Rear wheels are not the same offset from fender? 5/8"! Really?!

[kav]

I've been rebuilding / restoring / refreshing / upgrading the suspension and steering on the Canary (My 1969 Porsche 911T) and while doing the DYI alignment I noticed the right rear wheel was poking out much further than the left. I couldn't seem to get my head around it as it was a significant amount. I tried everything, measuring with plumb lines over the fenders, pulling and poking trying to get the gap to the wheel hubs to be the same each side. I even pulled the whole rear suspension out again and started from scratch but kept getting the same result.

Right:



Left:



I went ahead and did my DYI alignment which is a pain in the ass, two full days of frustration but seemed to turn out ok. Before going out for a drive I took the rear wheels off and did a bolt check. I thought let's run a plumb line from the inner structure to the trailing arm and measure each side, maybe something's bent but it was the same side to side.

Right:



Left:



I then measured from the inner structure to the center of the rear fenders and found the problem. The left rear fender sticks out 5/8" more than the right! That's huge! Is that normal? The car has never been in an accident of any kind. I imagine there are some differences side to side in these older cars but really, over 1/2"!

Right:



Left:



Thoughts?

Cheers,

-Kav.

[lindbhr]

Sorry I can't help more, but my 72 is off by about the same amount as well.

[fanaudical]

The joys of hand-built cars...

My '75 has a ~0.25" difference between the left and right fender extensions. (Right sticks out further, opposite of yours...).

Beautiful shade of yellow, and I bet that rides nice with the Koni's.

[76dno]

My F bodies are not equal

[shinrai]

Mine G body car is out about the same. Turns out the ass end took a bump. Open the lid and measure diagonally from corner to corner to make sure it's square. If it's not square you can pull it back to where it needs to be. If it is square blame it on the drunk who put it together at the factory. Then add a 1/2 spacer to one side - which I have seen before.

[hitch911]

I noticed the same thing on my 993. Turns the car has been in an accident, hit in left rear quarter. A new fender was welded on but had to be distorted to fit and bulged out about an inch farther then the right side. Hidden frame damage when I looked deep in my case.

[stownsen914]

5/8" is a lot, but I can't say I'm shocked. It may well have even come from the factory that way.

One option if the visual is bothering you, put a 1/4" spacer on the left side to sorta split the difference and reduce the visual effect. Not ideal from a suspension balance standpoint, but honestly a 1/4" wouldn't make a noticeable difference.

[FA-18C]

Kav - could be the angle or lighting, but to me the lip looks different side to side. Left side looks more rounded, the Right more squared off. Any chance that there was some body work in the past?

[Showdown]

Pull the right side out, push the left side in…

It’s metal, it’ll bend and flex 1/4” easily and then you’ll be pretty close to symmetrical.

[thetorch]

Kav.
Just checked my 69T that has original panels. Exactly 10.5" on both sides.
C

[FA-18C]

Agree with Showdown, a little persuasion may address this to an acceptable level.

[wp935]

I had the same problem on my 1st '70T and attributed it to being hand built at the factory.

[Dpmulvan]

I don’t believe Porsche would let cars leave the factory with such an obvious flaw as that. Somethings not right when you have a 5/8 difference I would do some more investigating. Some of you might be surprised at the number of accident cars being passed off as mint or damage free. Only way to know is if you bought it off the showroom floor new or did a bare metal respray.

[911h20]

My 1987 was off the same way. I don't remember the differences on each side. It was a low mileage no accident car.

[kav]

Originally Posted by lindbhr

Sorry I can't help more, but my 72 is off by about the same amount as well.

Good to know thanks!

[kav]

Originally Posted by shinrai

Mine G body car is out about the same. Turns out the ass end took a bump. Open the lid and measure diagonally from corner to corner to make sure it's square. If it's not square you can pull it back to where it needs to be. If it is square blame it on the drunk who put it together at the factory. Then add a 1/2 spacer to one side - which I have seen before.

Will double triple check for squareness thanks, I'll have what he's having!

[kav]

Originally Posted by FA-18C

Kav - could be the angle or lighting, but to me the lip looks different side to side. Left side looks more rounded, the Right more squared off. Any chance that there was some body work in the past?

Will adding more spacers to one side throw off my geometry?

[kav]

Originally Posted by thetorch

Kav.
Just checked my 69T that has original panels. Exactly 10.5" on both sides.
C

So you're the lucky one! Good to know thanks!

[kav]

Originally Posted by FA-18C

Agree with Showdown, a little persuasion may address this to an acceptable level.

Sounds like it should be 10.5" each side, I will look into some persuasion. Not sure the best way to go about that?

[kav]

Originally Posted by Dpmulvan

I don’t believe Porsche would let cars leave the factory with such an obvious flaw as that. Somethings not right when you have a 5/8 difference I would do some more investigating. Some of you might be surprised at the number of accident cars being passed off as mint or damage free. Only way to know is if you bought it off the showroom floor new or did a bare metal respray.

I will look through the records again but never seen a bill for any accident repairs. I'm pretty confident no accidents but will measure for square.