1959 356A S/R coupe project chassis # 108625

[John Pierce]

Lots of work summarized there, Justin. I know exactly what you're going through with all that rust. Good idea opening up the cavities treating them as they will always show rust.

Cheers,

John

[bbspdstr]

Justin wrote: "The chassis work of course would be no different than working with any other pressed steel unibody type but the body work of 356 is really where your patience will be put to the test."

You do this more easily on a 911:






But then there is always this:

[JTR70]

Thanks John!

Got it Bruce, so just easier to build all around versus a 356 then? That underside looks amazing BTW!
Justin

7/7/18

Splash pan repair.

Working outward from the "new" longitudinal.

Begin paper templates for the splash pan section.

Onto metal. Backing it down to 20 gauge on this peripheral stuff.

Ready to tack but first a quick coat of epoxy on the mating surfaces for some added protection. Not sure how much will survive after welding but its worth the try.

Tacked with plug-welding up next.

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[JTR70]

7/9/18

Right splash pan repair patch in.


Seam and plug welds all dressed. Gas weld detail at the base of the inner lap jont replicated.

Left the middle run of the plug welds loose for now

As the forward rocker floor needs to slip in between there.

I'll add the spot weld details once the rocker is in and the rest of the plug weld holes are filled.

Moving to the rear next to repair the bottom of the striker post.
Thanks for looking!
Justin

[JTR70]

7/13/18

Prepping for new inner wheel house panel.



As this patch panel progressed

It was becoming clear that the time was now to replace the inner wheel house wall as the corner of it intersects here and along with part of the inner gusset. I had ground into this intersection during removal so it all needs to addressed. Besides my original plan was to put the rocker in next but I have clearer shot at this panel with the corner of the rocker not there.

So the time is ripe. My original thought was I'd do these after the floor but it all has to be done eventually.

The original is breached and pretty thin throughout.

Its even gone through in the far flung corners.

Its a big interwoven piece and a repair patch would have been easier but it requires several patches anyway so one nice piece will make a much cleaner job of it and its provided so why not use it.

Entire lower quarter window sill will come out.

Tail end of this panel is here and is overlapped. Its going to take some digging and prep before its all over for sure.

This will be my first full replacement on a coupe so it should be fun. Note the paint run off from flooding those inner chassis cavities earlier. Removing this gusset first.
Thanks for looking!
Justin

[roy mawbey]

Justin,

Rust never ceases to amaze me. Now if this car had originated in NV then it might well have been a different case. I wonder how many 356 cars came to Nevada and have stayed there? Or Arizona I guess?

Watching with interest!

Roy

[JTR70]

Hi Roy, It would have certainly faired better living in the high desert area but with that hole in the roof the original floors probably still would not have made it. I got a little surprised where the rust was not as you'll see below. Justin


7/14/18


Some rethink on the inner closing wall repair.



After removing that rusted out lid of the gusset I was expecting to find thick heavy scale running up the wall especially considering how far gone this wall was along the mounting flange section I removed earlier. Instead I find a pristine run which still had not even oxidized completely. Hell the front wall of the gusset is still just fine so I'll just be building a new cap for it.

After some reconsideration of just how solid this panel still is along the vertical and upper edges and just how much time and work it would take to replace it as whole it became clear the smart move was to just patch it. Initial cut lines here.

Weakest section removed and planning the new patch. Trevor got the ribs in the right spots but a real shame and a waste to burn this entire piece for such small portion of it.

Another concern is that the rib details are weaker and not nearly as pronounced as the OG making the transition across these details from old to new easy to detect when looking up inside the wheel well.

Rummaged through my scrap steel for a possible hammer form to try and recreate this a little closer in detail. Found this section of repro speedster top frame and was just the right width and thickness. A quick experiment on a scrap section of 20 gauge to see how close.

Close enough for Gov't work.

Another quick practice run to see how close I could get the end to look.

Again I literally spanked this relief in, in a matter of few minutes; and it shows. But if I take some time and care I think a nice relief patch can be had this way. No heat required either, all done cold much to my surprise. Anyway, new patch coming up next, hopefully.

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[JTR70]

7/16/18

New wheel house patch panel.

New 20 gauge patch section with OG panel overlaid to locate and orient the first rib.

Hammer form will be tacked at the top so I can slip the old panel out and flip it over.

Tacking it ensured it didn't move as it was flipped and worked in blind. Basic relief spanked in here. Wasn't expecting the stretch to go so far past the end of the form but a little heat shrinking will fix it.

Drawn back up here. New Rib in only basic form.

Close enough to work. What I like most is how deep the draw is and replicates what's there.

Second rib in.

Shrink the end as before.

So far so good. Any misalignment or spacing discrepancy between these ribs and its back to square one.

Using the OG panel for the set up has been the key.

Last one and tack welded into position.

Repeat one more time.

A usable patch.

OG panel shows an overall curved shape. The new rib features won't allow that so each one was heated where the sweep is need so they won't kink as I pried each one up.

Just a basic rudimentary part for today but I can at least use it.

More fine tuning tomorrow.

