Suspension pan - repair or replace? ('71 Targa)

Bez · 08-15-2009, 07:50 AM

Well, my first setback...found the dreaded 'top down' rust in the suspension pan today. During pre-purchase, I poked around there pretty good with the screwdriver, but that thick undercoating was surprisingly beefy and looked good too. Lesson learned.

Any rate, here's the deal and the pics...

- classic top down rust deterioration pattern
- erosion on driver side corner (see pic); passenger side seems to be absolutely fine (I think the car sat outside tilting to the driver side...water accumulated in front left corner)
- also erosion in the pan just below the center tank support bolt, about 2" wide (can also see in the pic)

I've read all the threads on front pan / tank support replacement and understand it's a fairly standard procedure for early 911s.

My question is if there is another repair option aside from the full pan / tank support install? I ask because pass side, tank support, battery tray, etc. are all good...only major concern is the driver side front corner.

I want to do this 'right' and understand this is more than a cosmetic issue (tbar stability), but at the same time want to know all possible options for repair.

Thanks again!

ossiblue · 08-15-2009, 08:36 AM

My opinion only.

You have rust-through at the center and driver's side. You can probably bet that the entire suspension pan (at least the front part) is compromised, it just hasn't come all the way through. This is a critical structural part and for peace of mind, I'd say cut the whole thing out and replace with a at least the front suspension/gas tank support part as an option.

450knotOffice · 450knotOffice's Garage

I second that opinion.

rvanderpyl · rvanderpyl's Garage

I'd clean the whole area first, but on mine it first looked like just the passenger side was rusted through, once I was done cleaning it was obvious that although the drivers side wasn't all the way thru, it was significantly weakened. But given my experience with how well the replacement parts fit, if you can just section out the drivers side 1/4 I'd do it, drilling out all the spot welds in the flanges and leaving enough to weld back to is a real pain, if you don't have to do it, don't. You will have to removed the entire tank support piece though just to make sure of the integrity of the drivers side.

JMHO

Bez · 01:25 PM

Thanks guys. I pulled off the tank support which revealed the truth...pretty much toast. Full replacement it will be.

Restoration score at the end of week 1: Scope creep 1, Wishful thinking, 0 ;-)

burgermeister · burgermeister's Garage

It's probably about the same amount of work to do the whole pan (front half of it anyway) than to just do 1 side ... so you're no worse off IMO.

You'll have to fab some chunks of longitudinal on the LH side, too, from the looks of it.

Don't forget to order your bolt stabilizer brackets for the new pan.

My advice: order the expensive full pan from Dansk and use just the front 1/2. With RD, you take your chances on what you're going to get (and when). I ordered 3 parts - one from ebay, one from RD, one from a fellow Pelican who had a leftover. Ebay was green primer, horrible fit, piss-poorly welded, misaligned weld nuts. RD was thicker, not galvanized, very well welded, horrible fit, mis-aligned weld nuts. I still have it in my garage. Fellow Pelican's part was galvanized (so made by Dansk AFAIK) and fit like a glove. One weld nut was still mis-aligned, but pretty easy to correct. From what I understand, RD will have one of the 3 types of pan to send you - you get what you get. YMMV.

500_19B · 07:09 PM

I have just finished this job too:

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/911-forum/499091-battery-area-surprise.html

This is something that is probably not that rare on the newer cars too if there has been a battery leak in the past which was not well-tended to.

I echo Burgermeister on Dansk: I bought my parts from Stoddards, which are from Dansk. Great quality and perfect fit. Plus the customer service and shipping speed were great. I tried to get RD on the phone many times and also by email (unanswered). Other people do have good luck with them though, so my experience may not have been typical.

Bez · 08-15-2009, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burgermeister

You'll have to fab some chunks of longitudinal on the LH side, too, from the looks of it.

Yep, longitudinal was chewed in one area which look like it can be repaired with a fabricated piece or cutout from a parts car (I know, good luck with that!

). Cost of driver side longitudinal is pricey and I don't need the whole section.

Lots of old threads on this subject...I've been reading up. I'll be 'outsourcing' the install as I don't have the welding skills or gear for this one.

Bez · 08-15-2009, 07:07 PM

amjf088, excellent write up! Thanks for the link.

burgermeister · burgermeister's Garage

Bez, I learned how to weld installing my front pan ... if you have time (40 - 50 hours for me), it's not that difficult. It IS time consuming, however. And it requires a dedicated garage space for the duration.

It's how I got the green light from my wife for the welder I've been wanting ... the welder was obtained "at a profit" relative to the cost of outsourcing the repair.