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| Restoration Blog: Rust Prevention |
Have rust in your 912 and want to prevent it? Read the comments below from other 912 owners. New! 912 Registry Members can share technical information, add technical information, and access quality, up to date technical information on our 912 Wiki. From: Indie2; ; After pulling up the carpeting and padding in my 68' 912 coupe I found a good amount of rust and corrosion in the floor board of the car. I'm just 17 and so my budget is extremely limited. Instead of paying big bucks and having it cut out and putting new steel in, I went another route. napa has a product that "kills" rust and actually eliminates its continuance. fairly cheep at around $12. oo. I applied 2 coats and let dry. Afterwords I cut sheets of fiberglass the fit the floor pans and applied resin and liquid hardener. only one layer was needed but you could apply more depending on how bad the pans are or how strong you want to make them. I then applied a thick coat of heavy-duty rubberized undercoating underneath the car to fill and strengthen the holes caused by the rust. it also acted as a sound barrier. It was a cheap way to take care of the problem efficiently. All in all it was about 40 dollars. By the way...why is it so common for the pans to rust out in the 911 & 912? From: Tracy Ferrell ; ; San Diego, CA, USA; 1967 Karmann Coupe; I need help with restoration. The body is beat up. The floor pan is rusted through. The engine doesn't run. The dash and wheels are real nice, though (well, I'm trying to be positive). This Porsche deserves a chance to live again. From: Jose L
Tirado;
; Hi: I am the proud owner of a '69 in Georgia, the car looked ok when
purchased, some cracks in the bottom pan and I thought that it had some
rust. Upon taking the seats and carper out, I checked the floor pan, it
appeared to be protected with the original material. After close
observation I found that the floor original sound deadening mat holds and
retains water. As I can see the body was covered with a seam sealer type
thin coat over the bare metal, painted with black paint and then the
original color overspray paint. It is protected with a tar impregnated
horse-hair type material which is all over the floor and rear seat areas
and if water enter the area, RUST get ballistic..there It was a nightmare
to take all the material, it had rust scales by the bucket. I am still
cleaning with a medium size chisel and small hammer to peel all the
material to bare metal. Beware of the fiberglass madmen... one of them
with large quantities of fiberglass placed enormous sheets of fiberglass
cloth, impregnated with resin all over the rust and metal From: Tom York; ; How do I know if my car was zinc treated from the factory. The vin# is 9126001701. From: Tony Booth; ; Only one other 912 up here
in Calgary, which makes this site invaluable. From: John Smith; ; Well I wasn't as lucky as you other folks. My '67 looked good on inspection, but during the process of replacing the interior, I discovered the pans were completely gone. Appears the rear window and windshield were leaking and about an 1.5 inches of water sat in the bottom for a considerable period of time. The undercoating on the bottom was perfect too. So now I'm in the process of cutting the pan out. I got a new one from my local porsche guy, aftermarket of course. For anyone that has to do this, the spotwelds are a bugger. The best way I found was to cut the pan along the seams with a die grinder. Then clean the seam really well with a wire brush and/or paint stripper. Get it to where you can locate all of the welds. Then, go through and drill through with a 1/8 then 1/4 drill. Split the pan off with a chisel. When you go back with the new one, weld through the holes and then grind them off to where they look like spot welds again. It's working well, but I wish I didn't have to do it. Kinda funny that it's the only rust on the car, and believe me I've looked. If anyone has a better method for taking the spot welds apart, I'd be glad to know. The Howitzer From: "markmaui"; ; Rust - not a
problem, if you keep the car in a cool dry place with a soft cover. i drive mine about 3 -
5 miles after I wash it; that seems to drive out any moisture that accumulates. From: Jon Powell; ; This morning, I had the rather
frightening experience of finding some rust in the floor pan, passenger side, of my '67
912 Coupe. I have already had the front suspension pan replaced. My car is not
pristine--it's one of those cars that looks great if its moving or if you're not closer
than five feet. I drive it every day, rain, shine, or snow. I paid $4500 for it and it has
been well worth the time and money that I have put into it since the initial investment. From: Marcus Wappler, Deutschland; ; Hello everyone! For the first time with the help of the Alta Vista compiler/ translator: My 912 comes from CA and has almost no rust! I found some in the typical places: The jacking points and the spare wheel tub, but otherwise there was none ! The sun of California is definitely as good as they say! CU :-) Wawa.. From: David Curtis/Carol Springer; ; Iron Oxide - Hi Rick et.al., My 912 came from a collector and has been a fair weather toy since '69. I have had several Porsches (all old, mostly 356s) and learned long ago to avoid rusty cars if possible. My current car (a likely keeper) is really solid and I am continuing the tradition of part-time fair weather use. Thanks for your 912 effort D.C. From: Michael Schnittker; ; I looked hard at the floorpan of my 69 912 before I bought it. It was solid when checked from below. Inside it was still covered with that fiberous black mat material. I knew there would be rust under the two back