beware of what lies beneath now working

[colin944]

http://s1081.photobucket.com/albums/j348/colin944I thought you guy might like to see what lurks behind you sills as well as uder all the underseal and dynamat on the floor.My car had only a very small amount of bubbling on the very back end of the sills. Easy fix or so I thought .I have put some images of whats left after I started cutting out the rot and scrapped off the dynamat on the floor.I all looked solid before I started.Also I have a few shots of the replacment parts still to go on including a new floor.And finnally a couple of shot of what my mares get up to in their garage.

 

[Lowtimer]

Sounds interesting. Are the pics on a website somehere? I am not seeing anything.

 

[colin944]

got them on now go back to first message.Sorry not so good at all this photo bucket stuff

 

[ukmastiff]

Nope thy are still 'blocked' to me Regards Mas

 

[simkin911]

Umm.... not pretty viewing. At least you know what you're dealing with now and I hope you find it all worthwhile in the long run. Good luck.

 

[BlackMagic]

For those who want to see the pictures try teh following link. [link]http://s1081.photobucket.com/albums/j348/colin944[/link] But have a stiff drink before you start as it is horrible. I would have given up. Congratulations on your staying power. William

 

[peanut]

link works fine now. Wow thats a real horror story. There is a lot of rot to the floors too which surely should have been visible at the last MOT ? Looks like my old MGB's used to look lol 95% rust and 5% metal [&o]

 

[colin944]

No it sailed through it mot. But that was 3 years ago.The undeseal and matting on the floor means that you can't see the root untill you clean it all off.Also most "restorers" would only replace the outer sill and then you have no idea what's in behind.The thing is that when I am done I will know that every single little spot of rust will have been removed and replaced with new metal.Then I will have the peace of mind to know that my car is 100%.You don't do these things for money,You do them for love.So far my project has cost me around £1100.But if I had to pay someone to do it the bill so far would be around £5000,and that would make it totaly uneconomical. Also don't for one min think that this car is one off or a really bad example as we also have a 88 turbo in that is worse.And it passed it's owner payed £6k for it with a full mot 2 years ago.

 

[lookingfora944]

God knows what lurks behind my outer sills. I don't think I want to find out. I have given a thorough wax coating. But I can't justify spending 1-2 K on a car that cost 3K. Will probably just drive it until it falls apart. Though I will get all cam and balance belts/water pump sorted before spring

 

[peanut]

ORIGINAL: colin944 No it sailed through it mot. But that was 3 years ago.

you only get your car MOT'd once every 3x years ? [] I expect quite a bit of rusting could occur in 3x years don't you ![]

 

[colin944]

Sorry. the car has been in the workshop for 3 years now. I seen to spend most of my time helping with other things. Also I have had to learn to do alot of the work I have done,I could only do this by watching and helping(getting in the way of) my mates in the garage.They spend all of thier time restoring old VW vans,and those things rust like you would not belive.I used to be scared of rusty things but now I just cut it out and carry on.

 

[peanut]

yep vee dubs MGB's Alfas Datsuns once you've fixed the rust on them babys nothing scares you [] One of my 240Z's was so rusty I cut the entire front off and designed and built my own detachable space frame for it (like the E type)

 

[pauljmcnulty]

ORIGINAL: lookingfora944 God knows what lurks behind my outer sills. I don't think I want to find out. I have given a thorough wax coating. But I can't justify spending 1-2 K on a car that cost 3K. Will probably just drive it until it falls apart. Though I will get all cam and balance belts/water pump sorted before spring

I know what's behind your outer sills, I have a picture of the inside on my phone! [&:] As we discussed at the time, allow £1k per side as a maximum on a car with as little rust as yours and you're easily going to have money left over. I would be wary of leaving it too long: the cost rises very fast as corrosion spreads, and it's an MOT failure once it gets too far. Then, you're in to spending twice as much on an MOT failure car worth a fraction of what you paid. We need to remember that these cars corrode far less than anything else of the period: I can't think of a car built in the '80s that rusts less, can anyone else? TBut, they're not immune, and the trouble is that people only see a little blister or two under the thick stonechip material and ignore it, until the MOT inspector shows them the seat belts and suspension are mounted on red dust. By then it's too late for a cheap repair.

