First Post, partial front suspension pan replacement

[JSZ]

New member here, joining earlier this year after purchasing my first 911. Enjoying reading the forums and the information presented, a great resource.

I stumbled on a 1982 911sc with 50000 miles on it in early April. During my review, I found 5 of the head studs broken, so I knew I was going to be doing a partial rebuild. The car otherwise was in good to very good condition, with the majority of the exterior paint original and a killer original interior. So I purchased the car and put my other restoration projects, ( TR6 and 124 Spider) aside and moved the 911 up to the front.

I started disassembling portions of the exterior car to clean, refinish and check for corrosion. The first priority was the removal of the front end, I was concerned with rust under the front fenders where the rubber smiley is attached. Yep, there was some rust there that required blasting, epoxy prime, chip guard and paint. While the front end was apart I refinished the strut housings, powder coated control arms, sway bar, brake backer plates and etc.. Also replacing all bushings, ball joints and other consumables.

During the time of the front suspension and AC condenser removal I noted some surface rust on the front lower left side of the suspension pan. So as I checked the area out it was literally crumbling in my hand, so I started to prepare a plan for replacement. Since my suspension points were intact enough to build a jig, that would insure perfect alignment when the new pan was offered up. I built the jig out of 19 gauge sheet metal that bolted to the front suspension point and the rear beam anchor points and cross braced it also.
After the car was properly blocked in place and final height measurements were taken, I proceeded to cut and drill to remove the battery tray, AC cover, gas tank support and finally a portion of the front suspension pan. I decided to do only a portion of the pan replacement because the compromised portion was primarily at the left front suspension mount areas, directly below the battery compartment.

After initial measurements were taken after the parts were removed, I rough cut the new replacement pan. This was offered up to the car with the jig in place, adjustments made and then final scribe and cut were completed. Original metal was prepped , replacement pan installed again with jig in place, clamping completed with panel clamps and clecos, the pan was welded in with a combination of MIG plug welds and TIG for the butt joints.

Once all the panels were welded in placed and metal finished, I drilled 3, 3/16" holes to inject a primer in the cavity. This was saturated until I could see run out on all the seems. I then epoxy primed the topside and bottom side where any of the original finish was disturbed for the pan replacement. Once dry, brush on seam sealer was installed and leveled with a rag and acetone. After the sealer set, 2 coats of white U POL chip guard was installed and then the final paint.

All in all, I am very happy with the replacement, the only tell tale sign of work is on the bottom where the paint blended to the original paint which had slightly discolored with age.

I had about 25 hours doing the repair, for anyone that is considering this scope of work. All about patience and planning. Included are some photos for review.

[theiceman]

looks great

you got some skills

[Pedro '84 Coupe]

Nice work!

[Luccia at Pelican Parts]

Welcome to the Pelican community! Really great work, thank you for sharing. You will fit right in here with the DIY community. I do hope you also take a look at our tech articles (linked below) for any future projects you may have. Please don't hesitate to contact me with any forum or parts questions. Enjoy!

Porsche 911 (1965-1989) Technical Articles - Pelican Parts