seats as I could see water had settled there. After I bought it I removed all of the matting from on top the floor and found it had trapped water for a long time and that it was surface rusted all over, thin in some places and through in a few places. I removed the seats and all the carpet in the area and cleaned the surface down to just a coat of surface rust. Then I used two coats of One Step rust killer and coating on it, inside the tunnel, whereever I saw rust. Then after it dried for some days I painted it with ref primer. It's still a good coating now but I haven't patched the holes under the back seats or the smaller holes in the floor. I don't drive the car in rain! Will weld metal to cover the holes when I return to the States (I'm in Greece with the State Dept) and have a proper garage and time. Mike Schnittker From: John Seymour; ; I purchased my car last year
after answering an ad in the classified which said that it was for sale. When I saw the
car, I realized that it was in pretty good shape, body-wise, but that it had the classic
rust in the front pan area around the tow hook and the cross member between the battery
boxes. Later, I discover two small perferations in the pan just in front of the seats, but
very small and non-structural. From: Jeanette Ahlgren; ; RUST? Oh, you mean that red brown stuff? NO! "Absolutely NO RUST what so ever on THIS CAR ...EVER". That's OUR car, I don't know about ANYONE ELSES 912, but OUR car came with a special option that even if SOME OTHER OWNER submersed THIS baby in the Pacific Ocean for a month, no rust would ever, EVER materialize. .....Rust: Although there was no metal perforation, rust was found breeding in the front bumper (the bracket that holds it on was quite a sight). Rust damage was "taken care of" (read: bondoed/ primered and painted....) at the corners of the rear window. Rockers were full of water ... we drained them ...No rust, but it sure as hell didn't give us that "glowing new car ownership feeling"...which is why we COMPLETELY tore the car down ... "A little rust" means CHECK EVERYTHING! Peddles were starting to rust up, back floors had a slight case ... (be careful with the back floors, the metal IS thin, and even without rust, a heavy person CAN dent or even tear a hole in the floor, rockers were OK, but we sloshed some anti- rust gunk through them anyhow, ALL the interior was removed as was the dash, and especially the sound deadening. After completely inspecting/scraping/and rust proofing any and every area that could even dream about rusting (we thought it prudent NOT to primer the window glass) we painted and re assembled our "California RUST FREE 912". Do we drive it in the rain? OF COURSE NOT! This is California, and it NEVER rains! Jeanette Ahlgren From: Bill Lambert; ; Rick, I was fortunate to purchase the 912E in Arizona where it spewnt it's life - hence, no rust. In fact the original yellow paint is in exceptional condition. Bill Lambert From: Clarence; ; Well, I have a California car that was either garaged or kept beneath a carport its entire life. My car had no rust when I purchased it :) Clarence From: Ron Anthony; ; 912 E 986 was gone over with a fine tooth comb (almost anyway) and we did not detect any rust problems of any significance. There was a tiny area at the lower left corner of the windshield but not anything worrisome. The floor, the battery box, the areas in front of the doors, above the headlights, around the support tube in the rear all checked out very well. Rust problems can be like icebergs, the part you see is only a fraction of the real problem and quite often once the structual rigidity is compromised it is only a matter of time. Thanks, Ron. From: Bill Schurman; ; The rocker panels and the front fenders just ahead of the doors ( on top) were badly rusted. This car came from somewhere other than Colorado. I had the rust cut out with good results in the rocker panels and mixed results on the fender tops. Bill Schurman, Steamboat Springs, CO, ' 90 Titanium all options black basketweaves, ' 66 912 From: Tom Sutan; ; i have to say that my 912 is rust free.the previous owner had told me that he have never driven in the rain and garage her all the time. he had to sell the car because he needed the space for his 67 911S then i knew that was the car i have to have. Tom Sutan From: ; ;
When I got my 912, the front pan was rusted through so that the front connections for the
torsion bars were completely adrift. Additionally, there was rust in the sides of the
front structure under the wheelwells and forward. I purchased a front floor pan from
Tweeks including a gas tank support and tow hook. From: Mark Tracy; ; Only rust on the car was in the heater tube passages, just at the rear lower corners of the door. In the process of cutting and wire-brushing out rust, and applying Naval Jelly. Will fix with a small amount of sheet metal. Aren't we lucky in California! Mark Tracy From: J Gissel; ; My 912 is a 1976
912E. It does not have any rust on it for two reasons: From: Manfred Botz; ; My car is from California and I had no rust :-) Regards. Manne From: Jerry Allston; ; Fortunately our 912 lived it's first 6 years in S. Calif and the last 24 years in Phoenix AZ. No rust, no problem. Jerry Allston From: Greg Bryan; ; Hi, Thanks for
the message ... My 912 is a black plate California car meaning it has spent its whole life
in this dry climate, so fortunately it has very little rust. It was rusted out under the
battery and I fixed that about 5 or 6 years ago. I bought the repair pieces from Stoddard
and replaced them myself. I have a lot of tools and mechanical experience, but I'm no more
than an inspired amateur when it comes to metal work. Considering how much it costs to
