another rust question

[willard]

the passenger side of my 74 914 2.0 is beginning to sag a little due to the good battery-box design/ rust issue. My question is how much is the "clamshell" & r/r suspension mount plus actual labor (I just need an idea) & any other things I might encounter or may be necessary to correct this problem. I've been told it's not too terrible right now, and it's still very driveable but need to do it within the next year. Is this something a normal run-of-the-mill body shop can do, or do I need to seek out a Porsche professional???

[karlp]

Most folks will probably tell you to find a body in better shape.
That was not much of an option in my part of the country (Deep South)
Mine was so rotten the "frame" broke forward of the suspension mount. I cut lots of scrap metal up, cut lots of the car open, and welded it all back together. Don't know about alignment, but it tracks straight at 90+ mph.
My reply is meant to point out that it can always be repaired.
If I had to do it again I probably would have started with one of the frame stiffening kits as a guide and worked from there.
Hope this is encouraging.

Karl

[willard]

Thanks Karl, for those cautious words of encouragement. Mine is really not TOO bad yet, but I have a feeling some welding is in the car's not-too-distant future.... I too, live in the southeast & sometimes 6 or 8 months can go by before I even see a 914 driving down the road. A very rare thing, indeed. I mean, the sheet metal is almost flawless & the interior & 2.0L are strong & in pretty good shape... Why should I scrap the body???

[Joe Bob]

The rust under the battery can attack more than one area....the suspension console, where the swing arm connects to the frame, is only one area....the longitudinal support under the passenger door is one...

Typically the jack point will break and fall out, then the door gets hard to close because of body sag.

Other rot points are the bulkhead between the engine and passenger compartment and the floors.

"I" would do a thorough inspection of the car and then decide. If the rust is not too bad, get some POR 15, treat the rust, do the welding and go on....

Unless the car has minimal rust and you are a good weleder, the repairs can very easily exceed the worth of the car....stripping the good stuff and putting it on a good solid 1.7 car can be done in a couple of weekends...