A-pillar Cowl rust

Jrboulder · 02-12-2013, 10:25 PM

The car is a 76 912E

I found some rust covered up with bondo where my A pillar meets the cowl on the passenger side. It doesn't seem too bad but it definitely should be cut out IMO.

The rust is at the very bottom of the gutter.

It looks like restoration design sells a replacement panel.
Windshield post cowl repair panel, right: Restoration Design

I plan on getting the car resprayed sooner or later, the windshield will need to be replaced pretty soon, and I'd like to replace/recover the dash.

If I pull the windshield, dash, door, fender, hood, clean the metal ect what would be a reasonable amount to pay a good body shop to fix this? Basically just the cutting and welding.

I'd say my skills (and tools) are somewhere around replacing the suspension pan at best. Is this something I could consider doing myself?

drcoastline · 02-13-2013, 02:32 AM

I guess the first question is how extensive is the rust? A pic would help to determine if you need the repair panel or if a patch can be fabbed as an alternative. If you have skills and talent enough to replace the suspension pan you should be able to learn to make this repair. Only you know your skill and whether it is something you could repair. I had some cowl rust on my car that I repaired myself. It really isn't that hard. Cut out the rust and fab a patch. Take your time so the patch fits nice weld it in and finish it off.

As far as cost for a professional I will leave that to the professions to answer.

962porsche · 02-13-2013, 05:22 AM

we have replaced so many of them on the 911 body cars . some times the repair panels will fit right in and other time they need a lot of work to get them to fit .

there is just no way to give a reasonable amount to pay price ! no two shops are the same there for no two prices will be the same .
in my resto shop we would not ever take in a job like that we only do the hole job . were in my own personal shop i do from time to time do little side jobs like that for cash to help some one out . so you see there is no way any one could give you a reasonable about price !

it's not all that involved to cut out and weld in that patch panel . if you could do a suspension pan then you should be able to handle that little patch panel .
just because you get a big panel like that it does not mean you have to use ever part of it if you only need a little piece from the patch panel then thats all you would use .

Jrboulder · 02-13-2013, 08:47 AM

Thanks for the replies guys

Here are some pictures I took with the cell phone on my way out this morning. There is still a lot of bondo to dig out.

As you might be able to see there is about a 1/4" hole in the gutter rail and then there is some perforation.

This is really all the metal I need to do this. Maybe a little more.

drcoastline · 02-13-2013, 08:57 AM

962 can you the advice from the pro perspective but I don't think you need to spend money on the patch panel. The rust is going to be way past what is visible but a patch can easily be made.

Here is an example.

drcoastline · 02-13-2013, 08:59 AM

Oops.

BTW- this is not my car. Pics were taken off someone else post.

Jrboulder · 02-13-2013, 11:37 AM

Alright thanks again guys. I've calmed down lol.

I'll start by chipping up the bondo and giving it the naval jelly treatment to try to at least figure out the extent out it.

drcoastline · 02-13-2013, 03:24 PM

Good move, clean up the area and post a pic. 962 will point you in the right direction and give you advice on the best course of action.

962porsche · 02-14-2013, 05:43 AM

my self i would not buy a patch panel for that repair i would just make the patch panel .
1st grind it with a 40 grit 3" roll locks disc remove the finish down to bare metal about 3 inches past the rot spot .

2nd make your little patch panel and then with a fine point sharpie marker trace the patch piece were it goes and cut out the rusted area with a cut off wheel . i found the little dremel cut off wheels work good in tight spots like that . you how ever will eat up a lot of them but there cheap so buy a 10 or 20 pack of them .

3rd finish sizing the patch piece to fit so you can but weld the patch in . them weld it with little tack welds . do not over weld it and build to much heat let it cool between welds .

4th grind it with some 40 grit again with the 3" roll locks and then check to be sure you have not missed any part of the patch . once all welded and ground down then spray a light coat of etch primer over the bare metal let it dry good and then do you plastic body filler work .

5th spray another coat of etch primer and then filler primer let it dry and then prep and paint it with your top coat .

every ez repair should take about 6 hours to get it into primer .

TC911e · 02-16-2013, 04:14 PM

Here's my version of the A-pillar repair. Mine's a '69 911E. I had a pretty good bit of rust running under the windshield seal and it had eaten all the way through.

As described earlier- Cut out the offending part

Shape and fit a patch (much filing, grinding and fitting on my part- but I'm getting better)

Weld it in (sounds easy, but I found this spot a bit of a challenge because of where I had to make the matching point and the difficulty of getting the MIG tip in there (even with the glass out)).

Grind it clean and paint.

At least that's my story.

drcoastline · 02-16-2013, 05:43 PM

Nice post Tim. Perfect example of a repair patch. Post the finishin g process also.

TC911e · 02-17-2013, 03:14 PM

This is what passes for "finished" on this repair at this point. I thought I had a couple of more in between shots, but none materialized.

I'm working my way through a series of rust repairs, and am in rocker panel hell right now, so, ground mostly smooth with a shot of epoxy primer suffices as finished until I come back around to fill and smooth out the visible spots. Lord only knows when "finished" will mean paint, reassembly and actual driving.