Rust on 71T I looked at

[72911E]

I looked at a 71T sunroof Coupe today.

Car had rust on roof, behind sunroof....there was bubbling and one place there was a hole the size of tip of pen.

Question: If rust is here, how difficult to repair or replace? Bad sign for rest of car?

Other areas that needed attention were the door skins but two rust free doors are included. Also, the fender jams need replacement.

Door Jams, front wings, Spare wheel and battery boxes were all ok.

Any advise/info appreciated.

Thanks
Derek

[JCR]

If water got in the inner roof structure, it's a bad sign and expensive repair to correct properly. Start by running a long wire down the sunfoof drains to see if they're open, and watch for rusty flakes coming out. I would want a good look at the package tray and inner C-pillar structures. Inspect as well as you can, at least press to make sure everything's firm. I'm sure the seller won't want you pulling off headliner material. Get a good PPI, maybe from an experienced body shop as well as mechanical.

[Alan.uk]

Also, undo the zip at the back and check the corners/edge of the sunroof tray. If the rear drain channels block the water sits in the back of the sunroof tray and then rusts out. Also check the rear parcel shelf. It's hard to fully check whist the car is together but signs of rust around the rear screen corners usually means more rust on the parcel shelf. Open the engine lid and put your figures up in the corners and feel/look for rust.

Not to worry you, but here is an example from a 72E I am working on.

"In the first picture you can see the extent of the bubbling on the paint work which you would see form the outside of the car, in this case the bubbling on the outside masks the true extent of rust on the inside. Porsche in there pearls of wisdom (not 100% positive what years they did this) stuffed the rear section (where the pen marks are) with padding, which simply retains any water which leaks past the screen rubber. Once leaked it starts to rust from the inside out.

Bubbling on the outside


Here is the extent of the rust from the inside

Stripped interior



Once the water is in the car it takes the easiest route and thus also starts to rust out the lower section of the shelf. In this case the major rusted areas follow the route of the water and has also rusted the lower section of the parcel shelf and also just above the right hand seat pan! The main wiring loom to the motor is also here which also traps dirt and moisture and thus may have rusted from below as well.

Main rusted areas


The “real” extent only shows up once the car is blasted. During the restoration of this 1972 E the rear screen corners will be re-made as will the required section of the parcel shelf. There are no repair panels available for these areas.

After cleaning/blasting



Working on this car has reinforced the fact that most LWB rear screen corners rot from the inside out and are also always worse on the LH side, I believe this is due to the rear screen demisting wires which make water penetration easier on the LH side. "



Alan

[gulf908]

= parts car ??

Cheers,
Dennis.

[911scfanatic]

That's cosmetic rust. That'll buff out.
Really, that's an easy repair if you can find a good rear shelf.

Alan, hopefully the owner is going back to signal yellow?

[silver911]

.......scfanatic.....don't even go there....its already been confirmed as a silver repaint....its been that way longer that it was ever yellow...

[Gumby]

So if our cars are so prone to rusting in that area what can be done to prevent this from ever happening? Should I drill weep holes in the underside from the engine bay? Ron

[Gearbox]

Standing water in body panels is never a good thing, so anything you can do drain and ventilate the area is advisable next to preventing the water from getting in to the area in the first place. I noticed that once water gets into a trapped area, it steams up when hot and condenses on the highest area that it can get to. Once cooled, it drains back to the original puddle making somewhat of a miniture eco system. That's why the roof is so suceptable to rust.

[911scfanatic]

silver911, looking at that rear shelf...it's like looking at the one I cut out of my car...signal yellow paint and all. Good luck with the repairs! I'm sure she's a beauty in signal yellow or silver!

[silver911]

scfanatic..

I have started a thread here to cover the whole process.....
http://www.ddk-online.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=15618

From where we are now the rear shelf is the worse area of damage....by rust that is and Barry, the guy doing the repairs is looking forward to getting his teeth stuck into it...