JIM,
You do NOT have to remove the door, you access those bolts from inside the wheel well, the bolts are buried under about 1/4" of undercoat.

To get the fender off you will need to cut the rubberized undercoat along the inside edge, where the fender bolts to the chassis.
There are 3 bolts along the door post that are hard to find because the undercoat is so thick there. you can use a heat gun to soften the undercoat, that will make it much easier to cut through and pull apart. On top, along the gap at the hood, you will need to push a putty knife between the fender and the chassis along the entire length in order to separate it. If you pre-heat the knife with a torch before inserting it, it will make that much easier also.
Finally, when you get the the top all cut through, gently lift from the nose of the fender, the added leverage will assist in breaking free the edge along the door.

 

Rothmans:

But my Porsche acts as a sink for my **** retentiveness! If I wasn't uptight about my beloved 951, I would start being uptight about everything else: my house, my kids, my toothpaste choices, etc. etc. It's better to have one object in your life that soaks up all the weirdness instead of having it spill over into the rest of your life... Easier on the people around me too...

Thaddeus

 

I've thought about this a few times myself... Several months back, I was reading a road test on a new Audi (maybe VW) that commented on how the panels were machined to much closer tolerances and that the gaps were reduced by a large amount- some new process or something. I've thought about the subject a lot since then, but have always assumed it would be WAY too much hassle to try to do anything about for my 951- makes me wish I'd never seen the article- I don't want to know the negative aspects of my 14yr old car b/c it's been expensive enough to maintain already

 

gaps ?

 

keith:

that is the factory strut brace from the 951 TURBO CUP..

Jim Stocks,

unscrew everything, then pull from the bottom of the fender UPWARDS and OUT.. the coating will rip off. its about 3/4 of an inch deep

SHAUN

 

In the "Original Porsche 924/944/968" book (by Morgan, I think) the panel gap is addressed. Back in the 70's & 80's a 7mm gap was pretty much an industry standard. New manufacturing techniques and quality controls reduced panel gaps to 3mm. It's mentioned in the chapter on the 968 that the large gaps made the new car look dated but Porsche had too much $$$ invested in the 944 tooling to change it.

Pete

 

Yeah, the 3mm gap sounds about right, from the article I was reading, and the difference (4mm) might sound trivial, but it's a reduction by over 50%...

 

Hey Thad, that's pretty funny.
Sure the technology for the body panels was a little bit different, but if you look at the whole car scene as a whole, everything has changed!
I can personally attest to the quality of every last nut and bolt on a Porsche, all of which lend to their uniqueness as a marque.
I say, just enjoy your car for what it was and is.
It is far superior to other makes of the same year.
<img src="graemlins/offtopic.gif" border="0" alt="[offtopic]" />
As a personal side note, I always loved the 944 line since I was a teenager. And I love the way they sound, all that mechanical noise... and the NA cars are more fun than the turbos as they make more engine and exhaust noise.
So Thad, go out and hug your car, and tell it you love it just the way it is.....

<img src="graemlins/roflmao.gif" border="0" alt="[hiha]" /> <img src="graemlins/bigok.gif" border="0" alt="[thumbsup]" />

 

Hey, Thaddeus.. there's a _real_ simple, one-step way to reduce or nearly eliminate the visual impact of the panel join lines...

Jim, just paint the car black.... <img src="graemlins/xyxwave.gif" border="0" alt="[bigbye]" />

 

Sooner or later something mechanical on your car will break or need fixing, and that'll take your mind off the panel gaps. I know what you mean, though, I find the hood gaps really ugly.

 

Hmm...guess I've noticed it. Something tells me that I'm going to notice it every day from now on for the life of my 944. <img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" />

 

Dont you know what the gaps are for?

Chrysler had the same gaps in the 70s and 80s.

Chrysler had the gaps so little kiddies wouldnt catch their fingers in the door when they slammed it.

Porsche has it so when we drop the hood on our hands or slam the door while adjusting the slow window motor or... we dont hurt our little finges as much. <img src="graemlins/c.gif" border="0" alt="[ouch]" />

 

I think those gaps are a result of Porsche using old school Audi tooling from the 70's/80's.

If you want less gap, buy a new Porsche.

 

What commercial was it that I saw in the early '80s about some famous celebrity rolling a BB down the seam of some new car? I tried that with mine and the BB just fell right through the gap...

 

[quote]Originally posted by Danno:
<strong>What commercial was it that I saw in the early '80s about some famous celebrity rolling a BB down the seam of some new car? I tried that with mine and the BB just fell right through the gap...</strong><hr></blockquote>

Wasn't that an early Infiniti commercial?