rust on inner rocker

Dougb · 03-24-2002, 05:00 PM

im removing the rust this year and have a rusted jack hole and rust at inner rocker and front fender well. will a inner rocker and jack plare kit take care of this or what? I see a clam shell body part do i need this?some help is needed as i am 914 ignorant but for some reason i love these things

Zeke · 03-25-2002, 01:49 PM

The "inner" rocker you refer to is the outside section of the longitudinal. If this is rusted out along the bottom and at the jack as well as in the front low in the wheel well, you are facing major work. You can buy the longitudial sections yes, but i don't believe in a clamshell repair unless the rust is confined to a short section and you can span the damage from good metal to good metal.

Dougb · 03-25-2002, 04:45 PM

im not sure if its that bad should i cut the inner out and go from there?what pieces do you recomend i get?

Zeke · 03-25-2002, 06:42 PM

I'm doing the rust thing right now on my '73. I can tell you that I have made an inspection hole in each longtitudinal a the bottom near the jack post. It was weak there on both sides. Both are scaley (sp?) inside. Structurally, they would probably make it if it weren't going to be a race car. The sides and tops of the longs are good. I'm also adding a chassis stiffening kit, but that doesn't attend to the areas we are talking about. My weak areas are less then 12 inches long, so i'm going to grind back to good metal and weld an overlay on the area. The tough part is when there is rust in an area that has contours. Then you become a fabrcator or look for replacement parts.

I haven't answered your question. Can you post pics for everyone to see? There are some very exerienced folks here that have been through this before. If your longs are bad all along the side and involves the contours and angles, you are probably going to want to buy the inner rocker piece from these fine hosts here and have someone put it in that knows what they are doing.

Dougb · 03-26-2002, 05:11 AM

ill post pics asap.I have to have a pic host right? thanks

Kevin Powers · 03-26-2002, 07:13 PM

dougb, that sound you may have heard was the chain that starts the long climb to the the top just before that first big drop. hang on.

Dougb · 03-26-2002, 07:27 PM

what you talkin bout willis?

Kevin Powers · 03-26-2002, 07:53 PM

that roller coaster ride known to some as rustoring a 914

Urban Redneck · 03-27-2002, 03:41 AM

Doug-

Relax, if the rust isn't too bad and is contained the jack post area, there are options don't scrap the car. I was just replacing my dented outer rocker panel and discovered a large amount of dirt packed in front of the jack support. I know this was the outer rockers first time out and now cleaning this area will be part of my maintenance program.

My "rust free" car now has 2 badly deteriorated jack posts and a couple golf ball sized holes. Check out the technical article here in Pelican Parts about installing a Longitudinal Reinforcing Kit. The arcticle describes the kit and the installation process so I wont' get into that. 914 Ltd., Brad Mayeur sells these kits for $ 290 + Shpg and they are supposed to be great. Mine are on the way as we speak. In fact alot of racers and V8 conversion guys install them to increase body rigidity.

The only real catch is you need a wire feed welder or could rent one but based on the time needed to do the repair you might be better buying one. If you have any questions or need any of the info I mentioned please contact me and I hook you up.

Good luck,
Tom

aka Paint Legend

Plays with cars · Plays with cars's Garage

If you're looking for replacement parts check out www.restoration-design.com. I've used their parts for suspenstion console, batt tray replacement in the past, and just received a replacement RH door threshold from them. All parts have come quickly and fit great. I'm not sure if they have a chassis stiffening kit though. I've only shopped for replacement sheet metal.

Zeke · 03-28-2002, 06:15 PM

Just a little plug for our host. Pelican has Restoration Design at tthe same price as direct. Since Pelican allows me to spout off here whenever I want, I buy from them. Also, it goes w/o mention, I've learned a bunch here as well.