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Old 30th August 2020, 23:29   #1
johnnyb44
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Default The old tin worm has struck my sills

Hi and hope you're all well,
This weekend i got the old car in for a general engine service at my local garage. After a couple of hours i got the phone call to say it's all done. Driving off i had that nice feeling of having a good car of it being serviced and went home. As the feel good factor was there i decided to give it a clean up and general check up underneath the car,and to my horror i discovered the dreaded tin worm had taken a fancy to my sill. Reading posts here this problem mostly strikes the rear section of our cars but mine has struck, up at the front directly underneath the wing.
The hole i managed to push through is about the size of a 50p coin but will no doubt be bigger if i look hard enough.
Feeling totally dissolutioned and negative i made a snap decision to call it day with this car and move on to something a bit newer, with the thinking that once the tin worm starts its an mpossible battle to win.
Today i went on a new car hunting spree with a budget of around 2k.
After viewing a host of small cars that were anything between 5 to 10 years newer than my rover i was shocked to see how shoddy they were. On top they looked reasonably good, but underneath the rust was absolutely shocking on some of them. It really put some perspective on how well the trusty rover has held up over the years of ownership. So tonight after some hard thinking i decided to hang on to 75 and get the sill repaired.
In hindsight its been the best car I've ever had, and has served me well over the last 8 years. There's been very few problems to contend with and selling it on when its worth next to nothing is crazy, especially as its mechanically perfect and still looks amazing. It would be a crying shame to let it go for peanuts to someone who will probably run it into the ground as a cheap hack.
These cars are at a turning point now were there at there lowest resealable value, but i really do think there values will increase soon due to their increasing rarity and interest amongst a bygone manufacturer of Rover.
So i think it's time to bite the bullet and invest in my trusty 75 and give it some TLC and repay it back for the good service and enjoyment it's given me over the years
All the very best,
Johnny
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Old 31st August 2020, 06:20   #2
BoroRover
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I reckon you have made the right decision. Where are you ever going to find a car, that is going to cost you a fair amount, that is anywhere near the quality and finesse of your trusty 75 ?
An investment that is much less costly in your 75, than it would be to buy a " run of the mill", trundler, is a much safer bet. Having owned your 75 for 8 years, you know your car. You know it hasn't been abused. Can't guarantee that on other used cars.

Last edited by BoroRover; 31st August 2020 at 12:21..
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Old 31st August 2020, 07:13   #3
vitesse
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Front sill, unusual, but help is at hand in the forum of Mr Thomas Hobbs who makes repair panels for our Rovers. I've seen a picture of his front repair sections which are a mirror of his high standard rears.

Contact information: https://www.tjhobbs.com/contact.html

Regards
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Old 31st August 2020, 07:47   #4
johnnyb44
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Thanks for the positive feedback and link. I think after having the car for so long and not having to many problems with it, ive become a little complacent in thinking it will last forever and things like corrosion will never become an issue. It's sometimes all to easy to forget its nearly twenty years old now and must accept things like rotting sills are likely to strike.
In the last 8 years of ownership ive never bothered looking at other newer cars to closely, but yesterdays outing to see what's on the market for around the 2k market was a bit of an eye opener. The cars i was looking at where mainly small mid range affairs and couldn't help but feel how dull they were and character less Looking underneath them really showed there cheapness with horrors of rusting floor pans. It just made me realise how good our cars have faired up to the elements of the years of use.
Today I'm going to try and cut the rot on the sill and assess how bad and extensive it is. Once opened up and cleaned up i will give the internals a treatment of kurust or something similar and then book it in somewhere to get it welded up professionally. I'm holding my breath it's not to bad, but doing some of the work myself will give me a better idea of what and how bad it really is and give the garage a small head start on tackling the job
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Old 31st August 2020, 10:15   #5
johnnyb44
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Just been having a dig around the sill this morning. It appears to have rotten from the front jacking point and up towards the front mud flap. The 50p sized hole has now turned into a 3 inch strip along the bottom of the sill. On a more positive note its given me a fair idea as to the extent of crustyness going ons and it only seems to be the outer skin that's affected. The inner sill looks remarkably uneffected which should keep the costs low.
To the untrained eye of mine it looks like moisture has got trapping in this small section and can not escape because of the box section being blocked off by the jacking point cross section. Once this is sorted I'm tempted to drill a small hole in this new section to allow water to drain away and for easy access to spray rust prevention treatment into it from time to time.
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Replaced pcv filter, springs, plenum spy hole mod,Bonnet cable divider mod.
Wax oiled.Air con recharged. Auto box oil changed , Jules plenum guard fitted .Smoked wind deflectors fitted.S/S Compensator.Club Grill Badge kindly donated by Andyg2011..
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Old 31st August 2020, 10:26   #6
Yorkshire GOC
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Unusual for the front of the sill around the pads to rot - normally the rear sills near the rear jacking pad to rot- but i noticed you mention mudflaps - many folk on here avoid fitting them as they are considered muck/rust traps which may explain why your front sill has tim worm.
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Old 31st August 2020, 11:25   #7
ADO282
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I've done all four corners on my own car, and provided the internal jacking points are ok (mine were not sadly) then it is a straightforward job.


