My car has cancer, Please help Options

[zen motorcycle]

I removed the longs because I just knew there would be rust in there and I was right.

How bad is it and what are the repair techniques?

Seems to be limited to just around the jack points and one other area on the right side about 3/4 of the way up where foam was touching.

start from the begining for me I did a search, but didn't come up with much for the beginner metal worker.

Thanks

More pics available, just tell me if anything would be helpfull in the treatment

[zen motorcycle]

Is there a way to get the jack post out with out cutting the quarter panel, or is that the least of my worries?

[rick 918-S]

That's just a stub. It doesn't go through the long. Just use a Sawsall.

[zen motorcycle]

Yeah I busted out the sawsall today, but before I go any further do I need to tie in the frame with a support bracketfrom the seat belt bolt to door hinge to keep it from flexing when I start removing material?

[type11969]

I definitely would. What you have looks similar to what I had to deal with, probably a bit less extensive. Take a gander at the thread I posted above if you want to see how I dealt with the rust.

[zen motorcycle]

I definitely would. What you have looks similar to what I had to deal with, probably a bit less extensive. Take a gander at the thread I posted above if you want to see how I dealt with the rust.

I have looked through those threads you posted. What scares me the most is if I have to remove the quarter panel. If that happens I am going to take the whole care down to bare paint as there are some small rust bubbles elswhere on the car.

Hello 10 year restoration! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/barf.gif)

[type11969]

You definitely don't have to remove the whole quarter panel . . . I pulled mine because someone replaced from the sail panel down on my quarter, but used rivets, braze and a generous helping of bondo to do so. You probably will have to cut a small section out like michelko (sp?) did in his repair though.

[zen motorcycle]

That is what I was afraid of, I can weld ok, but nothing good enough for finishing work on butt welds. I just don't have the rig for it. It would be easier for me to remove the spot welds then cut the corner panel.

[rhodyguy]

wow.

[rick 918-S]

Do yourself a favor, don't start on this project without help. It looks like your in over your head.

[type11969]

If you can find someone local that has been through this to help you out that would be a huge benefit, but you can do it yourself with the guidance of people and threads here. Before I tackled my 914 I had never welded before, let alone fabricated anything and while my end result probably won't be as nice as others on here, it will be strong and functional. There is no reason why you can do the same. The shapes of the 914 "frame" are not difficult to fabricate with simple tools, and most of the pieces are readily available from AA if you want to go that route.

-Chris

[zen motorcycle]

type11969 thanks for the support everybody else if you have something constructive share it. I guess I should rephrase. I can weld just fine, but I don't have a good MIG welder right now. Just not in the budget so having someone else do it is definitley not in the budget. I thought removing the Q panel by drilling the spot welds would make it easier to re-weld with the rig I have. I have done metal fabrication before, just not on a 914. As others have been there and done that I am looking for any tips and tricks so I am not reinventing the rust bucket as it were. These should be simple repairs with the exception of access to the areas covered by the Q panel. If I am wrong tell me, but tell me why and how I should do it. To late to not start on it as I stripped the car last night. And why wait the rust isn't

Thanks

[type11969]

You may consider cutting the quarter panel then having someone else weld it back on . . . taking the whole panel off is kind of a pain. I know I am not looking forward to putting it back on. Or you could rent a MIG when you need to weld the section of the quarter panel back on.

[rhcb914]

If the rust is mostly located in the lower part of the long and the jack support you can reach all of that area by just cutting the door jam and using a mig with a small gun. Use a very thin cutoff wheel to cut the jam and drill the spot welds along the inner part of the door jam. You can see what I am talking about in the link I posted earlier. I was deathly afraid of cutting the quarter pannel because 1) it has the orignal paint that I wanted to preserve and 2) I knew I wouldn't be able to get it lined up perfectly. By cutting the jams I had all the access I needed (it was tight) and when I finished I was able to patch it well enough for an amature that you can bearly tell. If you open the doors and look closely you can see I have been in there but with the doors closed you can't tell there was ever any rust repair and I only had to paint the longs and the door jam area.

[KaptKaos]

Now THAT is a gumption trap! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[zen motorcycle]

If the rust is mostly located in the lower part of the long and the jack support you can reach all of that area by just cutting the door jam and using a mig with a small gun. Use a very thin cutoff wheel to cut the jam and drill the spot welds along the inner part of the door jam. You can see what I am talking about in the link I posted earlier. I was deathly afraid of cutting the quarter pannel because 1) it has the orignal paint that I wanted to preserve and 2) I knew I wouldn't be able to get it lined up perfectly. By cutting the jams I had all the access I needed (it was tight) and when I finished I was able to patch it well enough for an amature that you can bearly tell. If you open the doors and look closely you can see I have been in there but with the doors closed you can't tell there was ever any rust repair and I only had to paint the longs and the door jam area.

Thanks I jsut saw the harbor freight tool link the first time I went through. I like that way a lot better than cutting the quarter panel.

Time to go think about how I will (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sawzall-smiley.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smash.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif) while I actually do this (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer3.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer3.gif)