Sills
- Thread starter rmg1rmg
- Start date
Looking at the pictures I would have thought you would need a JIG to be able to cut out the inner and outer sill without the car folding, that will cost more than the car is worth, I would suggest if you really like Cougars that you get a replacement that is solid, plenty about, then break the one you have and keep certain items as spares 
It'd be a shame, but I don't think any sensible person would blame you. Good luck, whatever you decide.
What gets me is how lightweight mechs in garages give it the 'thats really a lot of work fixing that' when in actual fact it's not, there's maybe 2 days work MAX doing both sills there, your problem is garage rates, back street garages have all but been eliminated so any quick fix welding places just dont exist any more, last one i did was my exes mum's fezza where 8 inches of wheel arch had vanished, along with part of the inner arch, MOT guy couldnt tell where it had been repaired apart from fresh paint.......
My cat can rot all it likes, it'll get fixed.......
My cat can rot all it likes, it'll get fixed.......
I used to work in a dealership and like any other garage they all rely on computers to fault find and there even called technicians not mechanics and they don't fix things they just replace them with a new part , there was only one real mechanic but unfortunately he can't weld at home or have access to welding equipment.
I'm not into hero-worship, but I know what you guys do over there and it's amazing. Just wanted to get that out of the way.
But you've definitely answered the question. There simply aren't many people who will do this job for a price that people are willing to pay anymore. If your car is worth £750, why would you pay £800 to repair it when you can just get credit on a new car? As much as you might want to, it doesn't make any economical sense.
I understand it, though I don't like it much. I didn't rescue Tiger because I had to. I did it because I wanted to and there was a really great welder bloke happy to help me. We're not all that lucky, sad to say.
Chris with what I'm having to do with a Chipmunk battery bay box this week, a bit of tin bashing and welding is a doddle, i have 3 panels to completely remanufacture, not large but with pressings which i have to make the tooling for..........guess my time in press shops may help out after all ;-) lol
I so wish I could watch and learn. Your job - in all seriousness - sounds amazing. And then after that, I want to visit Aston Martin and watch them make body panels, too.
But you're kind of proving my point; for something like this you're going to be paying someone - artisan or basher - for their time. And that's what puts something like a Cougar-that-needs-repairing beyond what most people are prepared for. I won't tell you what I paid Gav - lets just say I owe him a favour still - but not everyone has access to great welders like you, Dave and he are.
And so the cars die.
It's just popularity really.
If the car was more popular and commanded stronger money the repair costs would be more in proportion. BMW M3s of the E46 era are terrible for cracking their rear subframes and boot floors. That would/has killed Cougars but because an M3 will fetch £10k it just gets done and filed away as an "ouch" cost. TVRs are similar. The chassis tubes rust and it costs several thousand to remove the body tub, blast and repair the chassis and rebuild the car. It makes absolute sense when a working one fetches mid-teens upwards.
For a poor car like the Cougar which most people regard as disposable, costs like this are the end of the road.
If the car was more popular and commanded stronger money the repair costs would be more in proportion. BMW M3s of the E46 era are terrible for cracking their rear subframes and boot floors. That would/has killed Cougars but because an M3 will fetch £10k it just gets done and filed away as an "ouch" cost. TVRs are similar. The chassis tubes rust and it costs several thousand to remove the body tub, blast and repair the chassis and rebuild the car. It makes absolute sense when a working one fetches mid-teens upwards.
For a poor car like the Cougar which most people regard as disposable, costs like this are the end of the road.
Can I just say now - if you break a car and it has good sills and arches etc, cut off an keep the panels. I said this to people on the probe forum for several years now and they are just starting to come round to the idea now!!! Loads of probe good shells have been crushed for other issues - much better condition than some of the cars still on the road! Even if you don't use the panel you remove it makes it easier to have a solid template to work from than several pieces of rusty metal.