1959 356A S/R coupe project chassis # 108625

[roy mawbey]

Lots and lots of holes Justin !

[JTR70]

Pedal assembly mocked up for another confirmation fit. Everything sitting square and nice in relation to one another. Both happy and relieved with this final fitment.
All that remains up here is to install the stud plate for the pedal assembly once I take delivery of it.
Other than some light weld cleanup I'm all done with the metal repairs up here.
While I wait on the stud plate and lateral seat track mounts I'm back to plug weld grinding and rust repairs to the lower B-pillar chassis area.

That next...

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[JTR70]

left footing prep and installation:
This time I ground the shoulder washers off and... welded the supplied capture nut from behind to secure it. I get a little smarter as it goes..hopefully.
Like the other side; dialing it in for square and correct angle.
All plug-welded in and secure.
Just have to level off all of these plug weld heads. A good supply of them as you can see.

[JTR70]

Right side footing install:
T2 floor provided additional and final measurement confirmation. Also provided some angular trim details which I copied.
Final location set with all plug weld holes drilled. Like the tunnel most of the welding is going to the outside to make final cleanup and my life easier.

Plug welds completed. A lot of them for such a small piece but this is what it was needed for a uniform and tight fit.
All set and squared off nicely against the tunnel.
Onto the left side.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Toe-board footing installation:
Dialing in the correct location in relation to angle so the eventual board lays in there with as much contact and support as possible.
BTW the supplied capture nuts have these shouldered openings where the originals where a flush fit. I was concerned about rocking or rattling on the passenger side mainly so we opted for removal. Wouldn't be an issue so much on the drivers side as there is a cutout for the pedal mount flange.
Oversized holes are closed and will redrill some smaller representative holes for effect since these where not in use for a LHD car.
Double checking and further confirming the right spot with my original reference
The outer run contact angle does taper away towards the bottom. This was much needed confirmation as I would have been racking my brain trying to get this to seat flush all the way down like the other side of it does.

[JTR70]

Tunnel installation complete:
Gas weld detail at the toe-board joint replicated.
The body was flipped over on its left side so I could finish up the welding along the right.
And the final tie in welding along the three inner conduits brackets to the tunnel wall.
and with the that the tunnel installation was finally completed. Weld smoothing is all that remains.
Onto the peripheral bracketry starting with the toe-board footings.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Welding details top side of the tunnel:
As Roy just mentioned an endless supply of plug weld heads to finish. Taking this duty small bites at a time.
In between weld head grinding I went inside to begin the attachment mounts to the top side of the tunnel. Its tacked back into the same position where it was cut free; A very good sign.
Finished up with a gas welded seam and tack a found originally.
Forward end of the tunnel rewelded to the base of the toe board struts. Peddle assembly mocked up with locating rod installed to dial in the end of the clutch cable conduit for rewelding to the side of the tunnel. A slit was cut to help locate it but in the end I had to go a bit higher to achieve final alignment. Back to grinding.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

It would have been so much easier to just go with a single row and it would have been okay but I went the extra mile here and just replicated the number of welds as closely as I could. Yes, a never seeming end of plug welds.

[roy mawbey]

Alternate double row plug welds. You would think I would have noticed these before but I hadn't. Really good for strength I guess, but over a long run bet it seemed never ending filling all those holes !!

Roy

[JTR70]

Tunnel plug welds completed:
Wrapped up the last these long plug weld runs out back here.
A lot of prep, welding and grind finishing yet to come but it was still very rewarding to get the welding portion completed. Very tempting to get lazy and do a single run of plug welds but...
the factory double rowed them for a reason.
Heat penetration at the top surface was checked as it went.
So glad I chose to weld from the bottom side. Grind finishing will be much more pleasant without the shoulder of the tunnel in my way. Some seam welding at both ends top side of this tunnel next. Almost there...

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Plug welding tunnel:
Working from the center outward. Starting inside at the floor pan lap joint rib.
Then it was onto the outside runs keeping the progress of these four quadrants even as it goes.
A tight flange joint is always priority number one. So far I've been able to leap frog about 3 holes at a time between screws for a nice tight fit. This process is painstaking and monotonous but no other way around it to ensure that the tunnel is attached to the floor thoroughly. Welding continues...

Thanks for looking.
Justin

[JTR70]

I appreciate that Roy! It continues to be a learning experience for sure and I think I've accumulated well over few thousand hours throughout the years by now. It sure feels like it anyway...

[JTR70]

Thanks Scott, There was a bit of effort invested in saving it but I always feel better about reinstalling the real stuff if its possible.

[roy mawbey]

Justin, what experience you have gained over all these years of 356 work. Did you tabulate the hours of welding up these jobs? Such a great job going on with this car.

Roy

[Scott B]

Great recovery and resurrection of the tunnel Justin!!!