Rusty Jacking Point Repair Guide | How To Weld Rust Hole in Rocker Panel Sill | BMW E30 Build | 018

Rusty Jacking Point Repair Guide | How To Weld Rust Hole in Rocker Panel Sill | BMW E30 Build | 018

This BMW E30 build project video is a continuation of the previous, although this time I repair a rust hole in the E30 rocker panel (or sill), which is incidentally right where the jacking point is.

Here's what I use in this video:
Clarke Weld MIG 150 TE Turbo: https://ebay.us/jbdfE8 (this is the newer version)
0.8 Welding Wire: https://ebay.us/eQWqWx
Argon/CO2 Welding Gas & Regulator: https://ebay.us/7BOngD
Angle Grinder Wire Brushes: https://ebay.us/sSJjtM
Dewalt Angle Grinder: https://ebay.us/CmsNuW
Safety Goggles: https://ebay.us/2Dvt5C
Car Bodywork Hammer & Dolly Set: https://ebay.us/l3tdWF
BMW E30 Rear Wheel Arch Panel Driver's Side: https://ebay.us/zVTnFt

Obviously, the integrity of the jacking point on your project car is pretty important for safety, and to avoid accidents that might take the project backwards, so once it was discovered as a rust problem, it quickly became high on the list of priorities.

Previously I'd found that the car had rusted from the inside where the rear driver's side jacking point is, and it was quite a bit worse than what I could see on the surface. I cut it all out and welded up the inner chassis rail box section leaving me with a rectangular window into the rocker panel area.

Inside the rocker panel, above where the rear jacking point is situated, there is effectively a tower pressed into the chassis rail, which reaches all the way down to the actual jacking pad you lift the car from. This is to give is reinforcement and prevent the rocker panel sheet metal from collapsing when the car is jacked up.

I extended this tower in quite a crude way and then cut out a repair panel from flat sheet metal. I then used a hammer and my vice to get the correct bends and curves, including the curve which gives clearance for that tower.

With it all welded in, and even the jacking pad reinforcing plate welded on and looking OE, I'm again very happy with how the E30 project is going.

I'm 100% confident in my jacking point repair here, and would not have any concerns about jacking the car up from this point whatsoever, it's most certainly factory strong, maybe even stronger now. And from a cosmetic standpoint, it looks pretty factory too, with all the right shapes in the right places.

For more helpful how-to guides and restoration project logs, visit our blog: https://www.spannerrash.com/

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