P.O. Accident Damage to Front Trunk, Course of Action? |
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P.O. Accident Damage to Front Trunk, Course of Action? |
Nojoah |
Aug 8 2020, 11:25 AM
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#1
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Member Group: Members Posts: 119 Joined: 6-May 20 From: Ontario Member No.: 24,234 Region Association: Canada |
Hey guys,
I have been assessing the situation with the front trunk of the car recently and I have managed to grind through all the old bondo, bedliner and crap that was covering the majority of the damage to the front pan. Clearly it was brazed in after an accident along with new replacement panels from porsche in their typical red primer. The pan is pretty banged up but the car is surprisingly straight and the hood gaps, bumper gaps and headlight buckets all seem to be where they should be. My question is though - what should my course of action be to repair this in the future? Would the replacement RD front pan suffice or should I dig deeper into the body? Understand that as a student I am by no means looking for a concourse front trunk just something more original and as it should be - this bothers my OCD (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smash.gif) Side note - this was damage from the first owner shortly after he bought the car new in the 70's so if it's lasted this long, its solid at least. Attached thumbnail(s) |
bkrantz |
Aug 8 2020, 09:28 PM
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#2
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914 Guru Group: Members Posts: 7,766 Joined: 3-August 19 From: SW Colorado Member No.: 23,343 Region Association: Rocky Mountains |
I see 3 "sensible" options:
1. Work on straightening the floor pan and other panels, and live with the results (at least for now). 2. Surgically remove the floor pan and use a new replacement as a guide to straightening the inner fenders and other pieces that attach. 3. Replace the front clip. I would not recommend detaching all the various pieces (outer fenders, inner braces, inner fenders, front panel, floor pan) unless you want to enjoy many extra hours in the garage. |
bbrock |
Aug 9 2020, 03:22 PM
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#3
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914 Guru Group: Members Posts: 5,269 Joined: 17-February 17 From: Montana Member No.: 20,845 Region Association: Rocky Mountains |
2. Surgically remove the floor pan and use a new replacement as a guide to straightening the inner fenders and other pieces that attach. I like this option. Once you get all the bondo off the wheel wells and they are detached from the trunk pan, they should hammer and dolly out nicely. If you have a good alignment on the car, I wouldn't worry about driving it. However, I still think the A-arm bushings are taking the brunt of whatever is tweaked. That could cause those bushings to wear faster which will make the suspension more sloppy and can lead to wear and pitting on the torsion bars. This is all speculation of course but given that replacing the pan isn't terribly difficult, I'd try to make it a winter project if it were mine. You can probably knock it out in a few weekends. |
Nojoah |
Aug 9 2020, 03:47 PM
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#4
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Member Group: Members Posts: 119 Joined: 6-May 20 From: Ontario Member No.: 24,234 Region Association: Canada |
2. Surgically remove the floor pan and use a new replacement as a guide to straightening the inner fenders and other pieces that attach. I like this option. Once you get all the bondo off the wheel wells and they are detached from the trunk pan, they should hammer and dolly out nicely. If you have a good alignment on the car, I wouldn't worry about driving it. However, I still think the A-arm bushings are taking the brunt of whatever is tweaked. That could cause those bushings to wear faster which will make the suspension more sloppy and can lead to wear and pitting on the torsion bars. This is all speculation of course but given that replacing the pan isn't terribly difficult, I'd try to make it a winter project if it were mine. You can probably knock it out in a few weekends. Thanks brent. I agree that definitely seems like the best option for either this winter or next winter. What's the procedure for installing a new pan? Any specific bracing that's required? or can someone direct me to a thread that outlines this? I'm assuming some kind of jig is necessary to keep everything in place and line up the A-arm mounts? |
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