What must be avoided is the temptation to use a garage who will simply plate over the top of the crusty parts.as this will accelerate the demise of the car.


I was looking for jacking pads last evening and stumbled across this, yuk !!

These are not pictures of my own car, I'f I'd found levels of corrosion this severe, it would have gone to meet it's maker !!




















Looking at post rustproofing, this needs to be applied through both the drain holes in the bottom of the sill, and the holes where the clips which hold the chrome trim in place normally live.
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Old 5th September 2020, 08:48   #8
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A quick update. I've had the car assessed by a few local garages to get the dreaded sill sorted out. Most of them want around £100, but its a case of slapping a plate over the top and "Bob's your uncle"
Clearly this is not the way to go.
I have found a classic car dealership here in Oswestry and they do full restorations on classics. They have all there own metal work facilities and can make and shape metal work to a high standard. I've been qouted £350 for a proper job. It's bit expensive but ar least i will know its been done properly. My heart sunk though when they pointed out more problems on the other side. The rear sill is not looking to great so that's another job that will need addressing. The costs of these two jobs is likely to be high and I'm at a cross roads as to either keeping the car or sell it on. The sad thing is though is that its perfect mechanically and that it looks amazing. It's been my daily transport now for nearly 9 years and have enjoyed every minute of ownership. This year I've also spent a good few £££s keeping it in good order. If i sold it on i will be losing alot of money that I've invested in it.
One hand is telling me to cut my losses and buy some boring newer euro box whilst the other is telling me to keep it and work through the issues. Money is tight for me and buying any cheap car for around £1500/2000 is a hard pill to swallow. At least with the 75 i can get things sorted out when funds allow and at a relatively low cost each time. I just feel so sentimentally attached to the car and feel parting with it will be really hard. Its a really difficult decision to make as to what to do
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Replaced pcv filter, springs, plenum spy hole mod,Bonnet cable divider mod.
Wax oiled.Air con recharged. Auto box oil changed , Jules plenum guard fitted .Smoked wind deflectors fitted.S/S Compensator.Club Grill Badge kindly donated by Andyg2011..
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Old 5th September 2020, 10:32   #9
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One of my son’s had a go at me for spending money om my 75’s BUT :-
• These are luxury British cars , wonderful design in and out . Proud about this
• The smoothness of ride always put’s a smile on my face
• In terms of money , I just do not think I could buy another car of this quality for a reasonable price and have confidence in either it’s history or what it was going to cost me over the years. I know my cars very well – especially Service aspects and points to watch. I would not know that for another car and would always doubt just why it was being sold!
• My brother in law has a newer BMW ( usual boring grey!) and the Service/running costs are just absurd compared to mine .
• Spares are not proving a real problem with companies like DMGRS – I am building up spares for key areas this way.
• Lastly , I have yet to encounter a problem that has not already been addressed through the75andztclub – invariably with a positive outcome. The guidance / help from colleagues in this club is outstanding and the ‘How too’ section invaluable . Sills are a recognised challenge but with lots of guidance on solutions done by people.
Personally I think one of THE weaknesses with all vehicles is the underneath but , here again , there are pretty good solutions – rigorous removal of any corrosion and all round , thick protection – especially in cavities such as sills. I have detailed what I have done in posts to this club in the past.
As a retired chap I do not have money to burn but I am confident I can keep my 75’s going and have little confidence that a replacement of similar standard would probably cost me a lot to keep on the road - and I just would not feel as proud in it either.
All the best.
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Old 5th September 2020, 11:41   #10
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I vote to keep the 75.

I was in a similar situation to you, had to get rid of my 75 due to an injury I could no longer operate the heavy clutch.

Looked around in price brackets from £2K-£7K, only thing I could find that was remotely appealing was the Jaguar XF. Then did a lot of reading up on them, forum research for common problems, etc. Couldn’t even guarantee that after spending a decent £6k on one that I wouldn’t still have years of potential problems ahead.

Ended up buying another 75, automatic this time, for £721 on eBay. I’m budgeting £1500-2000 for getting her back to mint condition.

I know I’ll be happier with an older car that I bought for cheap and spend a reasonable amount sorting all the problems, rather than spending more on a car and potentially still getting problems that I won’t be able to afford to fix.

A well sorted 75 for under £3K that I KNOW has had all the problems addressed is worth more to me than a newer car with problems I wouldn’t know about or be able to afford to fix.

But... I’m buying knowing that I’m never going to sell it on, so it’s a rest-of-my-life car/investment...

Whatever you decide, good luck!
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