Lower gas tank lateral support repairs

[mattC2993]

After doing some investigating on my 911E before tackling the front suspension pan replacement I noticed the side panel (gas tank lateral support) isn't good. I was wondering what everybody does when the bottom few inches of the lower gas tank lateral support is rusted? I see you can buy the whole panel for $390 from RD. Is there another option? It looks like it might be tough to fab. Perhaps I'll just have to buy the panel. Fortunately its only the driver's side. Thanks!

[Flat6pac]

Check with Stoddard too for stampings.
Bruce

[mattC2993]

Stoddard doesn't have anything. Ever see anybody bondo up a front suspension pan?

[SCadaddle]

Sometimes you just have to make things. In the case of my 69 912 we made a mold of the part then poured concrete in the mold in order to make a "buck". Once the buck was cast and released from the mold we used a sheet of metal, heat, hammers, shears and a bucket of cold water and a rag. Working the metal around the curves wasn't too different from my methods of covering a model airplane wing. Heat-hammer and if you want to shrink the metal just flop the wet rag on it for a few seconds.

[pksystems]

Watch the used parts section for people cutting up cars. I replaced a good chunk of both bottom outer edges on my car... some pieces I got from cuts.. the rest I had to make..

Isn't Bondo great?

PO's of my car coated the entire car in like 1/4" of the stuff.... Outer rockers looked great, till I started stripping them, and realized there wasn't much metal left.

[combatic]

SCadaddle, wish I would have thought of the 'buck' idea! My car was so rusted out that might have been tough to do.

mattC2993, I created a 3D pattern for the driver side and then flattened that pattern out and then hammered out each section then welded it to the next.

Matt, regarding the section below the battery box in your picture, RD (afaik) does not make these sections. I did recommend that they tool up for these peices b/c our cars (in some cases) are on their 2nd or even 3rd front tank support repair which was attached to thin, corroded metal above.

The passenger side can be scavenged from a later model car (mid year and up) as it matches the early cars. The driver side is too different to adapt from any galvie' car which is why I fabricated that section.

link to my fixes in this area --> Project 69

driver side.... (I hammer and dollied it out to get it shaped correctly once welded in place to smooth and form as needed)


passenger side..

[mattC2993]

I might take a shot at making it then. I have lots of metal left over from my 356 project. I was thinking about a mold like SCaddaddle suggested or hollowing out the end of a stump to use a forming guide. Youtube had a great video on rolling a radius. I'm glad I didn't sell my plasma cutter last year! Perhaps the piece I was looking at from RD is an inner piece.

[merbesfield]

A sand bag an patience. You can do it.

[mattC2993]

Nice looking job! I might get a bag for forming at the local tool shop (kinda like harbor freight)

I just got to figure out how to get the tank out first. I undid three retainer bolts and 2 just kept spinning. With a jack and a board under the tank it didn't budget.

[flopjzm]

Heat-hammer and if you want to shrink the metal just flop the wet rag on it for a few seconds.