Domer911

Is the rear quarter panel on a 997.2 a single-walled steal panel, or double-wall? How might I find the answer?

Edgy01

When you say rear quarter panel I am assuming that you are referring to everything aft of the door opening.

They are single panels of steel. I'm assuming you are concerned for the purposes of pushing back out a dent or something of that sort.

Keep in mind that fender liners back there will come out and expose that area to direct contact with the steel. There is no reason to double-wall that area. Steel is adequate in providing the strength needed.

Domer911

My car had hail damage before I bought it. Was completely repaired. Went to the track on a very hot day, and voila!-had a dimple pop up on the fender about 3 inches directly above the apex of the wheel well. Not a ding, but an outward-rising dimple. very odd. I don't think there is any way it was already there.

Anyway, my suspicion is that it is a weak spot where a previous hail ding was repaired. Dealership says they think somehow I picked up a small stone and flung it between the liner and the fender, ultimately creating a perfect dimple at twelve o'clock. It doesn't even sound possible to me. They made me a promise when I purchased it to repair anything hail-related that I might find, and they have been absolutely terrific about honoring that promise to date.

I asked the question about the double-wall, because if it was double then their theory wouldn't hold water.

It's a perplexing situation, exacerbated by the fact that they already tried to roll it out, thus cracking the paint.

What sucks most is regardless of who steps up, repair will apparently require bondo and paint. Absolutely sucks.

simsgw

Well, yes. Definitely to that. More productively, when you say 'they' tried to roll it out, do you mean the dealer? Or did they call one of those specialists in this sort of problem?

I have been very impressed with the work of these people who use hand tools to tease out the sort of dimple we all hate. They use local vacuum and various hand tools to take advantage of the malleable nature of steel, aluminum, and modern paint products. They are usually called "Soft Touch" or names like that.

I certainly hope I don't need them on a Porsche, but if it was damaged as you describe I'd try someone like that before going the traditional body shop approach.

Gary

MarkG123

The rear quarters on a 997.1 and 997.2 GT3 are double wall. Same with the 2009 Boxster

Edgy01

It depends upon where you are measuring. Some portions are double. Some are single.

Domer911

And the answer is (for my 997.2 C4S) that the fender is double-wall steel.