Hell hole rust

[enrique.bradley]

Hi
I have a 74 914 2.0. Orig 110,000 miles. Previous owner spent 10K for a repaint. He didn’t address engine bay. Battery tray rusted and “surface rust” under and around. Any good shops to address hell hole? Thanks
I’m in Los Angeles

[Joe Bob]

You will need someone with a Cellette Bench. It’s a suspension part. Not something to guess at yet.

[930cabman]

Could get really ugly really quick. How do your doors operate and how do the door gaps look

[enrique.bradley]

Doors are fine

[Joe Bob]

Is the engine and trans still out of the car?

[enrique.bradley]

No, original 2.0 with fuel injection and tranny are installed

[Joe Bob]

You missed a good opportunity to inspect the clamshell.

I could pull the battery and put a borescope down inside the clamshell. It will give you an idea had bad the inside is. It rots from battery acid. If it's not to bad you can try an neutralize the acid with baking soda and water. Most will have a drain hole so you can flush it.

Was the battery tray replaced at any time?

[enrique.bradley]

All original.... battery tray rusted and needs replaced

[Joe Bob]

Well before you do that, inspect underneath the tray inside the clamshell/hellhole.

[enrique.bradley]

That’s with the camera device right?

[Joe Bob]

yup or a strong flashlight and your face down close.

[enrique.bradley]

[Joe Bob]

OK, take out the battery and start digging. The clamshell terminates at a point down below and supports your suspension. If it's rotted out from the inside you right side of the body will sag down and no mas fun.

To replace it you need to order the part from Restoration Design. Cut out the old rusty crap and weld in the new pieces. That's where the bench comes in. I've seen rustier but you never know until you look inside the clamshell.

[JGaz]

Originally Posted by Joe Bob

OK, take out the battery and start digging. The clamshell terminates at a point down below and supports your suspension. If it's rotted out from the inside you right side of the body will sag down and no mas fun.

To replace it you need to order the part from Restoration Design. Cut out the old rusty crap and weld in the new pieces. That's where the bench comes in. I've seen rustier but you never know until you look inside the clamshell.

Old thread - But I'd love to see anyone with pictures of inside the clamshell where it terminates.
Rusty mess?
Or clean?

I'm trying to understand what I should be looking at when I walk a car to purchase.

Thanks!
J

[Rodsrsr]

Joe Bob is stating the worst case scenario. You don't need a celette bench to replace the battery tray. Most if not all of these cars will have surface rust below the tray.

If the battery tray and/or mount is rusted, there's a possibility the underneath is also rusted but not necessarily. My car has a somewhat rusted battery tray but underneath is close to 100% solid. It all depends on how soon you catch it, but the time to really see is when the motor is out. I would also pull the passenger side rocker cover to see how solid that area is. On my car its 100% solid behind the rocker, from under the car, and the top of the hell hole but ymmv. I happened to find a CA car that's been stored in a garage and sitting since the 90's with no battery so its fared well.