Discovered rusty sills :(

[Jaz-MR21991]

Hello,

Firstly, I'm not really asking anything from this post, just want to share my pain lol...

So I fitted TOMs skirts to my mr2 around 2 years ago now. My sills were in good condition then, probably a tiny rust bubble or so. I recently discovered that the rear part of the sill that you can just see behind the skirt was rusty, very rusty.

So on Friday, I decided to remove the skirts to see how bad they are. They are a lot worse than I thought they would be, I can't believe how much they've deteriorated since the skirts have been fitted (I've owned the car since 2011) I feel like the skirts have held in salt and moisture and made them worse, not sure.

I managed to poke lots of rust out to see how bad it was and now there is big old holes all the way down the NS is worse than the OS, I guess this is due to being on the puddle side of the car haha. From the looks of it, it is just the outer sill, I can see surface rust on the inner area but I don't think that is major. The rear section is bad on the inner part as well as the outer part, literally just pulled it all out.

So I have purchased the rear inner and outer sill repair panel and the outer sill for the whole side. For both sides. I go in for a quote on Wednesday, no idea how much it's going to cost me, I'm at the point where if it's a ridiculous amount, I will probably..... break..... the .... car for....... parts I hope it won't come to this as I did have lots more plans for it! I might consider another MR2 and swapping all the parts over. But it could be time to try something different altogether.

The car is a '92 NA import t bar model in black, with a 3s-gte engine from a '95 which I bought from a member on here.

I guess I could ask to see if anyone has had this repair and how much they paid, or if there's any body shop people that know average costs? I would add photos but I don't think my account qualifies for me to post pictures yet. Basically I believe the whole sill will have to be cut out and replaced and then coats of rust prevention etc etc etc. But again I have purchased the repair panels myself so I'm hoping that will bring costs down a bit.

I know I sound like a wet flannel crying about my car but it's my baby, I wanted other mr2 people to make me feel better as I feel a bit disheartened ATM lol Thank you for listening

Jasmine

[SonicSW20]

Sill work depends on what the inners are like, and how the place deals with it. If the inners are rusty then the proper thing to do is to chop it all out and replace. This costs a fair amount as it takes time to do properly. I've seen some people just use a rust converter and paint over with a blocker like POR50 or similar. Depends on how far they've gone.

On the money side, is it a car you enjoy, and how much time have you put into it so far? If there's nothing else wrong with it just get it done IMO. If you break and buy another you're potentially dealing with a whole new set of problems, better the devil you know and all that.

If you're concerned about costs and not recouping on resale then modifying 20 year old cars is not the right game for you

[danjama]

Given the chance, i'd shoot the xxxxx in the face that put skirts on mine.

[craig]

Given the chance, i'd shoot the xxxxx in the face that put skirts on mine.

I'm done with bodykits. I've ripped my Border skirts off and binned them

More hassle than what they're worth.

In hindsight (fantastic eh) I wish when I'd had my car resprayed from a bare shell, I'd left the body kit off.

[danjama]

I'd love to rip mine off and go standard with a rev 5 wing, but the sills look like xxxx, thanks to aforementioned hand jockey!

Then again maybe running around with embarassing sills on show will force me to get the work done sooner, and maybe stop it getting worse!

[craig]

I'd love to rip mine off and go standard with a rev 5 wing, but the sills look like xxxx, thanks to aforementioned hand jockey!

Then again maybe running around with embarassing sills on show will force me to get the work done sooner, and maybe stop it getting worse!

My drivers sill has been plated but I ain't fussed. It's solid and I've prepped snd painted it with hammerite stone shield. Looks alright. I'll get it done properly at some point. Still better than the crappy fibreglass crap attached to the car before.

[androo007]

Go for it! The new panels are known to be an excellent fit and I think general rate is about £300 a side.

Not too bad and worth it to keep her healthy for a long time yet!

[Mullen]

Go for it! The new panels are known to be an excellent fit and I think general rate is about £300 a side.

Not too bad and worth it to keep her healthy for a long time yet!

Are these the sill kits from MR2Ben or somewhere else?
My drivers side rear for the last 4 inches-ish is rotten so I'm in the same boat as the OP.
I'm looking at the full length sill panels Ben has for sale but I only really need the short-rear kit but can't seem to find them.

[pbmr2]

Left

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Outer-Metal-F ... Sw~AVYpc0p

Right
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Outer-Metal-F ... SwcUBYRpTD

inner and arch
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toyota-MR2-MK ... SwawpXqrBR

[Jaz-MR21991]

Thanks for replies

Those panels above are the exact ones I have bought, glad to hear they are a good fit.
I guess some people are against skirts lol. I do like mine, and I will fit them again after, I will ensure that the guys rust protect the new sills and I will keep a regular eye on them, possibly even take my skirts off regularly to clean/inspect for any rot..

Committed to keeping the car going now

[Mullen]

Thanks for the links, pbmr2

[androo007]

There's those, but there's another chap who makes shorter sections too, which are meant to be really good fitment. I have a pair sat in a cupboard for 'one day' when it happens to me. Mine are rock solid, but... you have to be prepared!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-SET-Toyot ... Swu4BV0iNs

Both options offer good value for money though to reduce labour times.

[Madabout]

The MK2 MR2 rusts a lot worse then I imagined and having been in ownership for 7 months seen quite a bit of the rust issues. On my red car it has had the normal areas of rust sorted.

1. Sills.
2. Rear arch (driver side).
3. Behind the rear bumper/inside the rear arch to boot (driver side).

I was surprised at the lack of repair kits available compared to other cars I have got involved with. On the rear arch I bought the whole panel off a rust free breaker, which did the job.

Getting hold of parts like mentioned above will save on the labour and fabrication costs.

[Marty J]

The MK2 MR2 rusts a lot worse then I imagined and having been in ownership for 7 months seen quite a bit of the rust issues. On my red car it has had the normal areas of rust sorted.

1. Sills.
2. Rear arch (driver side).
3. Behind the rear bumper/inside the rear arch to boot (driver side).

I was surprised at the lack of repair kits available compared to other cars I have got involved with. On the rear arch I bought the whole panel off a rust free breaker, which did the job.

Getting hold of parts like mentioned above will save on the labour and fabrication costs.

I know exactly what you mean. I wish the MR2 had as much aftermarket body repair support as the MX5.

[swin]

repaired mine a couple of years ago
made the inner parts and outer sills myself
i will upload some pics