Update on my rust issues, part one.

[andrewro]

Hi everyone,

Last week I posted some pics of rust in the front pan and the firewall / parcel shelf of my 1972 911T. Here's the link:

Rust found in pan and firewall! Any ideas?

I have not wirebrushed the pan yet - I am planning to do so soon and I will post more pics when I do. For now, I want to share what I found about the firewall area.

I removed the rear shelf upholstery piece to expose the foam padding underneath. I have not pulled the rear seats or any other upholstery at this time. I also have not removed the foam pad. If I tap along the pad, I can feel that the firewall is a little "soft 'n' crunchy" - not a good sign! I've left the foam in place because I think it may be helping hold that panel together.

Inside the engine compartment, it appears the decklid hinges and support strut are still attached to good sheetmetal. The damage appears to be just behind or below those attachment points. From my tapping inside along the firewall, I believe most of this panel is rotted.

For the near term, I will not be able to make this repair. I am considering selling the car, but it is a really difficult decision to make. If I remove the rotted areas, I will have a very big hole in the rear of my cabin. This renders the car useless, and there is a very real possibility that once I begin removing the rot, I will be totally committed to fixing all rust in at least the rear of the car before I can put it back together. While it's a great idea, this is not something I can afford to do, not now, and not for the foreseeable future.

I drove the car to work today (carefully), and on the way home I had an idea and I want to see what you guys think. I can remove the rear upholstery and remove the rotted sheetmetal. I have read, somewhere on this forum, that the firewall is not a stress-bearing part of the car. If this is true, I am hoping I can remove the rot, treat the surrounding metal with POR-15, and close the hole, for now, with a flexible, insulating material that I can then cover with the upholstery. I am talking about a heat-shield type of material that could be riveted and/or epoxied in place. Perhaps some of that foil-covered insulated panel I seem to see in race cars? This would give me a firewall and parcel shelf again, and if I am careful enough I believe I could shape it to fit - it seems to be a pretty simple folded panel shape. I could also shape a frame for it, if necessary.

Does anyone have any input on this idea? Good idea or bad, or any suggestions for the material or things to watch out for? I believe I can keep the sheetmetal where the decklid hinges are if I get to work on this soon.

In other news, I am having a local welder who does a lot of work for the area VW club take a look at the front pan - and likely the firewall as well. I am asking him both about repair and replacement for the pan, though at this time I believe replacement will be a necessity. I will also have a big gallery of pics of the car online sometime in the next couple of days.

More on all that later in the week. For now, I'd just like opinions on my firewall idea.

Thanks very much guys, this forum has been a great help already!

-Andrew

[Rot 911]

both those areas are not that difficult of a fix. Shawn on this board (thrown_hammer) has a nice thread, with pictures, on welding in a new firewall. His was almost completely rusted out along with the seat pans.

Here are the two threads:

Massive collateral damage...Not for the faint of heart.

We have the Technology...We can rebuild her...

[svandamme]

the firewall is pretty simple , any good welder can do it rather quickly
unless you want it to be done fully original , in which case you need to find a replacement panel instead of welding in just a plate... it's definately not load bearing, just there to keep the noise and the fumes out of the passenger compartement..and to keep fire from spreading ...

it's not as tough to clean as the underside, where there is heaps of undercoating, and the car doesn't have to be flipped to acces that area with a rotisserie,
although less accesible than outside panels, i'm sure a welder can do it from the inside , if you get the seats out and make room... you can probably even drive it to a weldshop with just the drivers seat in it and the prep work done at home

just disconnect the battery, and make sure no debris falls in your engine when you're prepping the metal... that would be my main concern... although it can't get through your air intake filter if you leave it on.

[andrewro]

I should add that I do not have a garage. I do not have a space to do the work. I am angling to get into a friend's space - actually I have two friends with shops. One is restoring VWs and the other builds custom artisanal metal furniture - a welder! We'll see how that goes. In the mean time, if it rains I have a flannel cover and one of those blue tarps, and a '65 Plymouth Valiant to drive around town.

-Andrew

[FrayAdjacent911]

Andrew, keep us updated. Some of what you're having to do is some of what I'm likely going to have to be doing! I know my back deck is pretty much FUBAR, and I plan on just welding in a plate.

Some areas of my floor pans are pretty bad. I'm hoping I may be able to get away with cutting out bad areas and patching them, but we'll have to see. I will probably start taking out the interior carpeting soon and getting on it with a wire brush to find the bad areas and see how much there is to be done.

[svandamme]

i didn't have a garage either, i live in an apartement in R'dam
can't even rent storage anywhere near my place so i had to rent one 30 miles away... i'll admit , it slows down things , but you've got something i don't : mates with a shop
even better, mates with a shop and skils

and think about it , that VW shop restorer, in reality , he's restoring the Porsches , they just aren't badged with Porsche but they sure were designed by the good dr.