you are just locking in corrosion which will come through again in a short time – if your sills don’t collapse whilst jacking the car that is!

There were elements that they cut out and replaced over and above their expectation of the work needed to ensure that the corrosion was properly removed. They photograph every stage and even keep the rotten bits to show you what came out. The whole cavity has been treated and should last a good 15 years or more.

So my car is home again. Although I have a similar issue with the other side it doesn’t seem to have gone as far as the drivers side and so for now I am going to go mental with Dynax S50 corrosion inhibitor to try and delay the need to have the same work done on the passengers side for a few more years.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend these guys - they have done a superb job. They are also really friendly and took pride in showing me their work such as an '86 whale tail 911 that was being de-rusted and sprayed. They stuck to an agreed price for me even though it took them more time than the money had allowed for. Top service :th:
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brow1985

Re: Save your Mk2 - my sill restoration experience

Post by brow1985 »

What was the final bill. If you don't mind me asking!

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Re: Save your Mk2 - my sill restoration experience

Post by Tallboy »

Thats one car i would off thought there would never off been any rust! Glad you got it sorted properly! :th:
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littlemisstubby

Re: Save your Mk2 - my sill restoration experience

Post by littlemisstubby »

rob wrote:Inside this area Toyota put foam sound deadening blocks. Over time, these sag to the bottom of this area and sit on the sill strengthening shelves, and with condensation inside at winter, the foam soaks this moisture up and rots this part from the inside out. Go and check your cars – pull this foam out and bin it straight away! It makes no difference to the sound attenuation in the car!

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More horror awaited me underneath the foam, the base of the sill strengthening shelves was going through – and this will eventually be an MOT failure....

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Nice one Rob. I'll be checking my lot the weekend then. :cool1: :D
Good job on the repair too. :th:

That info would make a nice addition to the ky2. Just a thought. ;)
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rob

Re: Save your Mk2 - my sill restoration experience

Post by rob »

brow1985 wrote:What was the final bill. If you don't mind me asking!
Trouble with quoting the price I paid is that it all depends on the level of work required. I dont want people to get the wrong price through thinking their job will cost what mine did so I will send you a PM mate.....
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rover76

Re: Save your Mk2 - my sill restoration experience

Post by rover76 »

good job all round rob :th:
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rob

Re: Save your Mk2 - my sill restoration experience

Post by rob »

rover76 wrote:good job all round rob :th:
Wish I could take credit for the work mate!
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rover76

Re: Save your Mk2 - my sill restoration experience

Post by rover76 »

rob wrote:
rover76 wrote:good job all round rob :th:
Wish I could take credit for the work mate!
still better than seeing another mr2 die. :th:

ahem even tho i'm in the middle of breaking one :D

getting a lovely pile of bits to swap to my mr2 now ;)
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Re: Save your Mk2 - my sill restoration experience

Post by Howlin_Mad »

rob wrote:
brow1985 wrote:What was the final bill. If you don't mind me asking!
Trouble with quoting the price I paid is that it all depends on the level of work required. I dont want people to get the wrong price through thinking their job will cost what mine did so I will send you a PM mate.....
I don't think suppling us with a ball park figure is out of order, if you give an approx figure and add a bit extra on as you said you had extra done, but obviously if everyone is completely aware all work will be different :)

HM
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rob

Re: Save your Mk2 - my sill restoration experience

Post by rob »

Well this specific job was £600 including painting and vat.
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Re: Save your Mk2 - my sill restoration experience

Post by Howlin_Mad »

rob wrote:Well this specific job was £600 including painting and vat.
Thanks Rob, I don't think that's too bad a price (cheaper than replacing some black billies!) considering the work that went into it and the results :th:

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Re: Save your Mk2 - my sill restoration experience

Post by sinjen »

Howlin_Mad wrote:
rob wrote:
brow1985 wrote:What was the final bill. If you don't mind me asking!
Trouble with quoting the price I paid is that it all depends on the level of work required. I dont want people to get the wrong price through thinking their job will cost what mine did so I will send you a PM mate.....
I don't think suppling us with a ball park figure is out of order, if you give an approx figure and add a bit extra on as you said you had extra done, but obviously if everyone is completely aware all work will be different :)

HM
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rob

Re: Save your Mk2 - my sill restoration experience

Post by rob »

See 2 posts above mate.

Also to add, imports are likely to need less work as they have been less exposed to our winters. I would still check them though....
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