85 Euro "aesthetic resuscitation" by Austin aka KilnRed
04-17-2019, 07:47 PM
#16
Three Wheelin'
Even with all of its bolt-on panels removed, I challenge you to find me a sexier unibody!!
I imagine many of you have been anxiously awaiting 'progress pics'/928 resto ****.. Brad has given us the pleasure to let us gawk in awe at his project for the next little bit now. Thank you, Brad!
We have good determination now of where we're at with regard to this Euro and what it will take to bring it back. It will take a bit more effort than most 928s of the past. For me, I find that in and of itself to be sort of exciting. I have always had a great passion for these cars, but for as long as I have been alive their values have descended. With only 60k built to begin with, I put the idea to rest a long time ago that I would ever have a privilege to work on these cars outside of my own ownership experiences. Maybe.. Just maybe the economics of it can begin to line up in a way where I can play with these with greater regularity.
I'll let the pictures do the bulk of the talking of course, but a quick synopsis is in order before we get to that. In short, this poor 928 has a checkered foundation as a starting point. Low miles, yes. Decent interior. GT brakes. Koni's. Most notably, a great undertaking by the current owner to catch up its deferred maintenance under the hood. Nice and clean under there by the way! The bad is that the car has been painted either 4 or 5 times with the most recent refinish effort being the poorest.. THEY DIDN'T EVEN SAND THE CAR!! Additionally, there is some body filler here and there. It, too, was poorly used. There are some corrosion concerns that I'll go into greater detail about in successive posts. Worst of all, because of the film build from the multiple paint jobs, both fenders and the hood were chemically stripped.. In my opinion, this is 928 blasphemy. Consequently, as you will see later, the new topcoats did not adhere properly to the raw aluminum substrate. Doh!
The only panel that I have machine sanded yet is the roof. As you can see, the windshield will have to be pulled. Windshield removal is not always necessary. It's case by case in my opinion.
Be back with more pics soon!
I imagine many of you have been anxiously awaiting 'progress pics'/928 resto ****.. Brad has given us the pleasure to let us gawk in awe at his project for the next little bit now. Thank you, Brad!
We have good determination now of where we're at with regard to this Euro and what it will take to bring it back. It will take a bit more effort than most 928s of the past. For me, I find that in and of itself to be sort of exciting. I have always had a great passion for these cars, but for as long as I have been alive their values have descended. With only 60k built to begin with, I put the idea to rest a long time ago that I would ever have a privilege to work on these cars outside of my own ownership experiences. Maybe.. Just maybe the economics of it can begin to line up in a way where I can play with these with greater regularity.
I'll let the pictures do the bulk of the talking of course, but a quick synopsis is in order before we get to that. In short, this poor 928 has a checkered foundation as a starting point. Low miles, yes. Decent interior. GT brakes. Koni's. Most notably, a great undertaking by the current owner to catch up its deferred maintenance under the hood. Nice and clean under there by the way! The bad is that the car has been painted either 4 or 5 times with the most recent refinish effort being the poorest.. THEY DIDN'T EVEN SAND THE CAR!! Additionally, there is some body filler here and there. It, too, was poorly used. There are some corrosion concerns that I'll go into greater detail about in successive posts. Worst of all, because of the film build from the multiple paint jobs, both fenders and the hood were chemically stripped.. In my opinion, this is 928 blasphemy. Consequently, as you will see later, the new topcoats did not adhere properly to the raw aluminum substrate. Doh!
The only panel that I have machine sanded yet is the roof. As you can see, the windshield will have to be pulled. Windshield removal is not always necessary. It's case by case in my opinion.
Be back with more pics soon!
04-18-2019, 12:33 PM
#17
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Austin - thanks for the pics!!!
04-18-2019, 10:59 PM
#19
Burning Brakes
Great pics & progress! What a great job! It's very encouraging to see how detailed a job is being done here. First class work & I can't wait to see it done!
I'm extremely glad to be on Austin's list for later this summer. (… don't forget
)
I'm extremely glad to be on Austin's list for later this summer. (… don't forget
)
05-03-2019, 06:28 PM
#20
Three Wheelin'
Brad's 928 is rather scattered at the moment and each part is in a varying state of repair. Suffice is to say I have insufficient progress for a big photo dump for you guys. Perhaps that type of submission will manifest in the coming week. A job of this scale is really nothing but 1000s of very small jobs rolled into one final product. Right? Sounds good anyway.
