DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

Hi Sladey

My panels are ok,,just the odd corner needing repair and some dents etc

I just assumed from what I've read that a lot of the top end cars seem to get lots of new panels !?

I can't afford to so I will be repairing what I can ......anyway that'll keep me busy this winter !

tangerineT wrote: I just assumed from what I've read that a lot of the top end cars seem to get lots of new panels !?

I'm doing an S. Not sure if that counts as top end, but anyway.
I'm with Sladey, order of preference for panels is:
1) Original metal
2) Porsche Genuine replacement
3) Aftermarket (only if desperate and / or no Porsche version available).

Same goes for everything really.
The current production parts (including those you can buy from Porsche) are often not the same as original when you look at the detail of materials etc.
So order of preference is:
1) Original as came with the car, cleaned up and refurbed where required (but no need to re-paint and re-plate everything if a clean-up would suffice - retain patina)
2) New Old Stock
3) Good used original, unrestored
4) New from Porsche
5) New repro
(Unless it's a deliberately-chosen performance enhancement - lots of well-engineered items are around if looking to lose weight, deal with a known fault like cam chain tensioners, or improve the suspension etc).
(There are also honourable exceptions to the new repro being bottom of the list. For example the repro stuff done by Eric Linden at autoforeign services in Seattle is lovely, arguably better quality than original).

Just my 2p!

Cheers, Richard.

Couldn't agree more with the above.
I think an S is top-line purely because of the current value and to get those numbers it needs to be special (as in very original), it has to be right.

Not so sure about a bitza like mine, neat and tidy is good enough, more is a waste imho. As a 'hot rod' less is expected and even originality might be frowned upon!
It is far cheaper too!

All good advice for you here. And if your panels are good, that is not only

a) the best option, but also

b) the most cost effective option

Double bonus

inaglasshouse wrote:

tangerineT wrote: I just assumed from what I've read that a lot of the top end cars seem to get lots of new panels !?

I'm doing an S. Not sure if that counts as top end, but anyway.
I'm with Sladey, order of preference for panels is:
1) Original metal
2) Porsche Genuine replacement
3) Aftermarket (only if desperate and / or no Porsche version available).

Same goes for everything really.
The current production parts (including those you can buy from Porsche) are often not the same as original when you look at the detail of materials etc.
So order of preference is:
1) Original as came with the car, cleaned up and refurbed where required (but no need to re-paint and re-plate everything if a clean-up would suffice - retain patina)
2) New Old Stock
3) Good used original, unrestored
4) New from Porsche
5) New repro
(Unless it's a deliberately-chosen performance enhancement - lots of well-engineered items are around if looking to lose weight, deal with a known fault like cam chain tensioners, or improve the suspension etc).
(There are also honourable exceptions to the new repro being bottom of the list. For example the repro stuff done by Eric Linden at autoforeign services in Seattle is lovely, arguably better quality than original).

Just my 2p!

Cheers, Richard.

I totally agree with the above, and it's great to be in the position of being able to clean up the old panels . I had a mixture of rot, warp due to poor blasters, poor previous repairs, poorly fitted replacement panels along with a budget where replacement new panels was much cheaper than the labour to repair old ones.... hence majority of my exterior panels new.

Great thread and lovely to see you doing so much yourself.

Regarding engine/gearbox, my advice would be if ok leave alone (I failed to listen to that one which cost me a load of perhaps unnecessarily wasted cash) and if you working to a limited time you definitely need to agree a mutually agreed time frame.... I'm still waiting for distributor repair 30 months on Incidentally I recently got an unexpected 'substantial' bill from my engine builders for all the labour for cleaning/titivating/testing parts of the engine strip/build which was never discussed . There are people who may snigger but am sure everyone on ddk have had similar experiences as you and like someone said, ask on here first, it's stood me in good stead!.

Bigfoot wrote:
Incidentally I recently got an unexpected 'substantial' bill from my engine builders for all the labour for cleaning/titivating/testing parts of the engine strip/build which was never discussed .

i suspect every single person who has had an engine rebuild on here has had one of these bills! Seems to be par for the course and almost expected....

For an engine or gearbox rebuild, cleanliness is everything, so a strip,clean,check time has to be expected.
Bob Watson told me a week to clean etc and a week to build.
He had a tank to help, by hand it takes a very long time.

Before using experts you need to research all aspects before starting.
If it sounds cheap, something is missing.

911hillclimber wrote:For an engine or gearbox rebuild, cleanliness is everything, so a strip,clean,check time has to be expected.
Bob Watson told me a week to clean etc and a week to build.
He had a tank to help, by hand it takes a very long time.

Before using experts you need to research all aspects before starting.
If it sounds cheap, something is missing.

I appreciate your comments but at the end of the engine rebuild you get an unexpected week of labour drop on your doorstep which wasn't discussed at any point, it was quite a shock... the strip down and rebuild labour cost was agreed at the start, I was relying on them as was my first engine rebuild

Been doing a bit of welding today ,so I thought I'd update a little and add some pics as I go along

I lost a lot of previous pics so I thought I'd show how I repaired the right hand windscreen pillar by doing a virtually identical job on the left hand side

Its taken me all day ,,but hey ,progress is still progress

Here's what I started off with

Started by making a cardboard template to get the curves right



Then cut my two pieces of steel ,bent to the correct curves then welded together



And finally tidied up with the grinder to make my repair piece ....simples !

It's not Mr Carter work ! , but it's mine and it's going to get me back on the road!

I started to open it all up ,but didn't like how the corner of the dashtop was thin




So I cut it out ,,committed now



Repair piece formed over the vice

Welded in and tidied with the grinder ,,looks pretty good



Then started to make the inner part of the lip



Followed by the outer part but just lightly tacked in place ,,I was being very careful to remove as little as possible at each stage so I could keep the original shape of the screen frame

All plug welded together



Opening edge of scuttle

All welded together and tidied with grinder ,,and still same shape as my cardboard templates with virtually no distortion



Then I started repairing my inner wing......from this

And finally some etch primer to keep the rust at bay until I can do a bit more