1959 356A S/R coupe project chassis # 108625

[JTR70]

Thanks again Roy! That is interesting, so your car was ordered new with a sport type muffler instead?

[roy mawbey]

Justin its going to look great, so many needed alterations but they all tie in and clearances around the body look just like mine. What is interesting to me is the fact my car was ordered with the older style bumpers without holes in each chrome overider for the exhaust stubs and of course the rear chrome protection tubes. So I have no funnels for the exhaust tips.

Roy

[JTR70]

Relieving the corners:
Bumper stripped back down then remounted in its best adjusted position against the body. Relief cuts added both top and bottom and now in the process of matching this final section to the shape of the body.
A second relief cut had to be added along the edge just above the overrider mounting hole to bring this area in for a smooth transitional line across this change.
A quick lap of metal tacked on to hold that shape while I dismounted the bumper for final backfilling and welding.
Beginning to stitch all of it back together. This change in shape has created a buckle through the center where it was not cut but this can be hammered upward into position once all the cuts are backfilled.
Welding complete and remounted for a test fit. That buckle through the center has also been worked out. All set on this side.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Another mock up:
Fully reassembled once again to both recheck for fit and to confirm the changes needed at the corners. Took some effort to arrive here...
Once its all refinished there will be no detectable trace that this bumper was ever altered; even laying loose on the floor with the underside fully exposed.
Remounted and in its best adjusted position to the car.
Last piece of the puzzle were the strut tubes. To get them in for this trial fit required the bumper to tilt backward a bit too far. Will have some changes to make these fit correctly but first...
I need to get these tight corners relaxed.

This up next..

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Final finishing details:
Lead soldering across those weld joints and the rust repair patch area. Didn't take much but I wanted solder as the base filler.
Tight and uniform fit into the bumperette recess shape that I was after.
The old deco had some light deformity through the center that needed some ironing back out. Trickiest part was straightening it without bending or collapsing the shoulders on both sides. These stacked paint sticks in the center became the answer as I could both hit and clamp to them directly without damaging or bending the shoulders out of shape.
Jogs and rollers now relaxed through the middle of deco with a close fitment to the bumper. Won't have to rely on the rubber base seal so heavily to back fill any shape discrepancies.
Same fit through the weld joint areas. It was getting close.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Thank you Roy I appreciate it! I think you're right, as they did tormented me a bit.

[roy mawbey]

Justin that job has been done so well. Every time you look on the car and those irons you will remember the effort !

Roy

[JTR70]

Final bumper iron finish detail:
The new irons are lazar cut with crips clean corners. The originals by contrast had a soft rounded leading edge.
I took my die-grinder and removed most of the meat off of those sharp corners on both sides then file finished the runs.
Two down two more to go.
Shaped, filed and now finally finished. Ready for a top coat.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

One more mock up
now fully mounted and adjusted on its new brackets.
Reveal shape and contour runs along the tail as closely as I could hope for but it turns too quick and tight at the tips.
Same problem on the left though just a little tighter still. Will have to relief cut the ends and relax these corners.
But I am at least finished with these bracket mounts.
To center the bumper with the body the eyelets are just about maxed out on both sides but it gave me enough to get by. I'll take what I can get.

[JTR70]

Bumper iron shaping then reshaping again....
Basically starting from scratch as these are new irons with a modified rear bumper. Began dialing in and shaping the inner halves of the brackets as jumping off point. Much easier to establish this baseline first rather than trying to take both sides on as a unit.
Heavy steel and very uncooperative cold. This was one of many, many rounds of heat then tweak; test fit and repeat as needed.
Before it was over I also had to bend the ends rotationally at the mounting surface to get the bumpers' final pitch corrected with it snuggly bolted down.
On the chassis side I wanted the eyelets on each half of this bracket to remain open and aligned with one another for maximum adjustment range. At the same time through all the bending and reshaping I had to have the eyelets on the bumper side mount as evenly as possible with one another for maximum lateral adjustment ability.
This is the final fit and alignment I was after. Bolts in the bumper sit evenly in the eyelets in relation to one another for max lateral adjustment options and at the same time the eyelets on the chassis side are aligned and opened fully. I had this fitment on both brackets only to find out that the approach angle on one side was off with the chassis. As I bent the end into alignment the halves of the bracket would slide misaligning the eyelets I had worked so hard to keep open. This would require yet more heating and tweaking to iron out. It tried my patience on more than one occasion but I eventually got it all put to bed.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Well, I wouldn't go as far as to say expert but I did learn a lot from this little side project. Thanks again Roy, its always greatly appreciated! Justin

[roy mawbey]

Justin by the time this is finished you will deserve to be called the bumper expert !

Well done

Roy

[JTR70]

Direct comparison with the stock unmodified bumper. Again, everything from the exhaust ports inward remains original.
but outward at the corners its an inch shorter with a much tighter radius to match that narrowerT5 tail the car was fitted with. Outer overrider mounting hole really highlights the change.
Onto reinstalling the bumper bracket mounts themselves so I can get it properly mounted and adjusted to the car. The best feature about making the alteration cut at the exhaust port is that once this bumper bracket mount is all welded in it will both conceal the weld joint as well as bridge and support this area.
A very rough and preliminary fit with the new bumper irons. Couldn't get all the bolts in either but it was just a starting point.
Really happy with the reveal the bumper is creating with its new contoured shape against the tail but its ending up tight at the corners. That will require a bit more rework but the mission at the moment is just to get the bumper fully mounted.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Final presentation:
One last direct mock up mounted against the body to confirm symmetry from left to right. Again the guards are still in their factory spaced position so their relationship with the tail light openings remains golden.
Once the bumper is finally mounted on its brackets we should have a really nice and uniform reveal all the way around.
Most important thing at this moment was that the overrider bar contour matched from side to side and that they seated into the guards correctly.
After all the alterations to both the bumper and the bars everything fit and mirrored each other as best as I could hope for.
Then the final test was how it matched up to the car itself. Tail light opening reveal against the crown of the tubes was very promising. Now onto getting it mounted on its brackets.

thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Over tubes complete.
Weld dressed and polished.
Thankfully after all the welding and heat the tube maintained the needed shape and dropped right back into position snuggly.
Bars are ready to head to the chrome shop for replating.
Assembled the bumpers jewelry one more time to make sure this assembly is going to pass the smell test. From the sides everything looks to scale again. The tips of the deco and the tube end were they should in relation to the end of the bumper.