I thought it worth it to make a note about corrosion, specific to 928s, that I suspect might become a problem in years to come. Potentially, it could become the source of a water leak. From the photos below, you can easily identify the "scaling" rust on Brad's upper rail section beneath the windshield. This is obviously an important part of the car's inner structure, so there are multiple reasons to justify attention to this area. The fact is that Porsche was just a little stingy here with its application of undercoats and topcoats. Catching it now will very favorably affect the longevity of our cars. Proper inspection of this area will require removing the wiper arms and cowl panel. Removing the fenders won't be required as the corrosion is reliably enough restricted to the region between the windshield and sealant bead where the fender joins the upper rail.
I advocate applying a product such as POR15 to this region as shown. This isn't cosmetic as it is not visible. This is a rust preventive product designed to be applied in a range of ways over many substrate types. Additionally, and key to a DIY project, this can be applied directly over rust and doesn't require the metal to be cleaned before application. A disposable 1 1/2" brush is ideal for application.
Before:
After:
I thought it worth it to make a note about corrosion, specific to 928s, that I suspect might become a problem in years to come. Potentially, it could become the source of a water leak. From the photos below, you can easily identify the "scaling" rust on Brad's upper rail section beneath the windshield. This is obviously an important part of the car's inner structure, so there are multiple reasons to justify attention to this area. The fact is that Porsche was just a little stingy here with its application of undercoats and topcoats. Catching it now will very favorably affect the longevity of our cars. Proper inspection of this area will require removing the wiper arms and cowl panel. Removing the fenders won't be required as the corrosion is reliably enough restricted to the region between the windshield and sealant bead where the fender joins the upper rail.
I advocate applying a product such as POR15 to this region as shown. This isn't cosmetic as it is not visible. This is a rust preventive product designed to be applied in a range of ways over many substrate types. Additionally, and key to a DIY project, this can be applied directly over rust and doesn't require the metal to be cleaned before application. A disposable 1 1/2" brush is ideal for application.
Before:
After:
05-08-2019, 12:25 AM
#22
Three Wheelin'
Deleting rub strips has to be among the most popular 928 modifications. I can't tell you how many times I have found myself in discussion about deleting rub strips. Of course there are other deletion topics such as federalized lights, bumperettes.. Even sun roofs! Out of all of the complaints I have heard about previous deletion work, the rub strips BY FAR have the lowest success rate at long-term customer satisfaction. I have seen shrinkage, cracking, and ghost lines at all of the above delete locations. I think the reason for the troubles at the locator holes for the rub strips is obvious. I suspect the same complaints are out there, at the same or greater frequency, concerning the federalized lights and that I just haven't been a part of as many of those conversations.
Today, I began my first undertaking of 928 body component deletes with Brad's 928 serving as my guinea pig. I started on the galvanized panels as I really want to have the unibody ready to refinish first. This car will be painted in the "exploded" fashion. This car is as good a candidate as any as it has been no stranger to invasive work in the past. In effect, we're not compromising any on quality by taking the delete plunge. The DOT lights were extremely time consuming to weld up. I worked very strategically to contain the heat as it was welded. Because I elected to weld it solid with use of a support plate, I had to be very careful to fill the area adequately without warping the adjacent metal too noticeably. Less warping equals less filler. The heat generated by the welder is destructive to the undercoats applied at the back side of the panel, so corrosion protection will have to be restored now. Welding solid is the only way anyone should expect consistent, durable results. I welded once to rough it in. Ground it. Then, welded once more to close up the necessary imperfections and ground it a final time. The result is a panel conforming, waterproof foundation for a thin layer of body filler to be applied over a surface of acceptable, tiny imperfections.
Setup (Pass Side):
Rough Weld:
DOT Light Smoothed:
Left Quarter Welded (DOT Light & Rub Strip):
I have a scrap fender from a 928 I dismantled that I will be donating to the cause of filling the holes in the doors and fenders by way of spool gun. Originally, I had planned to sub this job out to a friend who is a collision repair instructor at a technical college. I've been bitten by curiosity at the prospect of the product I may be able to achieve, so I am giving it a whirl! Wish me luck. I will begin on the endeavor tomorrow afternoon.
Another day, another substrate! You have to love the 928!
Today, I began my first undertaking of 928 body component deletes with Brad's 928 serving as my guinea pig. I started on the galvanized panels as I really want to have the unibody ready to refinish first. This car will be painted in the "exploded" fashion. This car is as good a candidate as any as it has been no stranger to invasive work in the past. In effect, we're not compromising any on quality by taking the delete plunge. The DOT lights were extremely time consuming to weld up. I worked very strategically to contain the heat as it was welded. Because I elected to weld it solid with use of a support plate, I had to be very careful to fill the area adequately without warping the adjacent metal too noticeably. Less warping equals less filler. The heat generated by the welder is destructive to the undercoats applied at the back side of the panel, so corrosion protection will have to be restored now. Welding solid is the only way anyone should expect consistent, durable results. I welded once to rough it in. Ground it. Then, welded once more to close up the necessary imperfections and ground it a final time. The result is a panel conforming, waterproof foundation for a thin layer of body filler to be applied over a surface of acceptable, tiny imperfections.
