Repairing rust through floor under pedal box

RallyJon · 02-02-2003, 01:17 PM

It's been a busy weekend of removing the interior and stripping the floor. We found that the floor under the pedal box was a bit rusty, with a couple of spots penetrating through the floor completely. There's also a small rust hole through the bottom of the driver side rear seat.

I got a short notice appointment with my mechanic for tomorrow. He's a good welder and metal fabricator, but doesn't have any 911 specific experience. He's going to cut out the rust and weld in some patch panels.

Does anyone who's repaired rust in these areas have any suggestions or tips that I can pass along to him?

Thanks for your help! -Jon

marc weintraub · marc weintraub's Garage

Hi Jon,

YOu might want to try Restoration Design out of Michigan (I think). They are in Excellence Magazine and they do have that exact piece... at least they used to.

Hope this helps,

Marc

RallyJon · 02-02-2003, 03:02 PM

Good idea. If it's extensive I guess it makes sense to weld in a whole new panel. They don't have replacement panels available for the rear seat, though.

Here's the pedal area (sorry--out of focus):

And here's the rear seat hole:

awis321 · 02-02-2003, 03:21 PM

I ended up getting a rearseat clip--buckets up to the rear parcel shelf--from an early 80's coupe for 3 bills.

marc weintraub · marc weintraub's Garage

Hi Jon,

Really doesn't look all that bad. If your guy is good with welding, I would clean up the rear hole and paint the area (top and bottom) with POR15, then find a company that specialized in early 1970's BMW 2800 and 3.0 CS cars. There are body floor plugs that are made in different dimensions that can be put in, welded and filed flat. It will look like new.

The front piece was definitely available from a few places, btu I have never needed it. After your guy fixes the pedal area, have him reseal the windshield. That is the most common reason for the footweel to rust out.

Marc

dtw · 02-02-2003, 03:39 PM

Marc & Jon

I tried to hunt down the pedal area sheetmetal about 2 years ago. Everyone was buying it from Bill Frey at RD, but his tooling broke and the piece is no longer available. He's now tooling up for a piece that will replace the floor section from the pedal area up past the "hump" where the steering rack passes. Give him a call and see when he thinks it'll be ready.

Both rust spots look they'll be a bit bigger when they've had the wire brush taken to them, but they don't look bad. The pedal area can be fabricated and hammered into place. Click my website link below, there's a pic right on the front page detailing just such a repair.

RallyJon · 02-02-2003, 06:29 PM

Quote:

there's a pic right on the front page detailing just such a repair

Excellent. I'll e-mail him the picture. That's our likely solution unless the whole front pan is shot. If you've looked at the pics on the web page in my sig, it's pretty obvious that we won't be winning any concours d'elegance trophies.

dtw · 02-02-2003, 07:40 PM

If he's a good fabricator, he'll just use the original metal as a template. It's actually a quite easy section to duplicate. The original section has some reinforcing sections and the pedal box mounts. Those should also be easy to replicate, though I haven't got that far yet on mine.

evren · 02-03-2003, 04:18 AM

Hi Jon! Nice work on the car -- it looks like you're doing the right thing for the long term. I presume shipping would be expensive, but if you have trouble locating any of the specific panel parts, I can have them manufactured (cheaply) here. A friend of mine is basically recreating a rusted out '58 Jag XK150 from scratch. I went to look at it last weekend and the workmanship was outstanding. Say 'hi' to Daphne.

RallyJon · 02-03-2003, 06:22 AM

Hi Evren, sounds like a pretty talented panel-beater.

Quote:

Say 'hi' to Daphne.

Daphne lurks here, so you already did.

RallyJon · 02-03-2003, 07:49 PM

Amazing what you'll find in a "rust free" car...

Not pretty, but functional...

Chuck Moreland · 02-03-2003, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by RallyJon
Amazing what you'll find in a "rust free" car...

There are exactly two types of early 911 - those with rust, and those whose owners haven't yet found the rust.

jpnovak · 02-04-2003, 07:42 AM

I just found the part number for this panel. It might be worth a look. Looks like the entire section from longitudinal to longitudinal. You could just take out the area you need.

#9 Pedal area repair section 1965-1989

901.501.956.00 $84.20

-note that the price is from another source. PM for that source.

CamB · CamB's Garage

Chuck - and those with the rust removed, waiting to rust again....

Jon - make sureyou fix the leaks!!!!!! It WILL happen again.

RallyJon · 02-04-2003, 02:02 PM

Jamie--I saw that. Maybe next time it rusts through.

My mechanic also went around and cleaned-up and welded shut every hole he could find underneath. That includes old harness holes as well as the semi-circular floor drains (or whatever they are) that were in the floor pan. He used/recommended a zinc primer, followed by 3M undercoating.

Until I completely strip the undercoating, I don't think I'll ever know all the secrets. That will have to wait until the weather warms up a bit and I can get out into the driveway where there's a bit better ventilation.