240zethan Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 Hi, I am new to this forum and was just looking for some general information on some rust repair I will be doing soon. My z has some rust on the hatch sill plate and I bought a new panel that was cut out from a parts car. The piece I bought is the sill and the latch mechanism. The piece has the about 6 inches of the tail light panel attached underneath it also. I have also attached a picture of the piece I bought for reference. I was just looking for any advice on replacing this part. I was planning on just cutting out the part on my car and welding in the new one but I have never done this before so I'm just looking for anyone who has done something like this. Thanks in advance! -Ethan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grannyknot Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 Well, if you have never done anything like this before you should really practice before you start cutting into your car. Hit you tube and watch some vids, It is probably just your sill plate that needs replacing so you have get yourself a spot weld drill and separate the sill plate from the rest and the same on your replacement piece. Once you get the rusty sill plate off you car it will look something like this, You will need to grind down any rust that remains under the sill plate so that both the car and the replacement are clean bare steel. It's not that this can't be a DIY job but if you want quality result this can't be the first project that you start with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240zethan Posted February 19, 2017 Author Share Posted February 19, 2017 I was originally thinking I could do that but most of the metal under the sill plate is also rusted on my car, that is why I decided not to buy just a sill plate. I have done some welding before and I was planning on doing some practicing before I do this also. Does anyone think I'll have any issues replacing the whole sill plate and the structure underneath it? Any information is appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 I don't think simply cutting out and welding in the piece you have there is the way to go. I would take your replacement piece apart by the spot welds, and remove the top sill plate on your car and see what you need to repair. In other words, repair the upper and lower sections of the sill plate separately. Patch the lower part as needed, and install your new sill plate on top. And as a general rule of thumb, you should try to do things as the factory did it, ie., use spot welds, don't just weld it in along the edges. I've seen people do that, and I don't know why they do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240zethan Posted February 20, 2017 Author Share Posted February 20, 2017 Here is what the rust looks like on my car. To me, it looks like the rust is pretty bad and has eaten away some of the supporting structure underneath the actual sill plate. Would it still be best to take apart my patch panel and just use parts of the structure and then spot weld the sill plate on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Would it still be best to take apart my patch panel and just use parts of the structure and then spot weld the sill plate on? That's more or less what I suggested in my post, and it's what I would do in your situation. Drill out the spot welds, take the top piece off, and see what you've got. Your sill doesn't look that bad, but I agree that it's probably worse underneath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240zethan Posted February 20, 2017 Author Share Posted February 20, 2017 Alright I just wanted to make sure that that's what you still suggested I should do after seeing what mine looks like. Thank you very much for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socorob Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 I drilled my slam panel off and there were just a couple pinholes underneath I spotted with the welder. Since the slam panel isn't really a structural piece, I used bodypanel glue with a spot weld at each end. I can push my car with it and it doesn't budge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Hard to believe that is the same car, Rob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatnow123 Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 I don't think you used enough clamps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socorob Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 That was 3 or 4 people worth of clamps. I would have used more, but that was all I could scrounge up on such short notice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.