1959 356A S/R coupe project chassis # 108625

[JOP]

Moin Justin,

Looks kind of rusty....but atleast you can reach it at a good angle and you are already in the neighbor hood anyway doing repairs
And you have good experiance from earlier repairs
Thx 4 showing us

[roy mawbey]

Justin,

Rust never ceases to amaze me. Just how many 356 cars are running around with all that work needing doing?
Great thread.

Roy

[JTR70]

Thanks Per! As I am in the neighborhood I 've gone a little deeper than I expected but as you say I'm here so now is the time to get it all.

Its just the nature of the beast Roy. I didn't go this far on my coupe as it wasn't breached with rot but it certainly has its share of mature dark brown rust like this down in there somewhere. As long as the structural integrity remains which I believe it does then its nothing to worry about as long as it stays dry.(which it will) Out of sight, out of mind. Thanks again!
Justin

5/10/18

Touching bottom with this corner repair.

While planning out this most inner flanged wall I did want to replicate the details like this stepped overlap.

However this rust hole was really beginning worry me as I wanted to know what the rest of it looked like beneath this flange.

Just couldn't leave it so I cut that overlap flange to find out.

Much to my relief not a whole lot. The wall just ends with no attachment between the two which was surprising but nice as it made my life a little easier.

Getting that last overlap out of the way now gives me a clean shot at the entire section where the rot has gone through


Wall remains carefully harvested for a pattern.

Now past all the unsavable metal; I've officially touched bottom. Building this area back up from here.

Making copies of all these layers next.

Inner most flange/wall first.

Cut to basic shape

Fine trimming and fitment next.

Dialing in the correct flange height. It mounts to the inside of the outermost flanged wall

which needs to be a smooth continuation of the end of that new section I welded in earlier. Remnant flange helping to determine that here.

Tube opening had a small lip to the inside most of the way around so one was added to my copy.

Checking the height and fitment back here against that heavy gauge overlap from earlier.

Then a quick check also with the next layer that will eventually go over top of those two. Everything sandwiched together as nice as I could tell.

New repair section finally tacked in. Stitching it up the rest of the way next.

Thanks for stopping by!
Justin

[JTR70]

5/11/18

Corner just about rebuilt.

All stitched in and onto the next layer.

I was going to make a new piece here but after a quick dunk in acid it was clear there was enough meat left to reuse. Ground back the shoulder to expose more of its lead. Spaced to compensate for cutting wheel thickness.

Back into original position.

Originally these two where not joined but I spotted them together for add support.

onto the next layer

Peeling back the shoulder a little further still just at the gas weld seam. No more trace of this section found in between so I can only assume it terminated there.

New section from 18 gauge cut to basic shape with saddle profile added.


It will have to be form fit as it goes to get it all perfectly snug.

Old with new. Though not a lot of the front remained there was just enough of a clean vertical end remaining to clue me in as to how long it was. Ready to weld.

Started welding it at the rear then chased it forward.

All dressed and almost fully welded. I still have to weld up the rear vertical edge but will do that before its all over.

Onto making the final layer. This will be a bit more tricky as the opening for the tube has an embossed collar. I'll have to make a hammer form to make that detail first. That next.
Thanks for looking!
Justin

[Jack Staggs]

Not one, but TWO busted bolts on the torsion bar cover. Some folks just don't know when to stop. I probably would have been tempted to extract them with heat from the back side before closing up the access. Anyways, nice work as usual, Justin.

[Jbrooks]

You can rework a head bolt for the torsion bar nut.

[Red911]

Hi Justin,

I have two questions as I am concerned that I will have to tackle your exact procedure in the future.

1. What acid bath do you use? I use POR 15 Metal Prep with 6" square chamois and soak them overnight. How long do you soak your parts before working with the part?

2. Seems like you paint parts after you weld the in before the next step. Do you use a compressor and paint gun, or just a rattle can. What paint to you use>

Thanks for responding if you have time.

Tom

[JTR70]

Thanks a lot Jack! They went 50% on those bolts. There are two more waiting for me on the other side. Didn't peel back enough to get at any of these from behind. Several rounds of torch heat should do it. The one that has sheared off even I will get by plug welding a nut onto the end of it. The other I can get with Vise grips. At least that is the plan. I hope your 45th Party today was a success and am sorry that I missed it. Congratulations on that mile stone and thanks once again!

Tom, I just use muriatic acid. I watched you clean off your door with the system you described. I like it, next time I'm over at the farm and tractor store I'll get a gallon of it. The section I'm working on now won't be treated with anything. Can't have that acid running deep into the bowels of the chassis with no way of thoroughly neutralizing it. What I will do is run my torch over the surface as this burns and converts a lot of the heavy scale. Then I'll slop the cavity in POR 15. That's the best I'll be able to do but there should be no issues. Its solid here once again and what remains is only surface rust. I rarely use rattle can paint. I spray catalyzed paint over good epoxy surfacer with the help of my air compressor.

