South sill steel fitted 10-20-2012

We started by marking the holes to be drilled for the splice in the two long pieces of steel on the south inner sill.  They were then removed from the sill and lined up for drilling and bolting the splice in place.  Not shown, but taking significant time was the process of moving the tie rods that were passing through the lower sills and the steel, from side to side in order to remove the steel beams.

The magnetic drill was again  used to drill the holes for bolting the splice piece to the larger pieces.  John M. is doing the honors while John E. and Tom are advising.  Craig in the background can't stay away from the wood.

One side is together and the other is ready to bolted.  It has been decided to bolt and weld the steel together after consulting engineers on the best way to do it.  On a prior post I had suggested that bolts alone were going to be used, but they will be welded as well.

The steel that now runs the length of the car weighs over twice as much as the two pieces before joining, so it took a come-along and some coaxing to get it back in place.  Craig is drilling holes to accommodate the heads of the bolts in the sill after the steel is in place.  Finally it all fits together.

With the steel removed, the sills are sagging as well as shifted side to side as in the photo on the left.  After clamping the steel in place on the south inner sill, the alignment is much improved as in the photo on the right.  Note the splice in the sill (done in the past) near the end of the steel on the left is aligned much better on the right.