Early nose panel removal

[Tiramisu]

Hello,

I need to replace the hood crest gasket on my early 944. The article at Clarks Garage said I need to drill out the spot welds. How do I tell where those welds are? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Rasta Monsta]

Scrub the dirt and muck off the seam on the top trailing edge of the header panel. Look at it closely. . .you are looking for little melted spots about the size of a pencil eraser. Once you get those drilled out, it will be much easier to find the rest. Don't forget there are two 10mm bolts, one on each end going into the outside corner of the headlight opening (pull rubber squeegees to reveal these).

USE A SPOT WELD CUTTER. Trust me, it will be $5 well spent. A little cutting fluid doesn't hurt, either.

When you put it back together, use a little body putty to reduce the chance of rattles.

Here are some shots of mine during the process and on reinstallation:







Have fun.

[Rasta Monsta]

Oh, FWIW, my wife was able to get her hand in there to replace the Porsche emblem. She came out a bit bloody, but it is possible. . .worth a try before hacking the nose off.

[ernie9944]

Originally Posted by Rasta Monsta

Oh, FWIW, my wife was able to get her hand in there to replace the Porsche emblem. She came out a bit bloody, but it is possible. . .worth a try before hacking the nose off.

Shame on you .

[Tiramisu]

Hi Rasta,

I tried every which way to get my hand down in there but no luck. I will get a spot weld cutter. did you use a 3/8ths bit or ?

Thanks for the help

[Rasta Monsta]

Not sure what you mean by 3/8 bit. Seems like the cutter itself is pretty standard sized, and pilot holes are drilled with the smallest bit that the little guide pin will fit through. Try not to go all the way through both panels with the cutter, that way you can run sheet metal screws through the pilot holes to re-attach the header panel.

Oh, and look closely at my first pic. . .right above the bumper there are a bunch more welds.

[Tiramisu]

Hey. I think 3/8ths is the diameter of the cutter head. I ordered one up on ebay.

Hmm..looks like Im going to have to remove the bumper to get to those welds or are they over by the headlights? I cant quite tell from the photo.

What a pain..all this just to replace the hood crest gasket??!!

Thanks

[Tiramisu]

Rasta,

I drilled out the panel with the spot weld cutter and it worked great. I was able to put on the new hood crest gasket without having to remove the welds near the bumper. I used a little mirror to find the welds which really helped. Thanks for your help on this.

[Rasta Monsta]

Coolio.

[joeporsche1]

Thanks 4 the right up, man. Great one Rasta man.