1983 944 SILLS

[Guest]

Hi all im new to the world of porsche having originally been a golf gti nut.
Anyways ill get to the point,i purchased a guards red 944 a reg,mint interior and pretty good exterior for the sum off 900 pounds.
Now i knew the sills were an issue with it but having had sills done on previous cars didnt think it would be an emense job....it seems 944s are common with the rot and nobody wants to weld them.
I started by emailing the dearest place ie porsches own bodyshop they want 3500 pounds to do it and thats going by emailed pictures.
Now i knew they would be dear but i could buy a couple of 944s for that,and i dont have that kinda money.
Does anyone know who would take this job on in the Glasgow,or ayrshire area for a resonable price?

 

[Wigeon Incognito]

I can't give you a recommendation around there, but I can at least reassure you that you should be able to get the sills done for much less than that!

Obviously it depends on the extent of the rot, but even buying brand new panels and having them fitted/painted should come to far less than that.

 

[Guest]

2 porsche sills come to 310 pounds which is fine,there is rot at the front jack point ie you can see the carpet,and rear quarters just after the sills aint great.
So where are you thinking of.?
Ive been told to try a place in thornliebank called sommerlees but have no idea how good they are?
Im open to suggestions?
Car mot and tax has now expired which makes it more expensive to move car legally.
Any help apreciated,and if any one been in the same situation please let me know how it went.thanks

 

[Peter Empson]

If your floor is going then I'd expect the inner sills to be on their way out too, they're not dear at circa £60 for the pair, but the labour will add up. Your corrosion sounds similar to mine, we also bought a replacment floor too as it made life easier.

I would have thought £1k to £1.5k is to be expected (in this area anyway) excluding parts, but bodywork prices and quality vary so much it's really dificult to predict.

 

[Fen]

I think you have just found out that there is no such thing as a cheap Porsche...

I've seen people quote figures anywhere from a couple of grand (your 3,500 takes the cake in that regard though) down to a few quid less than you paid for the car, but... it sounds from your description like your rot is further advanced than most people's and logically the cheaper repairs are probably the easier ones. Also there are body repairs and body repairs, and while you frequently don't get the best work for the highest price in bodywork you are also unlikely to get it at the bottom end of the price range also.

On the plus side if you're in Scotland you are well placed in terms of people who deal with corrosion (I grew up there and after I moved away I started to realise how phenomenally Scottish cars corrode compared with less salted environments).

Not what you want to hear I'm sure, but if you can't do it yourself and you don't know anyone who can do it for you then you'll be paying more than the car cost you to have it fixed I expect. I'm sure someone with direct experience of fixing corrosion on a 944 and/or local recommendations will add to the thread sooner or later.

 

[944 LIL]

I am just getting mine done as we speak - £400 all up. The sills are coming from the US - Lord knows why, but thats were the welder wants to source them from. However, I live in Surrey - 400 miles from Glasgow - a long way on a trailer!

 

[Alpine]

ORIGINAL: 944 LIL

I am just getting mine done as we speak - £400 all up. The sills are coming from the US - Lord knows why, but thats were the welder wants to source them from. However, I live in Surrey - 400 miles from Glasgow - a long way on a trailer!

that's cheap - I paid that just to get new metal welded (and painted) at bottom of both my front wings. He's done a perfect job though.

Might be worth putting a message on the Regions section of this forum for Scotland. Better chance of a recomendation perhaps than in this section.

 

[Guest]

I can stretch to a grand as i figured it would be close to that but its finding someone that will do it.
The annoying thing is i can paint,strip engines,but the one thing i cant do which it needs is welding.
The garage that gave it its mot previous year should never have givin it,They also replaced fuel line with garden hose.Got a strange feelin the garage and the previous owner were friends.
Well im glad the price ive been quoted sounds as silly to you as it does me.
I guess ill get the yellow pages out unless someone can recommend somewhere.
I appreciate the help...
Its to nice a car to sell for spares,and i cant believe people would scrap them otherwise.

 

[Paul Fraser]

You want to have a look at Club Autosport or whatever they are called in Birmingham as they do cheaper sills than Porsche. Also, search on sills here as there are a lot of useful posts that are worth reading about costs problems etc.
You can take an untaxed car for a MOT according to the DVLA website so maybe you can do the same for MOT repairs but you would need to check the site for that, and also have failed an MOT in the first place rather than just have had it expire.

 

[swright]

Garden hose for fuel line!?!!?!![&:]

You can drive an untaxed and non mot'd car to an MOT station as long as its booked in.

Garden hose for fuel line!!!!?!!!?!!!!?!!?!!!?![&:][&:]

 

[James_G]

ORIGINAL: 944 LIL

I am just getting mine done as we speak - £400 all up. The sills are coming from the US - Lord knows why, but thats were the welder wants to source them from. However, I live in Surrey - 400 miles from Glasgow - a long way on a trailer!

Colin

Would be interested to hear where you are having you work done, as I'm in Guildford and there's some rear arch work to be done to my S2. Thanks.

James

P.S. OP - Can't help I'm afraid but good luck all the same.

 

[Fen]

ORIGINAL: Paul Fraser

You want to have a look at Club Autosport or whatever they are called in Birmingham as they do cheaper sills than Porsche. Also, search on sills here as there are a lot of useful posts that are worth reading about costs problems etc.

I think the key is that the Porsche ones fit.

 

[Paul Fraser]

I haven't heard bad things about the CA ones; have you?

 

[944Turbo]

Only that they dont fit and seem to be a weld on the outside to hide the problem solution.
Tony

 

[944 LIL]

Would be interested to hear where you are having you work done, as I'm in Guildford and there's some rear arch work to be done to my S2. Thanks.

James - I'm getting the work done by a mate who's a mechanic - he's using one of his contacts who's had his arm twisted to do the work (none of which I knew until I'd asked as a result of your note!)

That said, I've had a number of other bodywork bits done to previous cars by a guy in Bagshot (Junction 3, M3) Ken of KC Autos - he's excellent - 01276 479 338. If you use him, let me know what you think.