911SC Suspension Rebuild

911SC SKI · 05-03-2015, 02:03 AM

G'day,

I am about to rebuild the suspension on my 82 SC with an ER rubber street package. I was preparing the vehicle for getting back on the road after the UK winter and found LHF torsion bar to be broken. I had this same issue with RHF a couple of years ago. New bars were unavailable locally at that point and it was replaced with a second hand item as an interim fix, that I am now getting back to.

I am looking for some feedback on powder coating front and rear control arms, sway bars, strut housings and belly pan while they are off the vehicle.

If someone could help by listing any equipment, and/or ancillory equipment that I should treat while doing this job it would be much appreciated, as well as feedback on whether powdercoating or the likes of POR15 might be a preferable solution to some or all parts.

Many Thanks,
Stef

tirwin · tirwin's Garage

Consider yellow zinc plating as well as powder coating. The torsion bar covers could be either powder coated or re-plated but my first preference would be to plate them. The spring plates are good candidates for re-plating too. Getting the old rubber off the spring plates is no fun. Get some MAP gas and heat them up. Even that might not be enough. Personally, I'd consider buying the ER adjustable spring plates if it's within budget. By the time you're done cleaning and re-plating the old spring plates, you'll be about break even in your labor savings and the cost of plating, plus you get ease of adjustability. Cleaning the old spring plates is a thankless job.

I would powder coat the rest as it's more durable than paint. POR-15 is really for encasing rust, not freshly prepped parts. Plus it tends to be thicker than paint and is usually applied with a brush.

I painted my rear struts using a can of rattle paint in John Deere green. It's almost a perfect match for Bilsteins green.

GaryR · GaryR's Garage

Powder coat all the painted parts. As for the rear torsion covers, unless they are in excellent condition (never have seen that happen) I would just buy new ones.