Door stay problem

[Forssling]

Hi All, I am breaking in a -71 911T that I have restored in five years.

The door stay on the passenger side is loose at the A-pillar. On my drivers side it is firm with some flex.

How much trouble am I in? Is it possible to fix this from "behind" (the other side of the A-pillar). How was it mounted originally?

Image of my drivers side from the assembly.

Thanks for any input.

Jörgen Forssling
Gothenburg
SWEDEN

[Forssling]

Originally Posted by Chenoweth

One common hinge problem, which can naturally occur over time and from daily usage, is a loose hinge. Most of the time, all you have to do is retighten the screws using a manual or electric screwdriver.

The hinge is ok. It is the bracket on the A-pillar that is loose.

KR,
Jörgen

[Dpmulvan]

Originally Posted by Forssling

The hinge is ok. It is the bracket on the A-pillar that is loose.

KR,
Jörgen

Your gonna have to have someone carefully tig weld it, there’s no access and I believe all the kits made are for the door not the pillar. I doubt you wanna rip it apart after fresh paint.

[Forssling]

Originally Posted by Dpmulvan

Your gonna have to have someone carefully tig weld it, there’s no access and I believe all the kits made are for the door not the pillar. I doubt you wanna rip it apart after fresh paint.

I think my only serious option is to take off door and fender, cut out an access at the side pointing forward, weld the bracket to the cut out piece and weld it back again. All work will be on the "dark side".

If anyone have any other suggestions, let me know.

KR,
Jörgen

[john walker's workshop]

All that to avoid a couple of small tig welds and repaint the A pillar? Take a deep breath.

[Forssling]

Originally Posted by john walker's workshop

All that to avoid a couple of small tig welds and repaint the A pillar? Take a deep breath.

I hear you... I'll give it a serious consideration...

Thanks,
Jörgen

[Dpmulvan]

Originally Posted by Forssling

I hear you... I'll give it a serious consideration...

Thanks,
Jörgen

Cutting a piece of the panel out and welding it back will leave an exposed weld bead, weld through primer isn’t the greatest stuff. It’s just the door stay, put a neat tig underneath and call it good.

[Forssling]

Originally Posted by Dpmulvan

Cutting a piece of the panel out and welding it back will leave an exposed weld bead, weld through primer isn’t the greatest stuff. It’s just the door stay, put a neat tig underneath and call it good.

Thanks, appreciate your input.

//Jörgen

[Forssling]

I really appreciate your fresh input. When this happened I just saw no other way. I have put five years into this and wanted it to be as good as I could doing it by myself. I guess a little short cut on the door stay is OK

Thanks, and heres some images of the finished product.

//Jörgen

[Dpmulvan]

Nice car like the orange on white. 5 years isn’t too bad for doing everything yourself.

[junkman300SD]

Don't know whether it applies to you but on some 80s Era Mercedes, the sheetmetal on the a-pillar cracks near the hinge.

Those cars aren't as expensive as the Porsche so people drill through the sheetmetal into the hinge backing plate. The final step is to tap and hold the plate with some nice metric screws. The screws go into the backing plate and take the stress off the a-pillar.

I'm going on 10 years with a car I did this to. The screws have stayed tight and I haven't had to do anything else.

[mepstein]

Pretty car. Congrats!

[Jonny042]

Nice car!!!

If you have the skills and perseverance to put that thing together, I feel like you are going to be disappointed with anything other than a proper, invisible to the eye, repair.

[Forssling]

Originally Posted by Jonny042

Nice car!!!

If you have the skills and perseverance to put that thing together, I feel like you are going to be disappointed with anything other than a proper, invisible to the eye, repair.

OH, no... That was where I were... Now I was thinking of TIG on the outside. Until your reply.

Thanks for your input though...

//Jörgen

[Forssling]

Thanks for all the kind word about my car!

Took it for a drive today and stopped at my TIG-guru. He wanted to do it the hard way... From the backside. He was talking about drilling four holes in the A-pillar and plug weld it.

So, do anyone have any input on how the bracket was originally put in place?

Thanks for all your help.
//Jörgen