Porsche 911 Backdate Rust
Nick Moss at Early 911 has just sent through some interesting pictures of a 3.2 Carrera he is currently backdating for a customer.
The car was bought as a badly done backdate and handed over to Nick to correct. As with most RHD cars now, rust had taken hold in the classic spots and needed sorting out before going any further. These pictures show the extent of the problem.
B post rot is a classic on Impact Bumper cars. It starts behind the wing and door slam panels and, by the time you can see it, you’re into £1000 to £1500 a side to repair. The pic above (click on it for a bigger version) shows B post/kidney bowl rust. It also shows rust in the C pillars, just above the rearmost corner of the rear window, where sponge is packed in to kill noise, and stop wheel well muck from being slung up towards the roof.
Also in the pic above, you can see the carbon canister – another ’80s emissions control which is nowadays only useful as a muck trap. Here we see the canister removed and the rot that has set in behind it: enough to perforate galvanised metal. Don’t be relying on Porsche’s original protection to help you any more.
Ledge syndrome is well known in Impact Bumper cars, and this next shot shows a classic spot along the top of the inner wings up front. Rust is pretty much a given here on a used, unrestored car. It’s a long time since I’ve seen a RHD 3.2 that was rot free in this area.
It’s impossible to see rot here until the wings are removed so, if you have a 911 3.2 Carrera, watch this space like a hawk! Here, and also along the top of the front bumper mounts in the inner wings.
The final pic is a close up of what was taken by the buyer to be minor bubbling in the bottom of the door slam panel (the b-post). Turns out to be not so minor. This area is structural, so all repairs must be carried out properly. To repair the B-posts and kidney bowls is quite a bit of work: I’m looking forward to seeing pics of how Nick goes about tackling it.
The pictures remind us that all 911 buyers should tread very carefully before agreeing a deal on a car. Always get an independent pre-purchase inspection done, preferably by someone who knows these cars intimately as a result of working on them. RAC or AA inspections are all well and good, but anyone who didn’t know 911s wouldn’t have the first clue to look in these spots.
Thanks to Nick for sending these over – the information is much appreciated.