Seriously rusty rear quarter

[robdimond]

After a bit of a poke around (bare hands only at this point):

Trying to find material that isn't surprisingly solid looking iron oxide/underseal composite:

The tin worms have eaten all the way though to where the exhaust back box sits:

Ouch... not got a lot to work with here. It's a lot worse than I expected... hoped it would look more like this one:
http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=690434

There are about 4 panels that join together in this area, all of them are badly corroded in parts. Have a complete repair section from Elliot so trying to split the required repair panels out of it.

Can I lower the exhaust out of the way without unbolting flange joint for the the back section... the bolts are nicely corroded and it looks like they'll just shear off. Is there enough 'flex' in the system?

 

[George Elliott]

There is no exhaust flex, I know what you mean, they will likely break, or your arms will, therefore I just cut them with a 1mm slit saw in the 4 1/2" grinder. (Carefully [8|])

Many many 944's are a bit like that in the back corners......

but its worth sorting

good luck

George
944t

 

[colin944]

Personally I would cut the battery tray out.It will give you much more access to the panels from the inside. I would then weld in the bit you got from Elliot and then weld the battery tray back in after. That way you will be able to weld some of it from the inside.Would make the job a lot easier.

 

[robdimond]

OK exhaust is staying where it is then for the time being...

Good call on the battery tray Colin. I had a hack at it but it's really tough to get my angle grinder in there... it seems like the battery tray is MIG welded in. I may remove it destructively because it's got some surface rust on it and I have a mint one from the repair section. Another option is to weld the other side from the quarter panel 'window' as the repair section is quite big... that might be the easiest option.

I couldn't face chopping more out today so I picked apart the donor section and made some repair panels for the bits I've already chopped.

This section needs trimming so I can butt weld it to the quarter panel.

Underneath... here you can see the section still missing, it had all turned to dust beneath the underseal. I need to cut the rot back a bit more and then hopefully I can weld a repair panel on from the inside.

Looking into the wheel arch, another repair section cut from the donor. I'm going to have to fabricate a little piece for the gap in the corner. That piece where all the panels join together is MIG welded at the factory and was corroded on my car and the repair section...

General experience... DIY bodywork is hard and takes a long time. It makes all the welding I've paid for seem like tremendous value. Spent ages clearing off that thick rubbery factory underseal and drilling spotwelds.

 

[colin944]

It looks good Rob. The repair panels you have will do the job nicely.It takes ages to get the stone chip and sealer off. As for drilling out spot welds,well that the bit I hate doing the most.

 

[robdimond]

Cheers Colin. I was starting to think I'd bitten off far more than I could chew... but then I clamped the new panels on and it felt like I was finally making forward progress. Please tell me the sills are a simpler structure than this!

 

[colin944]

ORIGINAL: robdimond

Cheers Colin. I was starting to think I'd bitten off far more than I could chew... but then I clamped the new panels on and it felt like I was finally making forward progress. Please tell me the sills are a simpler structure than this!

would love to say yes the sills are easier.

But you just don't know until you start cutting.You can take as many photo's down the vents etc but you really only know when you cut them open.What you are doing now will be a great confidence booster for you. Just tackle the job as you are and you will be fine.

 

[zcacogp]

Rob,

Coming a bit late to this thread but that looks like a good bit of repairwork on a seriously grotty bit of car. It'll be hugely much better when you are done.

You mention sills; are those next on the list?


Oli.

 

[robdimond]

Oli,

Thanks for the positive comments! This bit of the car was seriously grotty, although it was almost completely hidden underneath the rear valance. The lights had been leaking for years and there was an accumulation of grot that kept this area permanently damp. At the same time crap in the ledge in the wheelarch had eaten away from the other side. The problem is the area that rotted is where four different panels all meet so each one has needed a part cutting out and a repair panel making. The underseal is so thick that it does a good job of making it look solid when actually there is no metal left at all...

