DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

Had a guy who is going to be doing the welding on my 912 come and have a little look around today, he mainly does Austin Healeys, has done a few campers but never a 912.

I have the full replacement panel like this: http://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/P ... VSVSI=912M (But I didn't pay anything like 700 dollars for it 15 years ago... ), I believe it's just a few spot welds, correct?

The other thing he was wondering, is how structural that post is, and whether removing it would require the body to be braced.

I saw pics of the work he's done, and from a friend's recommendation and how he was talking (mentioning how on his last Healey he had to do a lot of adjustment to the repro panels in order to get them right etc ) it looks like he'll be doing a good job. He'll be TIG welding and charging £35 per hour, which sounds reasonable to me, and working on the car at mine so I get to help out/watch the progress.



Thanks in advance.

Get the job done by a Porsche specialist, who will fit a genuine Porsche panel.

The panel I have is a genuine Porsche panel...

Not wanting to doubt your friend's ability but I would've thought that HE would know how structural the A post is - it is a very important part of the shell......

Well from trying to find an mage of it online I found the panel im referring to is called the door hinge, so is that different to the A post itself, or is it just different terminology?

You can see the panel I'm talking about in the link in my first post..

Cheers,

Mark

The one you're linking to doesn't appear to be an original Porsche part - it looks like it's made by restoration design who I think have their own mounds.

Even an original part will require some tweaking.

The body WILL need bracing - ideally it should be on a jig - and the added complication is that when working around the door aperture you can use the door itself as confirmation that nothing has moved. Here you are replacing the door hinge so you need to be sure nothing is going to move, flex, or otherwise distort.

Nick's initial advise may seem curt but he's right - with something so fundamental you should really take it to someone who's done it before. Your mate may know all this and not have mentioned any of it to you. He may not.

Cheers, yes the part I linked to is not where I got it from, I just posted that to explain which panel it is that need replacing. Mine is genuine Porsche, at least I assume from the sticker on it.

It is definitely going to need some fettling, as the thicker inner plate with the lower hinge holes has been welded in place so the holes don't line up with the outer holes on the panel...

Thanks for your advice guys

If your A pillar has a 993 part number and you want it to look original you will need to make a few modifications to the shape and the M8 stamping.

Cheers I'll have a look when I get in this evening.

Having said that, some sicko decided to cut a moon roof into it at some point in its life, so the hinge post is the least of my worries... (Where's the puke smiley ? )

By. moon Roof, do you mean one of those nasty aftermarket tilt sunroof kits from the 80's?
If so, my 73 coupe had one which had permanently deformed the roof panel.

It was fit another roof panel or..i fitted a fabric sunroof which called for a much larger hole, but the general shape sprung back.
Some dealers did this to new 911s , fabric roofs from Golde of Germany.

Just had this done on my car... 1973E.

You might find page 6 of my restoration thread useful.., section 49 'A' post backdate.

911hillclimber wrote:By. moon Roof, do you mean one of those nasty aftermarket tilt sunroof kits from the 80's?

Yes unfortunately so...

I was considering a ragtop, I saw a pic of a 911 with one and it doesn't look too bad.

There is an early 911/912 sunroof roof section on ebay, but it's in the states so it's going to be a few grand to buy it and get it over.

And then of course there is the small matter of doing the transplant.

Out of interest, if I was to cut the old roof off and replace it, would I need to brace the body at all? *ducks* JK

aston wrote:Just had this done on my car... 1973E.

You might find page 6 of my restoration thread useful.., section 49 'A' post backdate.

Just had a look - amazing build thread! Thanks

This is my roof, based on a shortened Webasto MGB GT roof.

911hillclimber wrote:This is my roof, based on a shortened Webasto MGB GT roof.

Oh yeah that looks really nice...