1959 356A S/R coupe project chassis # 108625

[JTR70]

Vin panel and vertical wall welding continued:
Lateral plug weld run required an extra step of drilling down further into the underside flap to ensure all three layers that comprise this run were thoroughly fused together as found originally.
Leading edge flange clamped tight and as you can see a thorough weld penetration was achieved above the access covers. Would have been a PIA to join these panels properly while installed in the car first. So much easier with it mounted to my table and once I figured out that these two panels could go back in as a unit
the plan was set.
A lot of plugs along this run so a nice diversion as that process went was adding the spare tire strap clamp holes back in. Original panel section placed over top to locate them.
Plug welds in this area dressed smooth first then the holes were drilled.
Not quite centered with the conduit hole but this is where the factory had drilled them. A more important detail other than being perfectly center was that the holes ended up coming through the vertical walls flange for additional strength and support as originally found. Again, far easier performing these tasks out of the car. This redundant detail really appeals to me BTW.

[JTR70]

Vin and vertical wall welding:
Original gussets ready for reinstallation. Inner surfaces all clean and coated in epoxy.
Gussets in and plug welds dressed. After all the rust and old accident repair required for these two panels they are both finally ready to be welded together for good.
Begin plug welding from the center outward.
Center weld run all plugged in with good penetration through to the underside of the flange shown here. I have no worries about this joint coming apart.

To match the number of spot welds that the factory did with plugs along this joint seems like overkill but once you consider the weight of the eventual battery and spare tire that this area will help to support it makes perfect sense as to why it was so aggressively welded together originally. Moving out to the latter runs next.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Thank you Roy! Yes, a lot of plug weld holes along the leading edge of the Vin panel. It was tempting to cut the number of welds in half but after considering that this joint contends with the constant weight of the eventual battery and spare tire both laying on the floor and also strapped to this area I decided it best to replicate the number of contact points as closely as I could to what the factory had done. This explains why the original factory spots along this run were so numerous and set in with a much higher amperage compared to most spot welds found on these cars. Yes, all these panels will get a nice top coat for starters but it will all be eventually undercoated and tar papered. A lot of these efforts will be hidden in the end but at least it can be confirmed now that it was repaired correctly. Thanks again! Justin

[roy mawbey]

Fantastic effort there Justin, so well thought out and so many holes to drill! That battery box area will look factory new. Tell me that complete area on my car is still untouched from new. but after all that work, the factory plastered it all over with the thick black bubbly rust preventative. I still have all that, but tell me you are going to paint it properly to show the effort you put in to make it look so good? Some might say it has to look the same as 1959 but I think the preventative used should be better than the stuff they put on and which half the time did not last that long anyway!!

Roy

[JTR70]

Clean up time:
Rear wall just out from the acid bath. A little wire wheeling is all thats needed to take it the rest of the way.
In process of cleaning up the rust, tar remnants and scale on the underside of the vin panel.
While that soaked I began wire wheeling the rust, scale and tar remnants on the chassis itself. A ways yet to go here.
Final cleaning and weld repair detail work complete on the rear wall. Plug -weld holes punched along the bottom flange in anticipation for the new floor.
All ready for a sealer coat and to be joined to the vin panel once its finally ready. Getting close.

Thanks for looking!
Justin