have a body shop do this very common repair, I bought a MIG welder and some other metal
tools and installed the parts myself. It took me most of a winter to do the job, but it
turned out very good. From: Phil Evans; ; My '69 912 that I bought last year had virtually no rust on it (one of the reasons I did buy it). During the repainting, a minor amount was found on the rear bumper and under one of the door deco strips. All rust was removed during the repainting. Phil Evans From: Dave; ; The rust on my car consists of
small surface rust on the hood, and front valance. I also had rust holes in my rocker
panels as well as behind the headlights. The rear deck lid (trunk) was so bad off I
removed it and am now looking for a replacement. From: Mike Mueller; ; Originally my '68 Softback was imported from the Netherlands to WA for a bunch of years, then brought down to CA where it has been for the last 10. It is running but not driven, is totally original (including the paint). The restoration is being done slowly as time and budget permit. The rear of both floorboards are rusted thru, the drivers side has a softball size hole while the passenger side has a quarter size hole. The front are not thru yet but will be replaced as well. This is weird though, I also have rust under the headlights. it's in an arc that somewhat matches the shape of the lights but is an inch or so below the bottom of the ring. I pulled the lites out and the buckets look great! I thought for sure they were rusted out. All the rust seems to be in the fender itself. Any ideas on why? That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Thanks! Mike Mueller, Equipment Leasing and Funding, www.leasingdept.com From: bsr; ; Rick, have no rust problems. car was in awesome shape, original owner took great care of car. Looks like it was under coated , and guy's in local porsche club said I was fortunate to have bought such a gem, sight unseen.Brian From: Casey Welsh; ; My car is a 76' 912E . So there was no rust anywhere thanks to the zinc coated bodies. What helps is my car was also very staight, no dents or dings where rust could start. Thanks . Casey t. Welsh From: Rodney A. Harrison; ; What rust problem? Rust
adds character to old Porsches! Seriously, mine seemed nice upon initial inspection, being
a California car and all. However... I found rust in most of the usual places - battery
box, pan, jack receivers and the paint job that was beautiful in 1986 is finally showing a
few bubbles, again, in the normal places. Treatment has been cleaning the areas with a
wire brush, prepping with one of the newer "rust stopping paints" (the one I use
is a 3M product) and good ol' bondo. The bubbles I just leave alone, as my rot detector
still says there is healthy metal underneath. From: Thom Kuby; ; My '68 came
to me as a valentines gift one year from the all-knowing, far-reaching wife several years
ago . The previous owner had replaced the rockers, and the front pan. He then proceeded to
put one of the worlds WORST paint jobs on it. This galvanized (no pun intended) my
decision to go whole hog and do a bare-metal repaint. From: JimboMGA; ; Ah, the rust, Talk about a constant heartache. My 1969 912 had some rust at the front bumper, weld seem at rear of front fenders, rockers, jack points, lower door panels, lower drivers front windscreen corner. To address the rust problem I inadvertently positioned myself and the car in the path of a profoundly clueless driver so as to damage front end sheet metal to the point that her insurance would pay for the bulk of the rust removal. I kicked in for the remainder. Clever eh? Not really. The day to day battle over the insurance claim was a nightmare. And the whole event cheated me out of three and a half months of my seven month driving season. The rust at the rear of the front fenders is already coming back (to a very minor degree). The car looks much better. And is surely healthier for having spent so much time at the body shop. I live in constant envy of the galvanized body cars. Sincerely, , 1969 912 (44/56) From: Brian; ; The only rust I've ever had on my car was a little surface rust around the battery....so far, that's all <fingers crossed> Brian From: Dean Klein; ; Palmer Station, Antarctic Support Associates; None, really. A minor bubble, about the size of a dime, just in front of the passenger door wear the window water channel comes down. Quickly repaired. The pans are perfect as well. For someone who bought the car blind over the internet, I made out like a bandit. Dean From: N Fennessey; ; At the time of purchase, the only rust to be found on Ol' Blue was in the front suspension pan. This corrosion was due to battery acid runoff. It was a number of years before I had the funds to get the front end of the pan replaced but that was my solution. More important, following the repair, I switched over to a dry cell (wheel chair) battery. Although these batteries are warrented for only one year, it would take many batteries to equal the price of that pan section replacement. And THEY FIT THE BATTERY BOX !!! (lengthwise perfect, width wise, they're a little narrow). Better still, I've replaced the battery only once in the last 7 years. From: mackros; ; About question of the month, my 912 had a little rust on the right hand side near the rear flare(underneath the car), this rust do not affect the structure and I removed the zone and replace with a piece of fiber glass, it´s not the best solution but I think It was really fast to fix. From: Boothbab; ; there was no rust and is none now either. New! 912 Registry Members can share technical information, add technical information, and access quality, up to date technical information on our 912 Wiki. |
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