1959 356A S/R coupe project chassis # 108625

[JTR70]

Gusset repair:
Swoopy shaped section traced, cut out and ready to stitch it back together here.
One more flange adjustment to go back here but the opposite as it needs to be stretched to make the turn.
Begin paper templates to establish the final trim line on the new gusset floor. I was missing the luxury of rotisserie during this process.
Excess trimmed to final shape with the frame flange allowing the first full test fit of this new section.
Gusset and repair section all stitched together.

[JTR70]

Not a fan of that lap joint especially up there in that tight corner and just in front of that strong diagonal step shape that the edge of the toe board lays against. It just invites collapse as it did in the last wreck but maybe that's by their design?? Anyway, my job is to make it look as factory correct in the end as I can but like below I'll add some muscle in where I can when its not detectable.
The original lap overlayed by only a few MM's. In the first photo you can see I increased the overlap by well over a quarter inch. This adds a little more strength and contact area over what was there before but will look 100% correct once the new upper wall flange gets mounted and wrapped over top of this area.
Reinstalling the brake line tab after a quick soak in acid to get the last bits of rust that was down in the contact surface. Set screwed back into its original footprint.
Building the new floor for the original gusset next.

Thanks for looking!

Justin

[JTR70]

Upper wall repair continued:
Touched bottom and ready to build this joint back up.
Left side flange first and tied back into the bulkhead wall. Right side next which will lay over top.
Backfilling and lap joint complete. Lapped edge detail in front of the drain tube replicated as found.
Internal tie in with the interior bulkhead wall complete.
Weld repairs to this wall finally complete, both sides.

[JTR70]

Upper wall and flange repair:
Backfilling the gap and rebuilding the upper lap joint to replicate what was there.
Tedious process prep of grinding and drilling spot welds to remove the remains of the original upper closing wall's flange.
Flange remains to either side cleared for the repair but the rest of the run still needs to be peeled; later on.
Removing just enough on the right side to get past the damage.
Cleaned back and now repeating the process on the left side.

[JTR70]

Lower wall repairs complete.
Plate fully welded in completing the repairs out here.
Welds cleaned and dressed back here. Final finishing and trim to the lower flange end to carry on the original wall line.
Original gusset remounted and aligned with its original spot welds and set screwed into position to dial in the repairs.
Reproductions of this gusset are only 20 gauge so the plan was always to rebuild the bottom run of this original part.
The very versatile perimeter repair flange section will become the new bottom of this gusset. In 18 gauge of course. This repair shortly but headed to the top of this wall to finish up those repairs first.

Thanks for looking!

Justin