What gauge steel are 944's made of?

[zcacogp]

Or, more accurately, their front wings?

The bottoms of the wings on my S2 are rotten, and I am thinking about making some replacement panels and welding them on. But what gauge of steel are the wings made of, and hence what gauge steel should I buy to make the replacement panels from?

(And where do you buy such things? I'd have thought that 1ftx1ft would be more than enough to make each side; is it possible to buy the right stuff in sheets of that size?)


Oli.

 

[morris944s2john]

When I repaired the front wing bottom on my S2, they were about 0.8-0.9mm. I used ~1mm steel to make the repair sections. Fairly thick for a modern car, the panels of which are often 0.6mm.

http://homepages.gotadsl.co.uk/~jgm/ekmm/porsche944.htm

The lower wing on my car was quite bad!

You'll need access to a metal folder, tin snips, a metal file and a shrinker stretcher machine to put the shape into the repair panel.

If you can, weld the piece in with Oxy acetylene gas welding

I would say it is essential to remove the wing from the car to make a decent job of the repair.

Frost sell sheets of 0.9mm steel in small enough pieces for your use. http://www.frost.co.uk/item_Detail.asp?productID=8442&frostProductName=Steel%20%20Sheet%20Metal%200.7mm%20-%208mm%20600%20x%20900mm

I would though if I were you go on a restoration course as some metal working, panel beating and panel making skills are needed to make a decent repair.

 

[zcacogp]

John,

Thanks. I was hoping you would reply as I knew you would know the answer.

My wings are a lot less dire than yours - the rust hasn't extended around the corner onto the flat panel at the 'side' of the car, so I am hoping the repair will be simpler. And I noticed from your website (thanks for the link) that the shrinker/stretcher was used for this bit. I will be doing it with the assistance of a friend who has bodywork skills, and we are both fairly practical. (No, let's be quite honest here, a practical friend with good bodywork skills and a welder will be doing the work, while I'll be passing tools, tea and biscuits in pretty much that order!)

Thanks for the information. And the link to the website. Very helpful.


Oli.

 

[awattam]

For the steel, try - http://www.metalsupermarkets.com/

They sell in small quantities and will be cheaper than frost. Make sure you've got plenty extra to have several goes at each side []

 

[pauljmcnulty]

I would say it is essential to remove the wing from the car to make a decent job of the repair.

What were your a-pillars like once the wings were removed? I've heard of corrosion here, very minor but it won't be treated if the wings are repaired on the car.

 

[zcacogp]

Removing the wings ... mine aren't anywhere near as bad as John's, and I am hoping I will get away without having to remove them.

Here are photos of the rusty bits last October, when I realised the extent of the problems.

Passenger Side:

Drivers Side:

The rust hasn't (I don't think) extended beyond this situation.

Original thread here:

http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=496208&mpage=1&key=rust%2Cwing񹉐


Oli.

 

[morris944s2john]

"What were your a-pillars like once the wings were removed? I've heard of corrosion here, very minor but it won't be treated if the wings are repaired on the car.


_____________________________

Paul McNulty
1990 Titanium S2

"

The inner wings and A pillars were almost perfect! (one small surface rust patch where the water drain is) I was pleased with that so gave the area a good coat of dinitrol 4951 before re-fitting the plastic wheelarch liners.

As for supplies of steel- thanks for that source- I only put Frost because the link was handy. I get my steel either from the college where I do my restoration night school or from a friend who works at a fabrication engineering company. he has kindly given me a lot of odd offcuts that have come in useful over the years.

Oli- looks like you have caught the rust just in time! looks a much easier repair than mine was. I think my lower wing problem was exacerbated by an old dent repair - the body shop took did a great job of taking the dent out and painting the outside of the lower wing but neglected to protect the rear of the wing, hence mine rusted from the inside out.

 

[pauljmcnulty]

The inner wings and A pillars were almost perfect! (one small surface rust patch where the water drain is) I was pleased with that so gave the area a good coat of dinitrol 4951 before re-fitting the plastic wheelarch liners.

hmm. One small patch of surface rust is not bad, but had you not taken the wing off and treated it it would have spread to create a far worse issue in years to come? Perhaps it's worth doing, it'll be a once every twenty years precaution. [8|]

 

[morris944s2john]

Yes, it was a tiny patch so I cleaned it up with the wire brush on drill, zinc primed and then seam sealed the area. The front wings have a massive amount of seam sealer holding them to the inner wings, add to that the galvanising, the stone chip coating on the inner wings, plus the paint and the plastic wheelarch guard and it is no wonder they were mostly like new. These cars have rust protection like no other I have ever seen!

It would be a good idea to take the wings off and check every 10 years or so- but you need some tools. A heat gun and thin scraper to loosen the seam sealer that holds outer wing to inner, a long extension to get the socket onto the tricky 10mm bolts at the back of the wing, and some patience and finnesse to avoid damaging the wing. At first I undid all the wing bolts and the wing was stuck just as fast! There is that much sealer in there.

On re-fitting the wing, I applied fresh seam PU sealer (NOT underseal!) before the coat of Dinitrol.