Setup (Pass Side):
Rough Weld:
DOT Light Smoothed:
Left Quarter Welded (DOT Light & Rub Strip):
I have a scrap fender from a 928 I dismantled that I will be donating to the cause of filling the holes in the doors and fenders by way of spool gun. Originally, I had planned to sub this job out to a friend who is a collision repair instructor at a technical college. I've been bitten by curiosity at the prospect of the product I may be able to achieve, so I am giving it a whirl! Wish me luck. I will begin on the endeavor tomorrow afternoon.
Another day, another substrate! You have to love the 928!
Last edited by Kiln_Red; 05-08-2019 at 03:32 PM.
It's looking like Just Peachy will be coming your way soon. em sent. T
05-08-2019, 01:10 AM
#24
Three Wheelin'
We got pretty covered up for a bit with local collision jobs. I was beginning to wonder if you and Brad might have to fire me!
I pulled the most genuine laugh out of a perfect stranger last Friday when they came out to the shop for an estimate to have their fender bender corrected. But, before I had completed their estimate, they asked about the 928. I purposefully omitted details that it was a customer car. Then, when I handed them their estimate, I explained that they should inform their adjuster that we couldn't schedule them within the next 2 weeks. Puzzled, they dared to ask why and remarked that it looked like we were relatively caught up. With a straight face I replied, "It's suckers like you that bring me work like this that I could be paying the bills with that get in the way of my priority to bankrupt my family by restoring 35 year old Porsches. I have 2 more of these on the way and a new garage to start building out of the home equity line I have been using to buy these babies up!"
05-08-2019, 01:33 PM
#25
Rennlist Member
I will be curious to hear how the spool gun works on welding the holes. I recently did a rup strip delete on one of my cars using a TIG. I practiced on a spare fender until I finally figured it out. After about 4 hours on the practice fender I was able to weld the 2 holes on that fender decently. After that it took me about an hour and a half to weld up the whole car.
05-10-2019, 07:00 PM
#26
Three Wheelin'
These cars have to be made up of the best 18 gauge aluminum known to man! Aluminum MIG welding was a breeze once we got the welder set up properly. The Miller Spoolmatic 15A is only suggested for 14 gauge and thicker, but this 18 gauge aluminum isn't the average quality. The holes for the rub strips was a piece of cake. I knew going in that the real test of our skill and equipment would come when we attempted to weld up the void for the DOT light. To my surprise, it went painlessly. In fact, it welded up quicker and with fewer imperfections than the lights at the quarter panels.
Donor Fender & Weld Prep:
Before:
After:
Bye-bye Rub Strips:
Donor Fender & Weld Prep:
Before:
After:
Bye-bye Rub Strips:
05-10-2019, 10:09 PM
#27
Rennlist Member
These cars have to be made up of the best 18 gauge aluminum known to man! Aluminum MIG welding was a breeze once we got the welder set up properly. The Miller Spoolmatic 15A is only suggested for 14 gauge and thicker, but this 18 gauge aluminum isn't the average quality. The holes for the rub strips was a piece of cake. I knew going in that the real test of our skill and equipment would come when we attempted to weld up the void for the DOT light. To my surprise, it went painlessly. In fact, it welded up quicker and with fewer imperfections than the lights at the quarter panels.
Donor Fender & Weld Prep:
Before:
After:
Bye-bye Rub Strips:
Donor Fender & Weld Prep:
Before:
After:
Bye-bye Rub Strips:
05-10-2019, 11:18 PM
#28
Three Wheelin'
Thank you! We thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and opportunity. There's no doubt you possess some welding knowledge yourself. Props to you for completing the work on your car by your own hand. 
Pulse MIG or TIG is most ideal. The spool gun is almost always not worth the trouble of setting up for most automotive applications.
Pulse MIG or TIG is most ideal. The spool gun is almost always not worth the trouble of setting up for most automotive applications.
05-18-2019, 03:55 PM
#29
Three Wheelin'
I am still favoring the idea to paint this car in the "exploded" fashion. If I recall correctly, then these such ID'ing labels as the ones shown below in the driver's door jamb were being reproduced. Possibly by someone here on RL?? The last remaining label is in bad shape. The others were missing. This car will absolutely deserve a fresh set of lock pillar labels!
