Porschemaniac
Member
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- 305
Maybe it's just me, but, deep inside, I've long had a yearning to do some meaningful bodywork to my project Porsche 944. However, those cheeky chaps at Stuttgart galvanised everything before it left the factory, so it makes the need to brandish a MIG torch quite a rare event.
And so it was that I trotted along for the annual MOT on Thursday, expecting the usual list of advisories, maybe a wheel bearing or bush to do etc. How wrong I was.
I knew there was something gravely wrong when the tester asked me how long I'd had the car. He then proceeded to show me the 'patch' in the rear inner wing, which had now rotted through. Nothing big; a hole about two inches in diameter, in the outer part of the inner wing - unfortunately within 30cm of a suspension mounting.
As small as it was, this presented two challenges; (1) My first attempt at MIGing my bodywork and (2) the fact that my driveway is on an incline and that this repair required the removal of the rear wheel - so safely supporting the car would be an issue.
The second of these turned out to be the easy part. My driveway is a shared drive, which leads down to our garages. Fortunately, my garage is right in the middle of three and so the car sits nice and squarely onto it. In front of the the garage, the ground levels off for a good three feet and, with the car parked, the rear jacking points are well over the level ground.
Despite the fact that the ground is even here, I still had misgivings about letting the car rest on an axle stand - given that the front wheels are still on the incline.
The solution hit me (not literally) whilst laying under the car, looking at the jacking point.......
A quick trip to halfords and I was the proud owner of a new set of 3 ton axle stands. A quick stop at B & Q and I was also the proud owner of a metre of 25mm x 1.5mm steel tube.
Half an hour later and a short length of said tubing was welded to the top of an axle stand.....et, voila.....
The 'adapted' stand fits snugly into the hole in the jacking point and, with it in place, and the full weight of the car taken by it, the car is solid and stable - giving me enough confidence to work under it.
So, with the car safely supported, I turned my attention to that 'little' hole.
A quick prod with a finger revealed that the previous patch was barely holding in. It was, in fact, a 3 inch, by 6 inch strip of steel, which was wobbling around like a loose tooth. I don't know why, but something possessed me to give it a tug with a pair of water pump pliers. Imagine my surprise, when the whole patch came cleanly away - complete with the mastic that was holding it in!!!
Yep, the whole patch was held in with just a couple of tacks and a whole lot of mastic; the job finished, 'neatly' off with a pile of filler. Nice!
Today I set about it in earnest with a Die Grinder, Angle Grinder and Air Saw. Finally, I am back to sound metal - but, as you can see, the offending orifice is now a shed load bigger.
So, tomorrow, weather permitting, it's out with the sheet of new 1mm steel, the air saw and the body hammers and I'm setting about making my first repair panel.
Hopefully, I'll be posting some photos of my first repair here soon - and my lovely old 944 will be MOTd again.
And so it was that I trotted along for the annual MOT on Thursday, expecting the usual list of advisories, maybe a wheel bearing or bush to do etc. How wrong I was.
I knew there was something gravely wrong when the tester asked me how long I'd had the car. He then proceeded to show me the 'patch' in the rear inner wing, which had now rotted through. Nothing big; a hole about two inches in diameter, in the outer part of the inner wing - unfortunately within 30cm of a suspension mounting.
As small as it was, this presented two challenges; (1) My first attempt at MIGing my bodywork and (2) the fact that my driveway is on an incline and that this repair required the removal of the rear wheel - so safely supporting the car would be an issue.
The second of these turned out to be the easy part. My driveway is a shared drive, which leads down to our garages. Fortunately, my garage is right in the middle of three and so the car sits nice and squarely onto it. In front of the the garage, the ground levels off for a good three feet and, with the car parked, the rear jacking points are well over the level ground.
Despite the fact that the ground is even here, I still had misgivings about letting the car rest on an axle stand - given that the front wheels are still on the incline.
The solution hit me (not literally) whilst laying under the car, looking at the jacking point.......
A quick trip to halfords and I was the proud owner of a new set of 3 ton axle stands. A quick stop at B & Q and I was also the proud owner of a metre of 25mm x 1.5mm steel tube.
Half an hour later and a short length of said tubing was welded to the top of an axle stand.....et, voila.....
The 'adapted' stand fits snugly into the hole in the jacking point and, with it in place, and the full weight of the car taken by it, the car is solid and stable - giving me enough confidence to work under it.
So, with the car safely supported, I turned my attention to that 'little' hole.
A quick prod with a finger revealed that the previous patch was barely holding in. It was, in fact, a 3 inch, by 6 inch strip of steel, which was wobbling around like a loose tooth. I don't know why, but something possessed me to give it a tug with a pair of water pump pliers. Imagine my surprise, when the whole patch came cleanly away - complete with the mastic that was holding it in!!!
Yep, the whole patch was held in with just a couple of tacks and a whole lot of mastic; the job finished, 'neatly' off with a pile of filler. Nice!
Today I set about it in earnest with a Die Grinder, Angle Grinder and Air Saw. Finally, I am back to sound metal - but, as you can see, the offending orifice is now a shed load bigger.
So, tomorrow, weather permitting, it's out with the sheet of new 1mm steel, the air saw and the body hammers and I'm setting about making my first repair panel.
Hopefully, I'll be posting some photos of my first repair here soon - and my lovely old 944 will be MOTd again.