I hadn't planned on replacing the sills, but once I started looking it was clear they needed doing.
Somebody in the past had fitted cover sills - 8" wide sills which are just welded over the top of the old (rusty) sills. If you have a Mini
do not do this!!! - it might keep your car on the road for another year but behind those sills the real (structural) sills will be rotting away.
![Cover sills](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_svMLBLPN23-aRbmDbb3CiMSZQbkM5_2uyyXU1pdOhxOtQD8GMeSsGklqo0cRyl4ww9frQq6ZmchrWZ163SqQZErYjTn0Hvc3qXa78wb8zcElFoSEzUWT6nGh3N7WMlP_MGBwsg=s0-d)
I removed the cover sills first. Woohoo! No rust! Oh no wait, I think I can see a bit.
The "real" outer sills were almost completely gone, and the jacking point was dust. It's a good job no one tried to jack the car up on this
![Jacking point](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uoQOPknK3Q7ht1_Ug1TMRft-SP_oD_0TOdbhlJeLHbPsTrPab3_jZITHaA6VKi0OhBMp8KNFRZY4E7a-XQL-scKN1y0GAzj2PbMERRJDJW_FA5STGwaaVNuGSf7M1YUKbtDoxG=s0-d)
The cover sills completely removed, showing the extent of the rust
![Cover sills gone](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sFDB6VKj2SJIwrMM_KJo0Rx4QIchhlj_3UxNI_wY2UCvwKJv7PZXq4YmhS1JILAOAUVot2E7YEuW0n23UkPNHaUkWjN91f_8ain4AECyeRjp3WYmwXKqbdA_f41iXoi-s59GWe=s0-d)
The first job is to cut the old inner sills out. I just cut these out using a cutting disc in the grinder since I would be replacing everything.
![Inner sills cut out](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_u0IhUcP-ffVbLw46U5o6qIJDEvboehv7h1riMeexBhaCn76ucuj2jRU4F0Qo-40f_narFnwP27yNcY6ph3TCPDQHdgw68GNqGsb-P4wz_eNx0vCTe8v5j1ikrYVUetwc71O-SH=s0-d)
I replaced the inner sills in two halves, just to make the job a little easier and to make sure I didn't remove too much metal at once.
![Part way through](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_v-9bEQB51mZrenHV-RBhvp40HumSHBcjkhelDw4JrU_bxEHfNC7NaWyNwwFmZ3gjmLKnHauYkRqrowzAob3qLBVP_dc4JXMO34uQyKuta8INy190vQJByjO13S5fXrM74I203t=s0-d)
With the old sills removed and the new ones in place, the next job was to replace the jacking point. I bought a heritage jacking point panel and seam welded this in place. I could have plug welded it but since I'llbe jacking the car up on this I thought it much better to seam weld it. Plug or spot welds will eventually start to seperate the panels thus allowing water in, much better to just seal it all.
I also cut the old seatbelt mounting off the old sill and seam welded that onto the new inner sills.
![New jacking point](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uTPnXixnt0m2dIFPpN2BRPovE8Yi5bTC82eyXlwRm7YYQuKpi6BBdLb2RPJYnIqZawkpGVjYNftyAdzFLFHY_eF8f6AG97RZd7e8EP7-3lce6UIBdyNA9JBkUiwTTZVzhjCYmN=s0-d)
That's better! The new inner sills just about in place. The next job is to look at the rear "bins" and the door step panel.
You'll also notice that I've welded a bar across the door gap, this is to ensure that the door gap doesn't collapse with the sills removed.
![New sill in place](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uQmlVnRKFvKbVCljKzpbT6fBh06Jrip2GvmCFtv7CXKLdRLLLv46sk_lH24WZsCBhoVDnhCq2YtdXNIvvVwhW9fXje6-L1_aMrDexMgcU04SYR0mkxdgdqLFSU1hpfZYYInRhP=s0-d)