Rusty 944 advice

[Dial944]

Hello chaps, I was hoping someone might be able to give me some words of advice with regards to rust repairs on my 944.

The sills and bottom corners of the wheelarchs, which did look pristine when I purchased it in september, are begining to show show some rust after a winters use. What's the best way of going about repairing these?
Popping a camera down the door vents shows the inner sills to look ok, with just a little surface rust towards the bottom so I think just the outer panel will need replacing.
I've seen several repair panels for sale on ebay but these seem to vary from the originals by quite a bit. I'm aware you can get get the sill section for reasonable money from Porsche themselves but then how to go about repairing the corners of the wings? My experience shaping sheet metal is almost nil so I imagine a curved piece like this will be quite difficult to make. Are there any good suppliers for wing repair panels? Again the ebay panels seem to just be flat sheet which would surely stand out against the shape of the wing itself.

Any advice with this would be really appreciated as it appears getting these repairs done at a specialist would outweigh the value of the car, so not really a good option here.

Thanks
David

[EGTE]

Have you looked on the PCGB/TIPEC 944 forums?

There's lots of great info on there, from guys doing themselves (impressively) to recommendations of how to fix.

If it's outer sills only, most aoutbody places could do this for not too much.

[rubystone]

Slightly odd that from no sign of rot to this advance stage takes just a few months of what was a mild winter? Had someone lashed then up before you bought the car?

[Dial944]

rubystone said:

Slightly odd that from no sign of rot to this advance stage takes just a few months of what was a mild winter? Had someone lashed then up before you bought the car?

It does look like it has been bodged up at some point. The stoneguard here is in much better condition than around the wheelarch where it is all cracked and faded.

[rubystone]

Dial944 said:

It does look like it has been bodged up at some point. The stoneguard here is in much better condition than around the wheelarch where it is all cracked and faded.

Yes, that's pretty common. An easy repair if you catch it early enough, not so when it gets too advanced.

[fot0]

Looks like sills will need replacing at some point and guess front wings can be repaired with rot cut out. Think the going rate was about £1,200 for both sides (when I was last on pcgb forum). If it's a keeper, then its worth considering as values are creeping up across all 944s.

I know Porsche produce panels in batch runs, so it's worth calling Reading OPC for prices, but get the work done by a specialist.

[GC8]

There isn't a 'going rate'. In typical forum style people like to know more and the prices became exaggerated. £600 became £1,200 and one stupid bint even started claiming that it cost £1,200 per side.

It depends on the car, and the company that you use.

[DKL]

If you need both inner and outer sills doing and some repairs to the bottom of the wings, which is likely if the sills are going, then you are going to pay around the £2k mark to have it done properly. £1200 a side isn't necessarily that far off for a decent job.
If you can get repairs done obviously it will be rather less depending on what you have done.

[tr7v8]

DKL said:

If you need both inner and outer sills doing and some repairs to the bottom of the wings, which is likely if the sills are going, then you are going to pay around the £2k mark to have it done properly. £1200 a side isn't necessarily that far off for a decent job.
If you can get repairs done obviously it will be rather less depending on what you have done.

2K is what I paid a few years ago. Mine was horrific though, the inner sills were particularly bad as were the jacking points.

[blade7]

GC8 said:

one stupid bint even started claiming that it cost £1,200 per side.

Say what you mean Simon.
OP I'd get someone who knows what they're doing to take a good look at the rear suspension/seat belt mountings too. While run of the mill 944 prices are slowly rising they are just as likely to drop when the classic car bubble bursts. Unless the rest of the car is good it may make sense to do what the previous owner did with the car.

[Riverside]

I had both sills done in March 2009. Scratchbuilt (rather than using bought panels) and painted for about £700.

The problem with this of course is that they aren't painted on the inside like they were from the factory & won't last as long. I'm having them re-done soon. Initial estimate is £250 but it'll probably be double that once they get inside & can see the full extent.

Mine look similar to yours on the outside, just a few bubbles.

hth.

[GC8]

A far more representative price, I think.

[Dial944]

All really helpful replies, much appreciated.

The car is a relatively high mileage daily driver so certainly not worth investing a great deal into. As much as I enjoy driving this one realistically anything more than £1000 to get this sorted would likely see me selling the car on.

As suggested I'll get a second opinion from a specialist on the extent of the rust around the seatbelt and suspension mounts. Fingers crossed that just a simple outer panel replacement plus clean up of the inner sill is needed.

[Ryvita]

...Picking up this thread, can anyone recommend a good place to get this kind of work done in the Surrey area? Would need sill / panel cut out and repair.

[GC8]

Don’t use ‘The 944 Restorer’ or ‘Retro Restorer’ or whatever else Nash Hunter calls himself. Not ever.

[Ryvita]

GC8 said:

Don’t use ‘The 944 Restorer’ or ‘Retro Restorer’ or whatever else Nash Hunter calls himself. Not ever.

Duly noted. Problems there? Not much turns up when googling.

[GC8]

Lots, sadly.

[Dial944]

Ryvita said:

...Picking up this thread, can anyone recommend a good place to get this kind of work done in the Surrey area? Would need sill / panel cut out and repair.

Probably worth giving a quick update here.

Sills were repaired last year. In the end the inner sills were not too far gone at all and it was fairly straightforward for the bodyshop to fabricate a new outer panel. This despite there being several patches welded in and some holes which had just been filled and painted over.



I'm aware I've been quite lucky here, there are plenty of accounts of people stripping back the outer sill and finding nothing but rot beneath.

What state are yours in? Mine had gone where the wheelarch meets the sill in particular, whilst the section around the jacking point was still solid. If it is just the outer panel that needs doing I should think any competent bodyshop should be able to do a good job of it, no need to be looking for a specialist.

[crugster]

On mine is was 'only' the bottom of the wings that had rotted. New wings are £650 each.
Worth it though.

[GC8]

New wings used to cost £235ea. Turbo wings were a fiver cheaper.