jcslocum

That's a bad spot for a NE car with the salting and sanding of the roads. The pass side is more vulnerable due to the oil lines blocking real cleaning back there. You will certainly not know hoe much work is needed until you begin cutting into it. Might go up to the door latch, I hope not, but the rust and iceberg analogy comes to mind when seeing this.

Here is a thread on Pelican that shows what these areas can rust like with salted roads.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsc...era-redux.html

Trakrat

From what I can tell (and see), it looks like this car was actually stored in the winter and driven on nice days. However, I'm guessing that it was driven after the snow melted, but not before the salt and slush washed away.
It seems the extent of the rust damage is ONLY on the passenger side. The driver's side is remarkably in good shape, and I just recently cleaned out alot of pebbles, dirt, and other debris from the front fender corner behind the wheel and the metal was still solid.

Trakrat

So I took to heart what you said here... and decided to take a closer look at all of the areas along the oil lines.

You are 100% correct... I've found more rust along the oil lines under the front fender.

It seems just about anywhere that gravel gets caught and stuck, it has resulted in rust. I took a screwdriver and started scraping and poking around the oil lines and I couldn't believe how many small pebbles and rocks and other 'stuff' came spilling out, showing the full extent of the rust peeling away.

At this point... I'm going to have to completely disassemble the car down to the chassis and have everything redone. I'm looking at full restoration.

Amber Gramps

Thought this was a racecar. Why "full restoration" something you are going to beat the crap out of on the track? I've purposely added flaws in parts I've added to make them appear to have been done a decade earlier. Seriously, my bumperette delete rear bumper has several large dings and gashes in it's new paint that blend in perfectly with the surrounding patina. Even my "new" ducktail has swirls in the paint that look like they've been there 20 years. Anyway, treat it with the stuff mentioned earlier and move on. You'll be surprised how much rash your car will get just on the street, let alone on the track. Treat, move on...

jcslocum

I'm sure some of it can be cleaned up and treated in place but it's still a project...

Around the bottom corners of the windshield is also a spot for hidden rust.

Trakrat

Full restoration, meaning it looks like I'm going to have to completely strip the body down to the chassis and restore it back to original.
Once rust starts eating away at the chassis, it weakens the structural integrity of the car. Installing a stiffer suspension and adding power will create more stress on weak points. What's the point of adding a beefed up suspension if it's attached to a brittle, paper mounting point?
Last thing I need is to have a strut tower decide to break apart during a hard corner.
So with that... I'm looking around on how to approach the rust repair.


If I've found this much rust, I'm sure there's more.


One thing I already noticed is that when I removed the plastic/rubber sill plate along the rocker panel, it was wet underneath. Amazing to think that water gets trapped like that for weeks and doesn't evaporate. No wonder these cars have rust issues.
Checking for rust along the oil lines, I've cleaned out hundreds of small rocks and pebbles that have gotten caught up in small cracks and corners... again, another reason these cars rust.
Anyone know what year/model Porsche started using wheel wells to cover up the inside of the wheel areas??

theiceman

964 were the first I think .

Mine is a Canadian car .. and is in great shape .. been here all 38 years .. so "these cars rust" is a generic statement .. more on the owner than the car I would say ..

sugarwood

How did you remove the "side skirts"
Is that what people call the "rocker panels"?

Amber Gramps

Yes, the "rockers" or "skirts" are one in the same. Unscrew the phillips screw on the aluminum end caps then just pull the rubber strip out from one end working your way to the other. Then the painted metal skirt just unbolts along the length of the car in maybe 5 or 6 spots. Super easy.



Trak, I'm not at all opposed to good husbandry, I just didn't see all that much rust in the few photos you posted. You describe a car that was put away wet. I've left my car out in the rain exactly one time. We were up in Central California at a fancy hotel Elayne wanted to stay at. I couldn't even sleep. When I wash my car it's early in the day and she gets to sit out in the hot sun for hours afterwards or driven hard for hours right away.


Sugar, here is my G50 car without it's rockers. Notice the crazy torsion bar covers. Directly in front of the opening is a white VIN# tag that is normally covered by the rocker's rubber.

Trakrat

I had to pull the rubber strip down from the top, then pull it from underneath the bottom lip... I couldn't slide it until I had ripped it off about halfway.
The grooves are very dry and I just couldn't get it to slide. there are sectioned indentions

I have to admit that this car's rust is in very specific areas, so I guess I'm lucky. Unfortunately I am a perfectionist and knowing the rust is there will eat away at my unconscious thoughts.

squid42

Just a word, I found that this makes the spec look very ugly (uglier than rust).

Of course that doesn't matter behind the rocker panels. Just be careful before using it near visible places.

Trakrat

I agree... and from what I understand about chemical composition, it doesn't do anything to help remove the rust, just turns into a black goo from the reaction with the rust.

sugarwood

Read the forums long enough and you will see how this often plays out. Guy buys car, ends up taking entire thing apart, and 5 years passes. Did you buy it for a project or to drive? You may consider selling the car. Nothing wrong with that

sugarwood

Right, but they claim it's no longer rust, which means it doesn't spread as fast (or at all)

r911

the Permatex 81773 Rust Treatment looks like a rust reducer - as in a chemical reaction

rust is an oxidized state of iron; a reducer drives that rxn 'backwards' eliminating the rust

follow the directions!