# '91 R32GTR - Rotten Sills



## ChairmanMeow (Jan 1, 2012)

Hello Guys,

It turns out that my R32 GTR has an issue with the sills which I gather is a common problem on these. The question is who should I take the car to in order to have new sills fabricated and have the associated welding work done? - I understand that new sills can no longer be purchased.

The rot is bad enough for an MOT fail unfortunately, but I don't want to trust my car to just anyone! I also have no idea what a job like this will end up costing, don't mind paying good money for a proper job but it would be great to get a ballpark understanding if possible.

Thanks!


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## GTR Cook (Apr 22, 2008)

Where are you?


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## Mookistar (Feb 5, 2004)

have a look at this thread - http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/177415-smalls-r33-le-mans-limited-sonic.html

It's a 33 and a long read worth it


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## ChairmanMeow (Jan 1, 2012)

I'm in the North London / MK area but willing to travel and will take a read of that thread now, thanks guys


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## ChairmanMeow (Jan 1, 2012)

Just read through that thread and that's some seriously impressive stuff! Now I am pretty nervous in case mine is that bad at the moment


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## mambastu (Feb 13, 2002)

ChairmanMeow said:


> Hello Guys,
> 
> It turns out that my R32 GTR has an issue with the sills which I gather is a common problem on these. The question is who should I take the car to in order to have new sills fabricated and have the associated welding work done? - I understand that new sills can no longer be purchased.
> 
> ...


Pretty sure that new outer sills are still available in Japan as RHD Japan show them on their website. 

Its common for the early 90's Nissans (R32, S13 and S14) to hole at the rear of the sills but they also tend to hole around the front and rear jacking points too so an outer sill may not be enough. 
A decent bodyshop will be able to repair them for you but its going to be difficult to get anyone to make a complete new outer sill as they're pretty big and multishaped. Speak to a few local bodyshops and see if they do restoration work and can make up repair panels. 
If you repair them properly you'll need to check the whole outer sill. Nissan didn't really seem to bother with cavity wax when they were made. On my R32 the rust appeared to be in the normal place at the rear of the sills but after cleaning everything up it showed that the metal had corroded from the inside out in various places along the sill. What looked like the odd rusty chip on the outside was actually the internal corrosion appearing so it turned in to a major restoration job. 

Cheers

Stu


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## Mookistar (Feb 5, 2004)

ChairmanMeow said:


> Just read through that thread and that's some seriously impressive stuff! Now I am pretty nervous in case mine is that bad at the moment


Scary isn't it. Mines going into Bob's at some point for rust correction. Hoping also it's not as bad as this. Mine shouldn't be and I don't ever want it to be.


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## ChairmanMeow (Jan 1, 2012)

Cheers Mambatsu, that's good to know! I hadn't actually thought about them being available in Japan still, which is pretty damn stupid considering where the car is from.


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## geoffree (May 16, 2010)

Chris has been buying panels for his project and hasn't found any supply problems, available either from Nissan Japan or Nissan Aus. 
He reckoned it was possible to build a complete car, you wouldn't have a VIN though.
Amazing for a vehicle dating back to 89. 
R32 Gts4 - Restoration/rebuild - Projects, Overhauls and Build-ups - Skylines Australia


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## ChairmanMeow (Jan 1, 2012)

Hello Guys,

I thought I'd pop back and post a quick update. Since my last post the car has been undergoing a complete refurb of the sills, underside and inner arches at a local bodyshop (MW Bodyshop in Olney, near Milton Keynes). 

It wasn't just the sills that needed work, loads of crappy looking metal has been cut out and replaced and now the car is looking pretty good again. I asked them to sort anything that could cause a problem in future so I hope to have a car that will be solid underneath for years to come... 

I need to pop back as they have done a photo gallery of the job for me which I can post here if any of you are interested in seeing it!


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## majestic (May 3, 2010)

Were the turrets ok?


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## mambastu (Feb 13, 2002)

32's don't normally have an issue with the turrets Iike the 33/34.
Rear of inner and outer sills, rear arches, rear lower quarters, jacking point areas front and rear and chassis rails at the front of the floor pans on both sides are the common areas. 

cheers
Stu


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## tgo nz (Aug 19, 2010)

Very interested in seeing pics of their work as may look at getting them to do a few things


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## ChairmanMeow (Jan 1, 2012)

Sorry for the late reply, and yes the turrets are spot on. The rest of the body is rock solid apparently, the sills definitely taking the worst of it and a bad spot inside the drivers arch. I shall post the pics as soon as I collect them from the body shop.

Annoyingly I had an alternator failure this morning and got stranded on the way to work!


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## blue34 (Jul 28, 2005)

We could do with compiling a list of known places up and down the country that can tackle sill and other rust repairs, not just MOT cover ups but proper inner and outer sill fabrication and repairs to jacking points and suspension tops etc..

Rust preventative treated afterwards to a good standard at sensible prices..

Anyone have any other known places?


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## davew (Apr 28, 2003)

blue34 said:


> We could do with compiling a list of known places up and down the country that can tackle sill and other rust repairs, not just MOT cover ups but proper inner and outer sill fabrication and repairs to jacking points and suspension tops etc..
> 
> Rust preventative treated afterwards to a good standard at sensible prices..
> 
> Anyone have any other known places?


TheGTRShop
Zelous


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## FRRACER (Jun 23, 2013)

Who ever you give the job to just make sure you see examples of past work, because if you trust just any random bodyshop you just never know what the quality will be like. Zealous, having seen the Blue R33 in flesh, they are very good at what they do and attention to detail is second to none.


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## mgtkr1 (Aug 27, 2015)

i read that some people have used transit sills to repair r32 sills? has anyone anymore details?


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## enshiu (Aug 20, 2010)

Bring it to JM Imports they have excellent body shop.


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