The garage replaced my front trunk floor after taking out the AC. I have no experience with this so can anyone tell me if this is an OK job? After what they did with the inner firewall I don't trust it anymore.Click to view attachment

It might be ok, but the weld looks like it could have been finished off better. Wether it was butt welded or lapped. Although it is the bottom of the trunk, it still in my opinion is structurally important.

I would also be curious what the underside of the repair looks like. How it was finished and whether the weld/work is water tight.

Top side looks ok, not great but ok. Underside might tell us a different story.

I build Hotrods for a living and if i put work out like that I would die of shame. Whoever did that can not weld worth a dime. At the very least a quality seam sealer should be applied over that, and the same underneath. At best, cut out and redone by a competent metalworker.

Zooming in on the photo, also looks like the welder didn't clean off the spatter, or the surface was not prepped well before the primer/sealer application and those are "fish eyes" caused by silicone/ petroleum residue. This effect anything that is applied to the top of it.

While not the prettiest, does it work for your intended use?

A carpet will cover it and nobody would know or care until you show it to them.

I could affect resale a little bit, depends on the buyer. It won't be cheap to fix correctly or to clean up. A $1000 investment now for a few hundred dollar return? Who knows?

It's my understanding that the trunk floor and the spare tire are part of the front crash zone. Seems risky to compromise it.

But on the other hand, I suppose it's better than a giant hole.

That looks like some of the first welds i ever did, a long time ago.


PS: I agree with the posts above, we need to see some pictures from under the car to really know for sure, but this looks pretty bad already.

Maybe structurally adequate, but I would not be happy if I had paid for that. I guess if you got it done on the cheap, maybe your got your money's worth. I see what look to be pinholes, that will rely on seam sealer to make water proof, and I'm not OK with that.
If I work on your 914 my welds look like this when I get done.
Click to view attachment



It's a snapshot from a video so it's not crystal clear, but you get the idea. If the welds won't be visible on one side, they may not be finished out so perfectly, but I'd be ashamed to charge you for the product you got. Sorry

I haven't welded mine yet, because I'm afraid it would look like yours, but apparently I'm a pro.

Since I don't have a lift , it's difficult to make pictures. They put so much tar on that it's practically impossible to see the welds. It took me hours to remove all the metal splinters that were scattered all over the trunk . I had to remove the headlights to clean out the area underneath. The sealer is full of metal particles that I can't remove. It was a nightmare.Click to view attachment

Sorry but that to me is terrible workmanship and pure laziness.

Modern seam sealants and undercoating should not be caked on, they should be installed in a workman like manner keeping the thickness to a minimum. Very often when it is globed on thickly as it dries it will crack and eventually fail (fall off)

Lazy because there are products made that can be sprayed on before welding that does not allow "weld spatter" to stick. Spray it on and when done the spatter simply whipes off.

I am sorry for your troubles.

Oh man, i hate to say this but i think you got screwed. Looks like they put their intern to work on your car and probably charged you top money for it.

That looks like they just overlapped the new piece and then used the seam sealer to hide the fact. I bet if you take that off, you'll see the raw cut metal of the original floor and the overlap of the new piece.

That's a really poor "repair" ...

I must say that the one who put the AC in (long time ago) must have used an ax or so to make the holes in the trunk floor : it looked terrible. But that's not an excuse : the last word has not been said in this matter. I just have to wait 2 weeks until after the holidays.Will be continued.

No offense but those welds look worse than mine, the real difference is: I don't pay for mine.

I'd be tempted to wirewheel the paint and undercoating off, pull out the sawzall out and start over. For probably around the price you paid to have it done, you could have bought a welder and done it yourself. If I can learn to weld, just about anyone can.

Slotty008, I really think you should show this work to the owner of the shop and ask him what he thinks of the craftmanship displayed. It looks bad. Ok...if you got it for free, don't complain, but if you really paid $$ (euro's in your case) then do not accept this level of work ! In case you did not pay for the work yet, don't untill this mess is sorted out. Really...it is not OK and certainly not professionally done.
I know you have other work done by them where their quality is also under discussion, so do not let them work on your car before you talk this through with the owner of this business. Do not go into discussion with the guys that did the work but let the boss tell you what he thinks. If he thinks it is OK...walk away. Take your loss and warn your car-friends to avoid that place.

Yes has to be said,tacking it in is ok to keep the heat down,then you revisit and close the deal up,flapper wheel to tidy and some seam sealer done,not like this job you have paid for sorry had to say.

Yesterday, I talked to the owner of the body shop. A couple of weeks ago , he already saw the work done by his employees and was ashamed. He said he didn't check the job and left it to his foreman. I also saw the foreman some time ago on a concours d'elegance and told him I was not pleased with the work done. He didn't react. The car will go back to the body shop in 2 weeks and they promised me they wil fix it. We'll see!
In the mean time I took some WIG/TIG welding lessons( out of frustration) and now I know how a weld should look and with some more exercise I think I will be able to do it myself if necessary.
Will be continued.

Is anyone can share a picture of a nice and properly done to cover that hole? I'm also planning to do mine after removal of the AC. Thanks!

Slotty008 - I would ask them to call you once the tar is removed and the weld is repaired, before they cover it all up. You want to see the actual welding. Good luck.

Get your money back, buy a welder and do it yourself. If I can learn to weld, anyone can.

Then there is all of the rest of the holes left behind after the AC lines are pulled, the notch in pass side engine tin/apron and the pass side shelve in the engine bay. Difficult, time consuming and potentially expensive uninstall.