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[jjeffries]

Nice work. I always learn something here....in this case, how heat mitigates kinking as you bend the formed metal. Thanks! John

[JTR70]

Thank you John! Rigidity is what those corrugation shapes do so I had to soften them to get them to cooperate. Thanks again! Justin


7/20/18


Wheel house patch set.

Time to remove the remains of the old flange.

Alot of spot welds along the side so it was easier to split it then peel.

Usual rust lurking but nothing serious. A good cleaning is all it needs.


Missed it by that much. I thought I had the width dialed in but they were just a touch too narrow.

Made the width adjustment to the short side on each rib. PIA!

They've been worked but I at least got the shape I was after in the end.


Well within striking distance at last. Patch is beginning to look like a tropical fish.


Final trimming and tack welding next.

Thanks for looking!

Justin

[JTR70]

7/21/18

New patch panel tacked in.

Took some doing but finally have a replacement copy good enough to install.

Making a patch out Trevor's panel was tempting but the draw in the ribs just isn't deep enough to carry on the lines from the original features.

These details should pass the smell test just fine after a coat of rocker shootz.

Began installation by aligning (as close as possible) and establishing the center rib first. Tacked and moved outward from here.

Aligned the outer two ribs as close as possible next and tacked them. Everything else is completely secondary and adjustable. However this patch would be screwed if a huge misalignment occurred across any of these features. They don't match perfectly off the bat of course but they are well within range.

Since the panel has an overall curve it will contract slightly as the welding and pressure fit/alignment continues. If I'd have started at one end and worked back I'd most certainly have alignment issues across the ribs.
Already learned that one the hard way. Continue gluing this in.
Thanks for looking!
Justin

[JTR70]

7/27/18

Not a whole lot of time to spend on it this week so I just got a pesky corner repair section made. Hoping to get some better progress on it this weekend.


Inner striker repair section. Got a little ahead of myself and Had to get this done first as the inner wheel house wall is flange welded to this section.

Trickiest part was the gentle sweep in the trough to carry the line seamlessly.

Just about ready to weld in.


New sections tacked and old rocker installed to make sure its all in the right position

A few more pieces to make that comprise this corner but its closer.

Striker mounted flush with its old flange. Leading edge is bent from me prying it but the drilled spot-welded section is sitting flush.

and rocker aligned

I have this air gap between the striker and flange. This is a problem as they are gas welded together.

The OG wall clearly shows hammer strikes where it was bashed forward through here so it could be seam welded. So its "legal" to bash this flange flush.
Indispensability of OG reference parts otherwise you're just guessing.

Heeled over and ready for a tack weld.
Thanks for looking!
Justin

[JTR70]

8/6/18

Gotta get this thread caught back up.

Flange run for wheel house closing panel.

Begin replacement patch for the OG forward wall section first.

Miscalculated somehow on my final trimming and cut the new panel section a touch short. Certainly not going to toss it and begin again so I'll back fill it.

Using the chassis itself as the hammer form then locking it in place with a set screws as it went.

Almost trimmed and fit to final shape.

Ready to weld in.

Just about welded in. The leading lap joint edges where seam welded so I sewed them up too.

Cleaning up the welds. I'll go over those seams with my torch for the final presentation later on.

After wire wheeling the rust off the edge of the frame what was left of my new flange was heeled over tight and plug welded.

Shaped a filler strip and adding it on here; tedious.

Needed a change so I'm jumping back to rocker panel prep next.

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[JTR70]

8/7/18

Rocker repair and reinstall prep.


A lot of small detail repairs to make from both rust and removal damage. Normally you'd just buy new but these are both overall fundamentally solid and most importantly they are the originals so they're worth the extra effort.

New inner threshold corner shaped and tacked. One more piece that comprises this corner down.

Repair rip in the rear deco mount.

Small knockout punch got all the damage and gave me the shortest patch to weld...one without corners.

New patch welded and dressed. The shoulder of the patch was reamed saving the original mount hole for accuracy.

Its not all rust damage. Leading edge of the rocker was kinked upward right smack in the center.

One quick squeeze against my table brought it back most of the way. You can see the inner lip has bent outward now. The metal has been stretched a bit.

Though most of it came out it still relaxed into a curve once released against the table. The skin was bulged through the center creating the trigger point. Some picking and filing got most of it ironed out.

A mild high spot remains for now but most importantly the bottom edge of the rocker runs straight again.



Forward end cap is hanging on by thread through this cancered out section.


Easiest thing to do was to cut it free for now. Rocker got even better looking with that jack lantern hole gone.

More old damage just behind the recently removed section. A small crease from rubbing against something way back when.

Small repair and prep continues...

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[bbspdstr]

Details, details......admirable work, given that there are decent new repros available.

I have a few good repro rockers with the front part cut off that I can't bring myself to scrap. Yep. Like Justin's example all too often. Cheaper than making that part and it's still not "original" either way.

It's fun to do what Justin is showing when in a situation where neither too much or too little money has a say.....professionally, where a customer wants parts "original (to the 356)" repaired (or NOS).....or, like most restorers working on their own 356s, don't want to spend the money on either repros (or especially) pricey NOS.

Then again, "The shoemaker's children always need shoes" and "Time is money." For all of this, "Ya pick yer poison."

Bruce