Do the sills myself or find someone good?

[Ceef]

I bought a borascope recently as it was cheap. It’s fun and gut wrenching at the same time.

Knowing it was likely going to be ugly I took the trim plates off the sills of my 1.8is and had a look around. It is indeed not pretty. The near side has surface rust as a tide mark along its bottom two inches of the sill which has also caught bits of the bottom of the strengthener and the return of the inner silk which has really gone. The epoxy for the rest of it looks sound though.

The offside is much worse. It looks like someone has done a backstreet patch over the original sill, (and not even cleaned out the old rust and there are bits of mig wire!!) the strengthener is very poor although conversely the inner looks marginally better. The outer wants pulling out and starting a gain with a new one.

I suspect the bottom of the A post is infected on both sides

This is after I had an apparently reputable specialist with a national rep do the rear quarters (I hate doing bodywork) with the plea if it needs doing all the way along please let me know. I am reminded how average some folks are.

Anyway I can weld a bit (slow though) and that been on classic Lancias although I’m in the middle of doing my beloved Lancia Beta which is taking up all the space in the garage and will for some months. I have a compressor etc but I’d need to do the MX5 outside which means I’d need a flux core mig and I am at the mercery of rain. Sooo I’m wondering in a flight of fancy how much it is for someone to do the Whole main section of sills completely assuming the back is okay ( we are talking a leading national specialist did the rear). However Is this a 1500 job or a 4000 job - does anyone know. Will someone be prepared to hand it back welded only - my car needs a full respect which I can do in due course. Moreover is there anyone reputable in the north or is it a case of if you want a job done right....

[Mazda Mender]

Bodged and patched...sounds about right...(whisper.....who in the north did the wonderful patch and go?)..we/I need pics really to help with viewing what you have there to deal with to comment with advice further....yea we can recommend good fabricaters that will did the job correct and properly...but where are you in the north? That also helps to pin down who and where is recommended to you.
But just remember at the minute most if not all will be shut and bombed out when they reopen..i have one sat here waiting to be booked in when this is a bit easier.
M-m

[Ceef]

I’m near Newcastle but the car came from West York’s and had been through a number of hands in East/South York’s.

I’ll try and take some pics tomorrow but to see it property I’ll need to cut the paint back.

It’s a weird thing that the metal on a 25 year old Mazda seems poorer than a 49 year old Lancia.

[blackyb]

Its amazing that a Lancia that age is still in one piece, 30 odd years ago my mate had a Fulvia and the floor pan was rotten but it's all down to how they have been looked after.

Our MX is 29yrs old and appears to be solid even through the lens of a borescope but it could be my eyes.