Front pan replacememt tips

[cbush]

I am finishing up my front pan replacement and thought I would add my two cents to the body of knowledge on this forum.

I started with a 1975 911S "rust free, California" car



I pretty much followed the advice of folks from this forum on doing the job, but there are a couple of things I was not quite sure of, and I have some suggestions on tools.

While a relatively simple project, it is not for the faint of heart, and requires a significant investment in tools. In addition to a good welder ( I bought a Miller 211), having a pneumatic chisel and metal cutters, and a good drill and grinder are essential. It was quite a challenge getting out the old parts. There are a lot of spot welds that have to be drilled out, and even then, I am not sure how I would have done it without the pneumatic chisel.

I had to buy more body parts than I expected. I knew about the pan, the fuel tank support, and the suspension reinforcement parts, but didn't realize you had to buy the left and right supports also. I realized that when removing the pan and could not get it out without cutting them out also.



To access the pan, I had the front of the car up on jackstands, and did not remove the front suspension. I just removed the bolts from the front suspension mounting brackets and had plenty of room to work that way, pulling everything out the top.

One of my biggest challenges was with the welding, as I am a novice, and bought the MIG welder to do this job. I did do some practicing on scraps prior to starting, but did a lot of on the job learning. This resulted in more grinding than I would have liked, but the end result was good. Welding the new parts was not really a problem, but welding the original metal was a challenge. Even on the lowest setting I was getting a lot of burn through, and had to fill those holes with the welder, so a simple tack often was a lot more difficult.



I have read a lot about challenges getting the front pan suspension mounts lined up properly, and of course, had some challenges there. If I had to do it again, I would have tried bolting up the suspension arms, and then tacking in the pan. I thought it was lined up perfectly, but sure enough once I got it tacked in, it was off. I ended up drilling out one of the mounting points, and moving it enough where it would fit, and I could get the bolt in. Kind of a pain, but it worked. Other than that, it fit pretty well. Amazing that the parts don't fit better, but with some patience (and a big hammer) they can be made to work.

I had to fabricate a part to replace the rusted out area to the left of the front suspension arm, but that was pretty simple. I made a paper pattern, traced it on some sheetmetal, and then cut it out with the pneumatic shears. They are well worth the ~$80 as the hand shears I had just did not cut that well and distorted the metal.

As I put on the suspension supports, the side supports, and the front gas tank support, I sealed as much as I could by painting the insides with POR-15. I had heard about POR-15 from this web site, but had never actually seen it for sale. I found their website online and ordered a can. It is great stuff, and I am a believer! I sprayed a high build primer over that, and will sandwich in some SKS underbody sealant, and hope to get to paint soon. I also sealed any holes and seams with 3M's Drip Check Sealant. A great product to stop leaks, and further rust.



All in all, it has been a good project, and I am glad I tackled it. I learned a lot, and I am very happy how it turned out. I think someone estimate it took 40 hours, and I don't think I am too far off that.

I hope this was helpful and good luck with your projects!

[lite75]

Nice work. Yep, I know about the rust free 75s. Mine's on the second pan replacement.

[cbush]

I am working very hard with the sealants and such to avoid a repeat. I think it would be much more difficult to replace the second time as my welds would be very difficult to drill out unlike a spot weld that came from the factory.