An Introduction: Chris Collins and Morris Tilly Project

[jack neville]

In modifying a Tilly from an original car chassis the B pillar is simply moved back about eight inches or so to accomodate a wider door. When initially examining these vehicles I thought a repair patch had been added to the sill section but all that was done was a filler piece was added in factory to make up for where the original B pillar was intended to be located. So I had to do the same.

[jack neville]

Original bump stop plates were added.

[jack neville]

Then the floor was ready to replace. There is one rotten piece that needs patching and the rear fold was too rusted and bent so I added a new piece.

[jack neville]

This is the side profile of the rear floor when I initially removed it. The box section was rusted out so I removed it to open this area up for sandblasting.

[jack neville]

Chris intends to tow a trailer (read custom tear drop Tilly camper yet to be designed and built) so a tow bar is required. There is not a lot to attach a tow bar to on the chassis of a Tilly so in repairing the rear box section of the floor (which welds between the ends of the chassis rails) I decided to reinforce that area.
A piece of 3mm sheet was first folded to replace the rusted box section I had cut out. Another 3mm piece was folded to add inside.
I will weld nuts inside this section to pick up and support the tow bar. There is two holes with crush tubes about half a metre from the chassis rail ends that can be utilised to fix the front end of the tow bar. This will be adequate support for the tow bar which I can fabricate once all this is in place.

[jack neville]

When I removed the floor I drilled all the spot welds with a spot weld drill. I left the bottom welds intact after cutting them so I could realign the rear of the chassis rails with exactly where they had originally joined the floor. The rails had crept in a bit with the welds so I needed a porta power to spread them slightly.

[jack neville]

The rear box section with internal half inch nuts in place to attach the tow bar was welded in and then the ends of that section welded to the ends of the chassis rail. The right side of the floor lined up correctly so I tacked it in a few places to get that side supported.