Rob

 

[andy watson]

Blimey Rob would never have guessed that was going on with you car, keep up the excellent work and keep the pictures coming, must be really good knowing you can do your own welding and repairs like that.

 

[peanut]

ooooh tricky repair there with dreadful access. Well done anyway.

For future reference if you need to cut out metal panels with zero access or near to wiring , fuel , brake pipes etc use one of these. They leave a nice straight edge to work from and you can cut intricate shapes . just needs a 5mm drill hole to start from .
£10 squids from the bay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Draper-Ex...t=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item53f5fcd3b2

 

[robdimond]

Andy,

This rusty bit was very well hidden! It's also (I believe?) not structural so has been ignored by MOT man for years. It's hidden from below by the rear valance and from above by the battery. I wouldn't be surprised if there were many others out there like this. If you can grab a handful of rust flakes under the battery tray then you have a problem...
Unfortunately the old girl is a bit of a rot box and has a few areas that need attention with some scabs on the a-pillar, rear lights, roof, drivers sill.

As for knowing I can do my own welding, I don't [], this is my first attempt at car bodywork. I learned to weld about 15 years ago, had a 'refresher' evening course last year and bought all of the kit. The car is basically sound and worth saving, DIY means I can do hopefully a long-lasting restoration without short-cuts and have some fun in the process.

Rob

 

[pauljmcnulty]

It's unusual to see one that bad; the only other time I've seen a completely rotten rear well was on a car that was shot everywhere. I suspect it had lived outside on the coast all it's life, as it really was incredibly bad everywhere. Yours must have had a build up of muck blocking the drain hole and holding the water in, I guess?

It's certainly the case that the underseal holds the car together very well, even when there's no metal under it! [&o]

 

[colin944]

Just take your time Rob.Get a sheet of 0.8 mm steel and practice on it. That will help you to get the welder set up properly and save you from blowing holes in the repair panels.

 

[robdimond]

Just take your time Rob.Get a sheet of 0.8 mm steel and practice on it.

Will do! I also have a fairly large leftover section of 944 that I'm not using so I can try cutting holes in it and patching them up.
Got lots of wire and gas to play with. Managed to find a local supplier who has 'Coogar 5' (Air products equiv of Argoshield Light) in small cylinders that are £70 to rent for three years, and £30 for a refill. Thought that was pretty good!
Peanut: that nibbler thing looks cool, those 'only a tenner on ebay' things have added up quite a bit though!

Will keep the photos coming... not sure when the next update will be.

 

[PAUL RUDDY]

As well as feeling about under the battery tray for rot you can, as per the sills, get a camera under there and fire off a few random shots, helps assess the area's you cant see from above with a torch. With all the 944/968's I have owned inspecting, cleaning and lubricating these areas should be part of routine maintenance to keep them at their best.

Cheers, Paul

 

[robdimond]

I think it's been a while since mine looked like yours Paul, possibly 20 years!

Managed to spend a few hours on this today.

Chopped out more rust, and treated remaining surface rust that was there. Also cut some repair panels. I ummed and erred about chopping out even more as there was some surface rust on the reinforcement piece for the 'jacking point'. In the end I decided I was being too much of a perfectionist, so just wire brushed it and treated it.

Left the battery tray in because in the end I had to cut so much out of the lower wheel arch, that there is quite good access to weld everything from there except for the final 'closing' piece on the rear quarter, where there is of course great access from the outside.

Looking in from the wheel arch, only solid metal remains!

Repair panels for the rear quarter and boot floor clamped on. Still some final trimming to do

Boot foor repair panel, from underneath. Plan to lap weld this from the inside and then slap lots of underseal on to stop water creeping in the join.

From behind, still a mm of so needs grinding from the rear quarter to get a final fit, will leave this till last for final adjustment:

Can't wait to start welding!

 

[andy watson]

Another good days work Rob

 

[zcacogp]

As said - that's a lot of work, and I envy your skills sir.

Good job. Keep us posted.


Oli.

 

[colin944]

Good work Rob. Looks nice.