95 SW2 Door Sill / Rocker Repair

[cgg17]

Hello all,
Since I purchased my 95 SW2 and plan to daily drive it for a few years, I figured I would handle the rust issues before they spread.
Here's the pictures of the process.

Passenger Side
















Driver Side










Essentially I removed the top layer, followed by the bottom layer. Then I cleaned everything up, primed and painted it, then assembled it layer by layer. It took me three or four nights working on it.
It is nowhere near perfect and the paint does not match but with some body filler and proper paint this summer I should get it looking factory. But for now this will do as it is now 95% rust free on the entire chassis.

I also had to wire wheel and scrape out the seam under the passenger seam where the rear floor pan meets the front floor pan, as it was rusting and the seam sealer was peeling up.
I got it down to metal, filled the pin holes with weld, and primed and painted it. Once everything was semi dry, I put a thick layer of seam sealer on the inside and outside.
So, hopefully it will last another 26 years before rusting again!

If anybody has questions about this repair, just ask!
Thanks for viewing,
Chris

[Waiex191]

Very nice. So that is no new parts? Just rip it apart, clean it up, and weld back together? I may do this to my SC2 someday.

[454cid]

Nice work!!!

[cgg17]

Originally Posted by Waiex191

Very nice. So that is no new parts? Just rip it apart, clean it up, and weld back together? I may do this to my SC2 someday.

You will need a donor rocker segment from a car that is not rusted. The ones I used were from a 99, into my 95 frame. The shape was the same until about 6-8" up from the rear. The clips for the trim pieces are in different locations, so I had to fill the old ones in with weld and drill new ones to accommodate the trim pieces. Overall it is not a bad job.

[cgg17]

Originally Posted by 454cid

Nice work!!!

Thank you!

[Zeebins]

Looks like new! Mine are currently covered in a layer of oil, lol. If I do ever decide to repair them, it doesn’t seem like it will be that hard

Did you use an angle grinder to cut them out? All I have is a cheap reciprocating saw and it’s definitely not good enough to take out the door sills.

[Waiex191]

This tool with a cutoff wheel goes through steel like butter.
https://www.harborfreight.com/corded...der-69645.html

I have an actual Milwaukee one. For $13 it seems hard to go wrong. I have a real sawzall too. The purpose of the hobby is to collect tools.

[me.theuser]

I've had the bit better one going on 5 ish years now https://www.harborfreight.com/4-1-2-...tch-65519.html
I originally bought it to cut off a trailer lock using a generator it gets used every time I don't want to abuse my awesome ancient Makita

I have had that grinder so hot I couldn't hold it with jersey gloves
It loses about 6" of cord per year so ts down to 1.5' long I figure when it gets down to 6" left its time for a new one

[cgg17]

Originally Posted by Zeebins

Looks like new! Mine are currently covered in a layer of oil, lol. If I do ever decide to repair them, it doesn’t seem like it will be that hard

Did you use an angle grinder to cut them out? All I have is a cheap reciprocating saw and it’s definitely not good enough to take out the door sills.

I used a cheap saw for the long cut and cuts through the part that goes towards the C-Pillar, then an air powered cutoff wheel to do the rest of the cuts. Then along the inside of the door frame (pinch weld) I used a drill to drill out the spot welds.
Then a welder, grinder, and wire wheel to clean it all up.

[Ccrussell]

Very nice work!

[cgg17]

Originally Posted by Ccrussell

Very nice work!

Thank you!

[SLfun]

It's great to see these cars getting repaired properly! Excellent work!

[jpags729]

Amazing work! Do you have a list of everything you used in this repair? I'd love to drive out to you to have mine done hahaha. Just my passenger side is rusting/bubbling up and I'd like to tackle the job this spring/summer but I don't have any welding skills. Would riveting a piece of stainless steel work in this case if welding can't be done?

[cgg17]

Originally Posted by jpags729

Amazing work! Do you have a list of everything you used in this repair? I'd love to drive out to you to have mine done hahaha. Just my passenger side is rusting/bubbling up and I'd like to tackle the job this spring/summer but I don't have any welding skills. Would riveting a piece of stainless steel work in this case if welding can't be done?

Send me a PM, I can get a list together tonight. Welding is the best way to tackle the issue, riveting stainless may create an issue with water getting between the layers, also might not be strong enough as it is part of the rear box rail. If you are relatively local, I may be able to do it in the summer. Would only take a week or so from start to finish.

[PrestonIII]

Super nice job!

And one of the cool things is that it didn't mess with the outside paint, so there's no finish painting, blending, etc.

Very nice!



Preston III

[TomM96]

CGG17: Fine job ; excellent documentation!

jpags729: It might be possible to place enough rivets ....
but the rocker is a major strength member, and welding
affords full strength.

[cgg17]

Thank you everybody for the positive comments!
Here is an update with everything installed. The side that I had to drill the holes in for the tabs did not line up the best, I had to trim the underside of the door sill cover.
The same side also has a little smudge of seam sealer along the bottom, otherwise it is hard to tell anything was done to it.
I also got the interior cleaned up and in order. I will need a new driver's seat which should be available at the junkyard.
Otherwise, I have been driving and enjoying this little wagon, and with 91k miles it sure is nice and solid.

[Zeebins]

Not having the bar that runs along the top of the seat backs must be nice. I don’t remember what year it was added, but the later wagons with it always seemed way less practical because of it

[TomM96]

> Not having the bar that runs along the top of the seat backs must be nice.

Agreed. I suspect the 'bar' was implemented after some Sat drivers
made hasty 'stops' while transporting bulky/heavy cargo in the aft compartment. Insurance companies, and attorneys, sometimes compete
with the engineers for design features.

My first gainful employment was with a local firm which moved
things including big diesel engines, and houses (moved some back from the ocean shore).
My second summer job was with a carpenter. When loading up a truck,
he explained, the cargo always moves Forward when one brakes !

[TomM96]

@ cgg17-

The fotos just prompt the Refrain: Damn, these cars are fine!
That's 25 years duration!

My early experience was with aircooled VW model year '65. The heater
fan (also the coolant fan) pumped roadsalt mist through the rocker
panels, etc. By the 70s some vehicles just dissolved within 5 years to dust.

Then an international collaboration (early 80's) distilled means to address
the corrosion issue, including superior coatings, and a thin
electrogalvanizing coat on the sheet steel during its fabrication.
It took some time before the advances were implemented. The
wheelhouse liners and the full-length rocker covers on the Sat (to say nothing of the plastic) really benefited long term owners.