Ok guys I need an opinion here. If this is not the correct place for this post I apologize. In a pickle at the moment as I have just about totaled the passenger side rear of my 02 xtype sport sedan. Everything else on the car except the passenger doors, control arms, and rim are good. Also bent some of the frame as well. My car had 114,xxx miles on it and it drove like a dream till I slid into a pole. I have found a 2003 x type with 220,xxx miles on it with a blown motor that also needs rocker panel work for $500. Do you guys see any sense in spending the $1,000 to have the blown motor swapped with my motor that is still good? As well as tackling the rocker panels on my own? The car does have 220,xxx miles on it and I just don't know how long these go for. I will still have my old car for parts. Just need to try and see if this is worth the time, money and effort.

Thank you for any input!

 

There is no such thing as $500 rocker panel repair. When you see rust on the outer rocker panels then the entire internal structure is most probably rusted out. For some incredibly stupid reason Jaguar (Ford) directed wind-shield run-off down the A pillar and then out the rocker panel drains. (Try it with a garden hose if you don't believe me.) The A pillar and rocker panel are structural components. You can do the $500 cosmetic fix but you're driving a car that can fold like an accordion in a frontal accident. Do you really want your next vehicle to be a wheelchair ???

 

The rocker panel is NOT structural on our cars (the A pillar is). The UK guys regularly replace rockers, for around $500 a side if a shop does the work, and for the equivalent of about $200 if they weld it in themselves.

Unfortunately, you have to roll your own replacement, and it MUST be properly welded.

The good news is that there is a plastic cover over the thing, so it doesn't need to be a 'pretty' job.

 

You're wrong about the rocker panels. Yeah you can do a cosmetic fix but they are structural. In an accident what keeps the A pillar from moving over to where the B pillar is? As Clint said "do you feel lucky...."

 

I don't think the original poster meant he could fix the rocker panel for $500. I think he meant the price of the car with the blown motor and rocker issues would be $500 to buy.

Personally, there seem to be too many "what ifs" in that $500 car to justify. At a minimum you would have $1500 invested in a car with 220K miles on it with no guarantee of the drivetrain or any other possible issues. Plus, there could always be unforeseen problems with the engine swap that could cost more. Plus, you would still have to fix the rocker issue. How much would it cost to fix your current car?

 

The side rockers are NOT structural, the side zone is the inside edge of the floor pan. The rockers are available as crash parts, thin sheet metal with no corrosion protection.

The have a plastic cover that is visible from the outside of the car, that simply clips on.

I'll take the word of the structural engineers who actually designed the car, and the UK Ministry of Transportation.

I've just had mine evaluated; the rusted sills are being removed and replaced...the INNER structural member is intact, the OUTER rocker is nothing but support for the plastic outside rocker panel.

The A and B pillars ARE structural, but they tie to the pan, not the rocker.

 

In Clint's terms I guess you feel lucky, but have a look at Figure 3 (MOT data) where it shows what I have said. http://www.motuk.co.uk/appendix_pics.htm

Please don't do other readers of this forum a disservice but saying something is so when it isn't.