"Funky Fixes" on "Three-Five-Sixes"

[JTR70]

Strange or half-assed repairs done to the 356.


Here is a rear drum that was "repaired" after the original splines gave way. The hole was chased clean and a single woodruff key way was machined in.

This came on a '56 coupe my father purchased in '79. I still have the matching axle here somewhere. This had to have been done in the '60s or early 70's. It worked but I wouldn't trust it to handle any real HP.

[JTR70]

Here's another cute one:

Nice heater tube repair done by the previous owner on his old rusty speedster from Hawaii.

Tube section here was obviously full of holes so the guy put a blanket of metal around it then secured it with that hose clamp. Didn't even cover all the holes. When I got this car this compartment was entombed under a new longitudinal closing panel horribly welded on. I guess he thought he was finished in here. The door well closing floor wasn't even repaired. Also note the scabby overlap patch at the elbow of the main tube.

Here is the cover removed. At least is was easy to reverse. The whole area was brushed with what appeared to be some sort of a house paint. One of those nasty repairs you just won't know about until way after the deal is complete. Please share some good ones that you may have run across. Justin

[bbspdstr]

Found in first professional job, c.1971; tuna can repair with fiberglass wrap secured with a twist-tie from Penn Fruit, a defunct supermarket chain. Hey.....it was hidden and it worked...but I made better out of real metal while fixing everything else
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Then as I posted on the Samba, I recently found this:



Lug nuts filed off and inserted from outside-in and held there by electrical tape. Hey, it shifted...better than when the plastic bushings weren't there. Is far as I can tell, it had been on there for about 25 years.

[JTR70]

Thanks for posting these Bruce! I remember that tuna can repair photo from a while back. The creativity with some of these "repairs" is really interesting. The lug nut repair on the shift coupler is something my father would have probably tried. Thanks again! Justin

Here are some more great examples from that old speedster:

Original side wall was crashed and rusted out. The old owner just stitch welded a piece of metal right over it. It would have taken several cans of rocker shootz to cover this "repair".

Here's an inside view. A new vendor battery box floor installed and welded to rusted out perimeter walls. Gotta wonder what they were thinking as this work progressed.
Justin

[JTR70]

Double skinned lap joint on this poor old coupe. The fender and nose were original NOS!! A real crime to see such valuable body skins used like this before these cars and original factory parts where really worth something..

[JTR70]

Interesting hole filling

Side spear mount hole filling on a speedster in the '70's

Square sheet plugs brazed on then the area was beaten in to make way for the bondo. Note the crude fender repair attempt as well.

Another hole up on the cowl treated to the same process..