That is very rough and ready welding. Real lack of fluidity in the weld pool caused by all the things Brian listed above.


Good welding fuses the two pieces of metal together...that's more like trying to stick them together with glue. And glue with random bits of NAUGHTY WORD-NAUGHTY WORD-NAUGHTY WORD-NAUGHTY WORD- in at that.

I am no welder, but would this standard of welding not pass an MoT? As OP says, this is a temporary job until he can get a proper restoration job done. Admittedly, the weld running away from the camera looks more like a tacking job, not a MoT spec running weld as now required, but this part is rather blurred.

That one is not mine, but you are quite right as a temporary job better than nothing. I like many would prefer a proper job done first time, but the guys who know how to do a proper job have lead times well in to next year.

This year this has caught me out, but hopefully for the other car I can get booked in now for some time next spring, so it will have been done before the MOT comes up.

I knew the guys would be busy, but i never expected lead times in the order of months, which is what I’ve found. I have someone lined up to do a temporary job for me, but you never know, I may be pleasantly surprised. Then again, i may not

Yes, it's acceptable for MOT.


I don't have an issue with it being a temporary job, but it's important to note that it's not a "quality" repair.


So long as the OP is happy with the repair he's got, there's not really an issue - but it's worth pointing out so that future readers of the thread are fully informed.


I've seen the massive difference between good welding and rubbish like this, pretty much every day I test welds to destruction to qualify coded welders.

I literally cried back in 2005 when my Cav came back with welding like that. Suffice to say I had it redone. But I think it depends on what you think of the car and your use of it. If its a quick fix as you run one to destruction I guess it works. It would annoy me just knowing it was there though.

Got the car back now, painted black for protection.
https://i.imgur.com/at2vXtjl.jpg

Hard to see the weld line but he had to make up a panel pretty much all the way from just in front of the jacking point to the wheel arch.

https://i.imgur.com/a5R9O2Rl.jpg

The weld is more visible in this image taken from below
https://i.imgur.com/0ljb634l.jpg

Will be coating the bottom with stoneguard later which will cover most of it, then go over it with Silver paint when we get some dry weather.

Local guy did it for me in the end. £120.

DIY sill repair.
 

Have you thought of a bit of self help? A MIG welder set at low current should help avoid burning through thin steel. If you make a template out of paper to cover the corroded section and draw around on a piece of steel sheet (obtainable from Wickes). Cut out with tin snips and fold in a vice to roughly the shape (as close as you can get it). The seams of the original shell will have lots of metal as several thickness were welded together. You will need to clean off all the paint and rust to get back to minimally corroded steel on the car and add the new fabricated bit to it. Its a bit of a fiddle but lots of practice on the bench first. Overhead welding is difficult but as long as you keep the current down it shouldn't be too bad. The original was spot welded so continuous full penetration weld isn't needed; tidy up with a small grinder after welding and re-do what seems to have welded on only one edge. If it includes the jacking point make sure you put a hole in to new piece of metal before you weld it on; can be trimmed with a Dremel to fit after welding. MAKE SURE YOU DONT HAVE ANYTHING FLAMMABLE AROUND WHEN WELDING! A bucket of water close by is a wise precaution. After welding is complete give the whole thing a dose of primer. A squirt of under-seal in the jacking point hole(s) will also keep rust at bay for a few years as long as its dry when you apply it.

Yes i thought about it, but i was scarred by the memory of messing up the floor pan of my 1974 Hillman Imp back in the 80’s, and decided against it.

My MOT guy made the point that yes you can spot weld on a complete sill, because that is a complete panel with the strength it should have and the same as leaving the factory, but where a hole is concerned it needs to be seam welded simply to restore the strength to the panel. Spot welding around a hole would still leave the panel weakened. Made sense to me anyway.

You are right Brian and I agree with you.

Over the years I have welded, in an amateurish way, lots of old cars.

My first attempts were total rubbish but, as the saying goes, practise makes perfect.-- ( At least not rubbish. ) Then I found MIG welders.
Welding vastly improved overnight.
The welds were no longer brittle and a cross section of the weld showed it to be round with the steel properly fused together.---:D

Almost like a miracle.

Brian.---I note you did not get much response to your accurate assessment to that unsatisfactory bit of welding.

Either they don't agree or you have shamed them into hiding away in a corner somewhere.-----:smilie_re:--To the corner.---;)