 

[Lowtimer]

Yep, quite so. This is the great 944 population reduction in progress. In a few years the only cars left (outside a very small number of cars whic hhave always been garage queens) will be either those which have had this work done properly, or those which urgently need it. Some of the most misleading cars out there are those which have had sill jobs done on the cheap in the past - which can hide the underlying issues for a good few years but don't make them go away. Guess how I know. Top marks to Colin944 for stout-heartedly getting in there to do a proper job. I can't do this kind of work so have outsourced the whole thing at a cost which a lot of people would say is stupid to spend on an old car of a type that typically changes hands for a modest four-figure sum. But I'm in this for the long term so regard it as worth it to have, at the end, a car which I know is totally sound and corrosion free, and photo-documented throughout. There won't be many of those around in 2015.

 

[lookingfora944]

ORIGINAL: pauljmcnulty

ORIGINAL: lookingfora944 God knows what lurks behind my outer sills. I don't think I want to find out. I have given a thorough wax coating. But I can't justify spending 1-2 K on a car that cost 3K. Will probably just drive it until it falls apart. Though I will get all cam and balance belts/water pump sorted before spring

I know what's behind your outer sills, I have a picture of the inside on my phone! [&:] As we discussed at the time, allow £1k per side as a maximum on a car with as little rust as yours and you're easily going to have money left over. I would be wary of leaving it too long: the cost rises very fast as corrosion spreads, and it's an MOT failure once it gets too far. Then, you're in to spending twice as much on an MOT failure car worth a fraction of what you paid. We need to remember that these cars corrode far less than anything else of the period: I can't think of a car built in the '80s that rusts less, can anyone else? TBut, they're not immune, and the trouble is that people only see a little blister or two under the thick stonechip material and ignore it, until the MOT inspector shows them the seat belts and suspension are mounted on red dust. By then it's too late for a cheap repair.

Hi Paul, Yes that's right, the inner sills did look ok. Also, I have had all the carpet and trimming up and everything looks fine. I have examined where the seat belts are mounted and that seems 100% solid with no rust at all. However, the outer sills have pretty much gone. I have treated the inner cavity with that dynol stuff and am hoping it will be ok. According to the Porsche shop. The Outer sills are only £60 each, but I guess getting someone to do the work is the real cost? Bearing in mind I need to fork out on having the belts done and, following advice on here, the water pump replaced while I am at it. It's a job that will have to wait.

 

[colin944]

The ones that porsche shop are quoting for are only repair panels.sills cost £150 ish per side from Porsche.This in my opinion is the only way to go.I could have made reair panels on the metal folder for about £8 each .In fact thia is what i did on the passenger side.I have since changed my mind and bought the right parts from porsche.I don't think if you want to keep your car there is any point in skimping.

 

[loc944]

Hi Colin, I see you went along to the Glasgow meet this month I missed it as I was on holiday, it would have been good to meet you. I am about to start work on my cills so would have been good to discuss. What is your location? I am in Neilston(Barrhead) It would a great help to me if I could come for a look at yours to see what I am up against. Cheers Alan. (PM or E-mail if you would rather not post details)

 

[Northern924]

Absolute respect to you for being so brutal with the repairs, this is the difference when it comes to making a car ready for the next 20/30 years. As its been said the price had bottomed out on the '44s right now, but give it 5 years and when all the scruffy ones have died cars like this will be the ones that command the respect and money of people wanting to buy. Sadly I doubt mine will be here in 10 years unless someone else takes it on, but hell we'll have some fun before it dies lol

 

[colin944]

Don't get down hearted.It's only rust!!! If you car is still in good nick then buy a mig welder and learn to weld.You can go to night school .Don't be afraid of a bit of rust.All panels can be had from Porsche if you can't get them from there try Andrew at Pro max.Or You can go and find a good local bodyshop or even better an old school restorer and it will cost alot less than you might think.You can always find someone who can do the job with out having to go to a big expensive body shop.

 

[peanut]

ORIGINAL: colin944 Don't get down hearted.It's only rust!!! If you car is still in good nick then buy a mig welder and learn to weld.You can go to night school .Don't be afraid of a bit of rust.All panels can be had from Porsche if you can't get them from there try Andrew at Pro max.Or You can go and find a good local bodyshop or even better an old school restorer and it will cost alot less than you might think.You can always find someone who can do the job with out having to go to a big expensive body shop.

I agree Colin, its not beyond the ability of any owner . I learnt welding and panel beating on my old MGB's . I couldn't afford garage work so I had to teach myself. Its actually very satisfying to fabricate a piece of mild steel into a chassis part or body panel part and then drive the car . It certainly helps you overcome your fears and anxieties about diy.