Forward suspension & front trunk fix'n, getting it right the first time... Options

[VaccaRabite]

So...

The front trunk of my car was rubbish. Its gone now. as are the ears that were under the head lights. And, of course the forward suspension mounts (that were built into the old front trunk floor).

To add insult to injury, once I started digging in the front trunk, it became clear that a lot of fixing had been done before I got it. Like the driver side inner fender was cut off and replaced at some point. And was fixed with brazing. I hate brazing. It is a bitch to carefully cut it out, unlike welds.

For the passinger side, I was able to drill out the spot welds and remove the unwanted metal that way. For the driver side however, things were slightly less clean.

Now I have a new front trunk floor to to in. It is cleaned and preped. On my initial trial fits, it sorta fits right into place. Sorta. But, this is the piece that the front suspension bolts into. If its off, my car is going to drive all wonky.

What can I do to make sure that when I weld in the new panel, that I weld it into the right spot so that the suspension will bolt in correctly?

Zach

[michel richard]

I think there's a bunch of dimensions for the frame in the "914 info" section of the site.

[rhodyguy]

wow!! delicate placement what with the forward attachment points for the control arms. no do overs. given my feeble welding skills, i would farm this out if at all possible.

k

[John]

What if anything is left to bolt the front suspension in place?

Are the rear mount points for the front suspension still in place? I believe that there is a jig or fixture that exists that bolts to those locations to provide pick-up points for the forward suspension locations.

The jig should work for 911's as well as 914's as they use the same front suspension pick-up points.

I would look for a jig.

Someone here must have one or be able to let you borrow it while you replace your front trunk.

[VaccaRabite]

As you can imagine, I have given a couple of days to thinking about this. About a week, actually.

The only way that I have come up with is this (Work with my amazing MS paint diagram here...).
Remove the steering rack from the suspension, as well as the shocks and such.


The 2 supporting brackets (the red parts) are then bolted to the car. Then I fit the new trunk floor in. Before welding anyhting, I was thinking I could bolt it to the suspension frame.

That should give me the proper allignment, right? Or am I totally off.

Zach

[VaccaRabite]

QUOTE (JOHNMAN @ Mar 16 2006, 12:42 PM)

What if anything is left to bolt the front suspension in place? Are the rear mount points for the front suspension still in place? I believe that there is a jig or fixture that exists that bolts to those locations to provide pick-up points for the forward suspension locations. The jig should work for 911's as well as 914's as they use the same front suspension pick-up points. I would look for a jig. Someone here must have one or be able to let you borrow it while you replace your front trunk.

A jig would be ideal. Anyone got one?

Zach

[rhodyguy]

i agree. a jig for this is crucial. even a little bit out of sguare could be a disaster. did you drop the rack with the front crossmember? got a picture of the BIG hole?

k

[VaccaRabite]

Here is the hole, with a bit more metal still to take out. Notice the brazing alonf the front. I slowly ground that out with a dremel... Also notice that the passinger side removal is cleaner then the drivers side... Grumble... I hate brazing.

(IMG:http://static.flickr.com/48/108161062_eaf0298383.jpg)

Again, there was more metal that I took out here, but it gives an idea... I went up about 1/2 way to the back. There is still some overlap with the piece that I am putting in, I will grind that to fit as I work it into place.

(IMG:http://static.flickr.com/53/108161082_a88c187ff9.jpg)


And here is what is going in. The white crap is ground out seam sealer. It is much cleaner now, and is totally rust free.

(IMG:http://static.flickr.com/38/108161107_4ea097688d.jpg)


I have not yet taken apart the front suspension, but here it is, posing in front of my engine...
(IMG:http://static.flickr.com/47/108161017_a6bc3f4744.jpg)

There are a bunch more pics of the car and restoration thus far on my flickr account.
Zach

[type11969]

Definitely curious about this as well, I've got a similar repair to do on at least one side of my 914 (crappy accident repair and crappy ac hole repair = bad news).


-Chris

[tat2dphreak]

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/hijacked.gif) I have one of those same lights from harbor freight... they rock! they don't get too hot and move to whatever position you need... (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smilie_pokal.gif)

[flesburg]

My suggestion:

Call Stoddard (Cleveland) and ask if they will rent you the alignment fixture. They will rent them to "body shops" because I knew a fellow that rented alignment fixtures from them to weld in new torsion bar tubes in the rear of a 911. Any Porsche dealer with a big body shop probably has them, but may not rent them to "body shops". You may have to ask a body shop if they will rent one for you. This fixture should bolt to the two points at the rear of the front axle, where the pickup points you marked in red are fastened to the forward part of the floor, and would allow you to align an entire front clip.