Oosty

With the great weather we are having in Philly I tore into the Gold Digger yesterday removing the entire interior. I had already discovered that a new rear panel had been welded onto this tub in the past but have been hoping that that was the extent of her injuries and surgeries. Imagine my surprise when I cam across these A-pillar welds.











They seem a little rough to be factory but do not extend through the top skin so I'm hoping that they are. I tried searching for images with dashes out but the only one I could find that looked like it might have had this weld was FLYVMO's amazing project, but his has had so much work done that I could not tell for certain.

As always any help is appreciated.

Simon.

linderpat

I've done a couple of dashes, and I do not recall any welds in those spots. also, the quality does not look factory.

Oosty

Exactly what I was thinking but I can't find the other weld if that makes sense. The one that would be at the rear of the roof or tub. I'll keep looking and rather than fearing the worst I'll expect it

Oosty

Update. Found slight bubble in paint at top of C-pillar. Scraped it away and surprise, surprise...bondo and welds. I have a new roof! Lucky me. Looks like I might have 2 parts cars now. Oh well, live and learn.

Thanks for your input Ed, it brought out the realist in me.

Jerry Feather

These welds look a little more crude that the ones I have exposed, but I think they are still factory welds.

upstate bob

Sloppy looking work but the point of real importance is not cosmetic but of alignment. If that is good I would save it.

Oosty

Thanks Jerry. The tail section was repaired according to the WSM...kind of. There are no details for the roof replacement in the WSM that I could find but your pictures lead me to believe that they at least cut where the factory welds may have been. All doors close and seal well so it seems straight.

My thinking is that a rear end hit of some sort (new tail panel) forced the hatch (new hatch) into the roof causing it to buckle...hence new roof.

Despite these discoveries I am having a ball with this car. So solid and a joy to look at every time I pull the cover off.

linderpat

Good find on those pics Jerry. It makes sense, in that it would be very hard to do in making a shell with the roof as part of the uni-body.

Michael Benno

PET shows there would some assembly there. but your welds look like there may be a repair

SpearLazyT

Passenger side


Driver side
My '86 ROW has those welds also

FredR

I cannot offer any advice regarding whether those welds on the OP's 928 are factory or aftermarket however what I can say with professional knowledge is that structural welding is not the same as pressure vessel or pipeline welding- not vaguely close. We lightly used to refer to structural welding as "Pidegeon Sh*t" welding often undertaken by those new to the welding business whilst they gain experience with ERW and ultimately go onto the more rewarding stuff financially.

Inspection of the weld photos that are known legit Porsche efforts tells its own story. If the weldment is laced with body filler that also tells its own story or so I would suspect.

DeWolf

Had my dash out recently and mine were the same. I was a bit alarmed so went to see my mechanic who is a factory trained 928 guy and he said it's normal. His cars are the same.

gomez123

I don't know but that looks like stick (arc) welding to me. That kind of welding is a bit harsh to use on sheet metal.

sendarius

From my experience trying to weld a gate together, welding sheet metal is a black art - it takes more skill than I have anyway.

If they are stick welds, and the welds show no evidence of holes blown in the material, then it was done by someone with some level of talent. Maybe even factory level.