Porsche 911 Rust

My customer was explaining how the front end of his 1968 Porsche 911 felt loose and made some odd sounds when going over minor bumps so he wanted me to take a look at it. I found more than just a loose tie rod end, I found a major problem with the suspension mounting area in the lower front pan.

This is a rust prone area because the battery is located just above the right front suspension pick up and as it off-gases, the steel rusts. It is also an area for moisture to collect without an area to drain or vent, an area impossible to protect with paint. This is why the more modern Porsches with the fully galvanized frames are so great because all of the hidden areas get protected as well as the body work.

I stripped all of the front end out for the car including lights and trunk contents and hoisted it up on the fork lift. I sandblasted the entire area to see where the rust stopped and the steel with integrity started and went to town cutting and replacing the metal with cheap and available stamped steel panels. We do not have the Porsche factory capability to spot weld these parts to the car so we use an 1/8" drill to re-create spot welds with the MIG welder. Once finished and under-coated you could not tell where the repair started and ended.

After spending so much time working on one-off Ferraris with no commonality or available parts, it is so refreshing to drop in a piece of sheet metal and stitch it in as we did on this project.