GeoffCapes
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Oh dear. 
A search for a rot free 944 then?
A search for a rot free 944 then?
Project V8 - Achtung! German content
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mjheathcote
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Oh dear.
Porsche no different at that time to any other manufacturer on corrosion resistance then. Thought they were galvanising them at that time.
Anything worth selling off on ebay to recoup costs? Engine for sure.
Porsche no different at that time to any other manufacturer on corrosion resistance then. Thought they were galvanising them at that time.
Anything worth selling off on ebay to recoup costs? Engine for sure.
mjheathcote
Centenary Club
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Quick google, they were galvanised!
The Porsche 944 was galvanised at the factory. This is a simple coating to the bodywork which inhibits rust formation. In reality this system has worked very well, but now, some three decades after the launch of the car, the evil rust is beginning to become a problem on some examples, so is something to look out for. In particular rust tends to form in the following locations:
rear of sills on the outside. Often seen as bubbling of the stone chip textured paint coating;
Rear of sills on the inside. Check between the inner sill and the rear suspension beam for a hole forming about 6 inches in front of the rear wheel arch on the inside, easily reached by holding the bottom of the sill and probing with your fingers;
Front wing bottoms. The lower trailing edge of the wheel arch accumulates a lot of road debris, which then causes the bottom of the wings to corrode. Look for blisters, orange staining and probe this area. If it makes a crunching noise, it needs repairing. New front wings are expensive, however a good bodyshop can rebuild this area in steel;
Front wings where they meet the front bumper. Not often serious or holed, but it is becoming more common to see some rust blisters forming in this area;
Between back bumper and back panel right bellow the Porsche script decal. I believe that for some reason insufficient paint was applied by the factory in this area, as the inside edge from the luggage area always seems to be fine, but often blisters can be seen between the bumper and the back panel. These are normally superficial;
Around the windscreen, again usually superficial, but for some reason it seems occasionally the 944 can blister around the windscreen trim.
The Porsche 944 was galvanised at the factory. This is a simple coating to the bodywork which inhibits rust formation. In reality this system has worked very well, but now, some three decades after the launch of the car, the evil rust is beginning to become a problem on some examples, so is something to look out for. In particular rust tends to form in the following locations:
rear of sills on the outside. Often seen as bubbling of the stone chip textured paint coating;
Rear of sills on the inside. Check between the inner sill and the rear suspension beam for a hole forming about 6 inches in front of the rear wheel arch on the inside, easily reached by holding the bottom of the sill and probing with your fingers;
Front wing bottoms. The lower trailing edge of the wheel arch accumulates a lot of road debris, which then causes the bottom of the wings to corrode. Look for blisters, orange staining and probe this area. If it makes a crunching noise, it needs repairing. New front wings are expensive, however a good bodyshop can rebuild this area in steel;
Front wings where they meet the front bumper. Not often serious or holed, but it is becoming more common to see some rust blisters forming in this area;
Between back bumper and back panel right bellow the Porsche script decal. I believe that for some reason insufficient paint was applied by the factory in this area, as the inside edge from the luggage area always seems to be fine, but often blisters can be seen between the bumper and the back panel. These are normally superficial;
Around the windscreen, again usually superficial, but for some reason it seems occasionally the 944 can blister around the windscreen trim.
Oh dear.
A search for a rot free 944 then?
I'm going to have a think about the whole project and decide what to do. I haven't spent a fortune, so expect to recoup my cash from parts removed from the cars - lots of nice parts attached to both cars that are worth a bit. I'll probably keep hold of the engine and V8 conversion parts for now as they're so rare. I'll never find another set. I'm not interested in building a kit car with the bits, they're really not suited to that sort of chassis. A shame as I've wanted a 944 for years and this has rather put me off them!
rossyl
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That's a b ugger Mark. At least it was an early discovery not something later down the line.
It might be worth having a chat with a decent Porsche Indy like Charles Ivey and discovering if you were just unlucky or if you are likely to find that most 944s have a disintegrating chassis.
It might be worth having a chat with a decent Porsche Indy like Charles Ivey and discovering if you were just unlucky or if you are likely to find that most 944s have a disintegrating chassis.
I decided to have a good poke around today as I was a little suspicious of one area - little did I know! I was only removing the engine initially before a complete assessment, so no time or money wasted thankfully.
The areas of rot are common in these cars. This was a relatively cheap car that I knew was a bit rough round the edges, making it a perfect candidate for a track car rather than a show car or restored modern classic. The level of bodgery is quite impressive, the car had MOT not that long ago! It looked OK initially, but one thing I wanted to make sure of was structural integrity if it was to go on track. It could be repaired, but typical costs for this work is £2k+ which is just not worth it for this car. I have no welding experience and do not want to learn on such important parts of the car!
GeoffCapes
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zagatoes30
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Not good news but at least you found it early. Porsches, even galvanised ones, are not much better than any other car of its age.
Jkulin
Junior Member
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Mark you should keep all your bits and transplant it into something like this: -
http://www.sportsmaserati.co.uk/showthread.php/21339-2CV-Ferrari-)
http://www.sportsmaserati.co.uk/showthread.php/21339-2CV-Ferrari-)
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Bollox! Sorry, mate.
