Sill, A-post and Bulkhead...

I created a small repair panel for the front outside of the lower a-post. I started by taking some measurements with the sills still in place, then using a small piece of stock steel i marked out and cut a patch. This was tacked in place with the sill in situ to keep alignment. The sill was then removed to allow me to weld the patch in correct alignment with the foot well side.

Its not pretty but it fits.

I positioned the hing plate repair panel and tacked it on. A few measurements were taken to make sure it was within reasonable tolerances. I then placed a few stitches of weld to fix it to the rest of the a-post, but it cant be welded to the foot well side until i check full fitment with the new sills in place.

Next i decided to completely remove the outer sill. This was fairly easy as the last person to do some work had simply tacked this on, the welds had almost no penetration and broke very easily! I will keep the inner sill on as long as possible as this gives me a good reference point for the floor and bulkhead work. There a couple of layers of inner sill as again a new one was attached over the old!

I cut away a section of the bulkhead so i could inspect the spring hanger. From beneath it looks OK and the captive nuts aren't corroded. Through the inspection holes i can see only surface rust on the hanger. The rear of the bulkhead will need replacing but the hanger is solid and would benefit from a cleanup and spray. This saves both time and money with a new spring box being close to £30.

Inspecting the front cross member it appears solid too, thus saving more money and time! The remaining work consists of:
Lower a-post cover
Front of bulkhead
Rear of bulkhead
Inner sill
Outer sill
Floor
boot repairs
rear clip repairs
left and right rear shock brackets.