79 SC Targa Sagging

[dragon]

Hi All
I have an SC targa which I 'm very fond of
I have the car in a body shop dealing with minor rust issues - the biggest issue i have is the door / panel gaps

The roof aperture appears to have opened by about 6 mm ( 1/4 " to you yanks ) - I'm on the metric side of the pond

its " hogging " not " sagging"

The Sills, rocker panel and B posts are perfect - this appears to be metal fatigue on on a 30+YO car

The body guy is sugesting that cutting 4 no -Imm slots along the inner sill - squeezing up the " Gap" and rewelding the inner sill is a robust economical fix - otherwise we spend $$$$$ and time replacing everything

The Car





I Think this approach make sense .......after all its an SC ......dicuss?

Thanks

Kieran

[timmy2]

I would advise finding someone with a Celette frame machine to mount the car to and then make any necessary adjustments to bring it into spec. If it turns out cutting and welding to adjust it is needed, then do it.

[Bob's Project]

^^^

I would also recommend doing this with either a Celette or comparable body alignment system.

Good luck from concerned Targa owner.

[dragon]

I could'nt bring myself to adopt this dramatic solution - so have decided the following

So solution adopted is - put car on jacks and support the engine to close the door gaps - then weld a plate / or metal strip on the inner sill , let car down and see if sag is cured - I know a lot of guys consider sagging is down to rusty sills period - mine are not rusty ! - so I'm guessing its metal fatigue at her age , and if this dos'nt work no real loss
- back to sag
Kieran

[catuck]

Looks like you race it? Why not weld in a cage to help stiffen things up? Two for one!

[Charles Freeborn]

I second the motion to get it onto a frame machine of a shop that really knows Porsche and see what's going on. If all the alignment specs are within tolerance you may look to do adjustments elsewhere. When you say the roof opening do you mean where the Targa top meets the top of windshield / targa bar and or tops of windows? Targa tops are notoriously inaccurate and your solution may be to re-work the targa top first. Window mechanisms are adjustable too.
Metal fatigue is questionable. Steel is not prone to it, as aluminum is. Use the search and you'll find a write up about fatigue (or lack of) and torsion bars. If the car has suffered a trauma ( accident, elephant sitting on it, etc) then you have other fish to fry.
The tub of a Porsche (or any car for that matter) is a rather scientifically assembled thing - i.e. sequence of welding to counteract the warping effects, so going in willy nilly adding plates here and there could cause more problems than you've already got.

Pretty car, by the way. Mine was that color originally, and will be again one day.

-C

[Bob's Project]

Looking at the side picture of your car the door gap along the latch panel doesn't look too bad.

To have a 1/4" opening up at the roof you would have approximately an 1/8" increase above spec at the top of the door near the Targa bar. Again I don't see that in the picture of your car.

What I do see is a top Skin that looks none OEM or possibly quite aged and shrunk.

I think what you are perceiving as a structural issue is a Targa top fitment issue.

I would advise really looking into that. Maybe call Dan and carsincnj.com to get some dimensions you could measure on your bodies opening and tops outer dimensions.

Best of luck resolving this.

[dragon]

Thanks for all the replies
Final solution was to cut out the rust around the sill "B post" which gave the car a whole load of flex ! then we put in threaded bar door bracing and " pulled" the two halves together to set the correct door gaps - final adjustment was circa 2 mm each side , we then welded up the patches and lead loaded all the repairs .
The doors & Front wings were also adjusted so the car now has really nice gaps all around ( except the roof)
I have been advised the only " Correct" way would be new sills & kidneys and the car doesn’t have enough rust in the cills ( Rockers) to justify such a " Dramatic" solution.
I have also started refurbishing the Targa Top so should get it correct with new roof panel webbing
Onwards & Upwards - next job will be to fit some sort of cage !
Kieran