B-Pillar Rust Question on 79' Coupe

gregoryp · gregoryp's Garage

Looking at a 79 coupe. It has some rust through where the B pillar and the rear quarter window meet (see photo's). My question is what lies below that area that will need to be repaired? Does the area behind there just open up to the inside of the fender? The floor pans and rockers look good from what I can see. I'm not afraid of repairing rust and replacing metal, would just like to know what lies behind that, so I can assess what the car might be worth. I know on these the rust you see is just the tip of the iceberg, but just wanted to see if anyone has delt with this area in the past and what repairs were involved.

962porsche · 01-26-2015, 05:44 AM

this is the parts break down for that area .
that is a common rot area and most of the time the repair is not all to bad .
many times in the repair you have to get into repairing the bottom part of part number 6 .
you will not know just how bad it's rotted until you cut away the QTR .
the QTR it's self spot welds right along the bottom edge of the QTR glass at the pinch weld .

cnielsen · 01-26-2015, 05:59 AM

You will need more than just a couple expensive factory pieces. I would try to source a large cut from a shell that someone is parting out. There are some double layer panels there but definitely doable. I would check all other areas of the car VERY carefully...I'll bet you find more rust!

962porsche · 01-26-2015, 07:20 AM

for a repair like that you would not need any parts from any thing or any one .
the bottom of part number 6 is so ez to fab up if you had to it's not worth buying it .
to go buy a used piece is also very pointless as you will also be buying some thing you may only need about a inch or two of .
there are two bends you have to do to make up the piece

by the way if you really needed to buy the part #6 it's 21 dollars list price from Porsche not really what I would call a high dollar piece .

gregoryp · gregoryp's Garage

Can you tell me what part #6 is, can't quite tell from the drawing. It looks like it is the vertical piece at the front edge of the rear quarter window? Does the water from this rust area then drain down into the kidney bowl area and into the rocker? Thanks again for the quick response, great forum.

962porsche · 01-26-2015, 10:15 AM

it's called outter upper B-pillar .
book time hours to replace the hole piece is 5.8 hours with QTR removed .
I have repaired many (to many to count ) most have to just be sandblasted .
looking at this my guess it that's all this one would need is the 1st inch of the bottom replaced if even that much .
I'm sure the back part of the rocker behind the QTR will have a rot hole in it so the hole QTR would need to come off the car to get to it .
so for parts you would need a QTR, lock pillar , rocker , at that point your into a full resto on the car as you will find one thing will get you into repairing other things .
if your not looking for a resto project then this would not be the car for you .

gregoryp · gregoryp's Garage

Thanks,
I don't mind a full restoration if the price is right. Think this guy is maybe a bit optimistic, but this market is a bit crazy, so who knows.
Greg

962porsche · 01-27-2015, 06:36 AM

no matter what some one is selling they will always down play the real amount of work needed to repair what they are selling .
of your not the person doing all the work for a resto then buying a car that needs one and then paying some one to do the resto is not worth it .
you can find a car that is already restored for less then what your going to pay a shop to restore it .
even when you restore a car your self you will most likely have more money into the car then the market value is on the car .

78SCRSMAN · 78SCRSMAN's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by 962porsche

no matter what some one is selling they will always down play the real amount of work needed to repair what they are selling .
of your not the person doing all the work for a resto then buying a car that needs one and then paying some one to do the resto is not worth it .
you can find a car that is already restored for less then what your going to pay a shop to restore it .
even when you restore a car your self you will most likely have more money into the car then the market value is on the car .

+1
BTDT! I've done EVERYTHING myself and not including my time, I'd agree... I stopped keeping receipts to keep from shaking my head. It's endless! I suppose it depends on the individual and what you want. Besides paint, metal work is the most time consuming. Also, if you have rust there, you undoubtedly have more elsewhere.