5/12/18
Begin hammer form

Thick heavy gauge plate I have on hand will make for the perfect base/step for the embossed collar detail. Cleaned the end of the tube so I could trace out that needed shape.

Paper template with the shoulder I'm looking for. Outlined on the steel and will carve it out tomorrow. A total pain in the ass but worth it as I have to do the same repair to the other side. Its a "two-fer"
Thanks for looking!
Justin

[Red911]

Thank you Justin for your reply.

I love this board because of all the helpful hints. I hope I can bring something to the table too.

Tom

[JTR70]

No Worries Tom! You definitely do and we all appreciate you being here!!

Justin

5/15/18
Hammer form built and first collar shaped.

Original tube section was small enough for my acid bath so it soaked overnight. Wish I could clean the rest of it like this but I'll have to take what I can get.

Hammer form cut out and shaped. Two holes were added so I could secure the work to it.

After a quick test with some 20 gauge I realized I needed more relief height so I added this strap stock to the back for a touch more depth.

Basic relief shape I hope to achieve. That thick stock was a bitch to cut out and shape so I was praying it wasn't in vain.


Section of 18 gauge all bolted up

ready to begin...

Started cold to get a feel for it.

Certainly not as forgiving as 20 gauge so the first of many rounds of heat was applied to get it to take the shoulder.

Basic relief shape complete. I have some lines and details still to clean up but I at least have my basic repair patch. Today was a physical one as it felt a lot like blacksmithing to get that thicker metal to take the shape.

Left myself plenty of excess for final adjustment and trimming.

I'll punch the hole for the tube end next. The tube and its ends position dictates where this patch will ultimately end up. Once I have that dialed I can do my final trimming and add in the 90 degree bottom flange. Getting closer to wrapping up this corner repair.
Thanks for looking!
Justin

[JTR70]

5/16/18

New tube opening almost complete.

Opened and rolling the edges in for an eventual seam weld to the edge of the tube as originally.

Good for starters now to make it all fit and align together in the car.

Trimming little bits away as it went with a closer fit on each try.

Trying for tube alignment with best average fit at the end.

Time to commit to the final cut line for the weld joint.

Templates for final cut line and shape the remains of the original show.

Tube end traced in its adjusted position to better locate the final cut lines on the repair patch.

Cut right about here. Most the panel is going.

Trimmed and ready for final adjustments in relation to the tube. Shape didn't turn out as clean as I would have liked but its heavier gauge, hand shaped and will be eventually covered over so it really just as to do its job which is provide additional support at the tube end.

Aligning the tube. Close but the forward shoulder needs more rolling to allow the angle to drop in evenly.

After some adjustment I finally got that tube section pretty much where it was before.

New section is set into its final position. These two tube ends do come in at different angles which is probably why they remained separated like this.

Tube tacked into final position.

Removed one last time

To seam weld the edges up as originally done.

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[roy mawbey]

Nice bit of work there Justin very neat welding, You will always have warm feet if you need to, but with Nevada weather I bet that heating trap door will remain closed for 99% of the time

Its really warm here today blue sky, makes a change from months of quite nasty weather.

Roy

[Red911]

Hi Justin,

I love to watch your craftsmanship and the way that you confidentially walk into a seemingly impossible situation and make it all work. The fixture to make the 18 gauge heating pipe collector was a classic in reconstruction.

Tom

[JTR70]

Thanks Roy, It should allow enough warm air to pass through. Enjoy that window of nice weather while you can!

That's very nice of you to say Tom, thank you! I'm just doing the best that I can with what little I have here. I sure wish I had all those expensive metal shaping machines on hand. My work would look a lot more competent for sure.
Thanks a lot you guys!
Justin

5/17/18
New outer closing wall installed.

Seam welded end of the tube to the opening of the shoulder as originally.

Only way to do it BTW as you'll never laydown a nice bead in here.

Another test to check my fit and alignment after all that heat.


Everything still in there and good to go. Time for the last detail. Heeling the bottom flange over.

Flange added, plug weld holes in and at long last I have this final piece of this particular puzzle completed.

Time now to get these inside surfaces treated and coated so I can close this up for good.

Best I can do with the remaining surface rust was to treat it with converter.

Then the inner cavities where slopped heavy with some epoxy sealer. A lot of heat still to come so I don't know how much of this will survive but it will offer at least some additional protection.

Mounted back on... For good this time.

Ready for the first few plug welds and tacks next.

End of this tube at the elbow is literally within a wisp of where it was originally. As close as I could hope for.

Commitment time. Plug welds and tacks added.

Elbow joint tacked and set as well. Looks close though not an exact copy but it is proper 18 gauge and one piece. I can live with it. Welding it in the rest of the way next.
Thanks for looking!
Justin

[jjeffries]

Justin, that was a complex repair; well done. The harvesting was obviously key in being able to recreate it as it was....seems obvious but how many of us have gone plunging in only to have the "D'oh!" moment afterwards, when it was too late to peel the onion this methodically, or to harvest the remaining metal with such delicacy. As noted by many before me: what complicated little buggers these 356's are to restore....properly. Best, John