Sill Damage

[MK1_Oz]

Can anybody tell me how flat the bottom of the sill is in the area of the rear jacking point on a Mk1 Escort please??? You can see in the pic below that some dill has put a nice crease in my sill/jacking point. I have started to put the rear bubbles on but it is apparent that I will need to fix this up first. I am just a little unsure how much to bash and pull out. I assume the bottom of the sill and the panel join flange were originally flat.

How would you blokes go about straightening this? I have tried some taps from inside the car but that panel join flange is way too tough. I thought about welding a long L shaped piece of steel to it that I could then use the hammer on to pull it out. Does anybody in SA have a slide hammer I could borrow??

Thoughts appreciated.

[jpayne]

If you gan get enough clearance below and a big enough weight a slide hammer should work. its a common problem.
I imagine a body shop would put it on the jig and use hydraulic power to pull on it
I have a brand new slide hammer, Im in London though!

Cheers JP

[gen mk 1rs2000]

clamp or weld a piece to the sill
then chain it down to a big dyna bolt in concrete floor
then jack the car up under the rail with a long block of wood untill
you acheive the desired result

[MK1_Oz]

I did consider that Steve. Cheers!

It will test my metal work skills as the crease has pushed out the side of the sill. Should keep me off the streets for a while!!!

[jpayne]

OZ,
you might be lucky and find when you address the impact pointthe rest of the sill pulls straight or close, but you need to pull inthe right place first.
sounds like a good plan by Gen Mk1

[MK1_Oz]

Had an early morning play and knocked together this tool....worked really well

[mickas]

Well done OZ

[MK1_Oz]

Cheers.