Front End - Battery Boxes, Inner Wing Repair Sections, and Moaning
As part of the preparation, Barry fitted the new Porsche battery boxes into the new Restoration Design inner wing repair sections.
Initial fit was absolute rubbish:
Hmmm, what could have happened there? Barry says:
Surely it wouldn't be the horrifically expensive, genuine part at fault? Yes, your lovely new battery box was miles out, so the welds were drilled out, the side moved, the drilled holes plug welded. Then the area linished smooth, and some authentic looking spot welds run down the seam. All sorted.
Thanks Porsche, for another quality repair panel...
Not that the Restoration Design panel was perfect either. Barry again:
The dividers show how you've got to be careful with new panels. The front inner wing repair parts are very impressive, and are a lovely pressing. I had thought that I would use a combination of wing top holes together with this large wiring loom hole to match old to new, to help me scribe in the replacement. Good job I checked, the wing-top holes seem to be perfect, but the large hole is in a pretty arbitrary position. Probably fine for fitting up later, but no good to me.
BTW I'm sorry to moan about the repair panels. It's one area of their business where I think Porsche are really taking the p^ss, and the pattern parts makers are following their business model.
Unlike most things I've bought along the way, including a few bonkers-priced NOS bits and a set of original-paint 7Rs, I do feel properly ripped off with the panels.
In total I've spent the price of an entire cheap new car (like a VW Up exclamation mark) on panels. I realise that fitting and fettling will always be required, but still I think that the level of rework and number of fundamental faults is poor, especially bearing in mind the pricing.
Right, that's enough moaning. Onwards!