1959 356A S/R coupe project chassis # 108625

[JTR70]

Straightening out the latch base:
Harvested from the old wall. I'll be back later for that drain tube as the time gets closer.
Pretty twisted and deformed from the accident then compounded further by the body shop's efforts to get it back into a close enough position so the hood would latch again. The shouldered knockout hole in the center was pry-barred heavily as the leverage point .
Began hammering out and reversing the obvious stuff at the bottom that I had a clear shot at but I was running out of road fast. This unit is at least 18 gauge so its of course a bit more stubborn. Just like the previous battery box wall straightening, to have any shot at a clean and thorough result all the tabs and secondary layers had to be removed before I dared to begin hammering on those areas.
tabs removed and cap drilled free so I could relax it open. Much easier to straighten each facet out separately rather than having it fight me as an integral unit.
Now I can go to town on it from every angle with clear access.

[JTR70]

Part 2
All the facets were ironing out nicely but I was now wondering how I was going to "square up" that round hole again cleanly.
After some rummaging around I finally came up with a hammer form for it. Turns out the bearing race on a 356 differential housing was just the right O.D. and after a few rounds of heat the stretch and deformation were gathered back up.
One more round of hammering on my table to get the last bit of overall twist and deformation out of it.
Pretty much back to square again. Folding the cap back over into position here.
Set screwed and ready to be plug welded back together.

[JTR70]

Base and latch ready.
Latch mechanism test fitted. The shield for the mechanism itself was bent downward a touch but that was a quick fix.
Since whole front of this car is being reconstructed free style I'm presetting the mechanism as close to center as I can so if there are any adjustments needed after all the welding is completed (which always happens) I'll have as much movement in any direction as this base allows.
Original latch and base are ready for hood mock ups. Dismantling it for straightening was the only way to go .
I'll add the lateral tabs back in a bit later. Onto the next deal...

Thanks for looking!

Justin

[JTR70]

More peripheral hood mounting prep:
Had to really crank on the hinge to get the bottom of pocket to come back forward but I got a hasty tack weld on it before it could spring back. I'll clean all this up later.
The end result was a near perfect match in resting hinge angles. Onto the next deal.
The other side of the latch had a bent plunger and the wrong rebound spring.
Had a donor on hand this a straight plunger and the right spring. So critical that this is not bent as a lope in it will affect the hoods gaps and resting position with each small turn of it.
A good functioning hood latch off the check list.

[JTR70]

Second hood fitment:
Hinge mounts, latch mount and mechanism all set and now ready to dial in the hood a little closer.
The cowl is the ultimate baseline then the hood is spaced evenly and gapped off of it.
Initial gap is pretty close but have some elevation issues as the center of the hood sits a little high.
This entire side started out low but was able to adjust most of it out though it remains a touch low around the hinge area but pretty good for starters.
The lateral gap down this side is a mess and that is just hold over damage from the wreck.

[JTR70]

Not only is the gap on this side irregular but the hood profile still too proud where it had buckled.
This is the under side directly under that area. Can't decide where to cut this out and restraighten or get it as close as I can in one piece. Either way the hoods profile ahs to be relaxed along this run. With the hood in its best adjusted position with the cowl so far the original alignment holes are now just out. Once I get the hood completely established the old holes in the hood mounts will be welded shut and will be redrilled to Locate the hood where it now needs to be.
Adjusted hood establishes where the latch mechanism needs to be. This a bit later.
I'm going to back up one step and prep the right side to accept the new upper closing wall. That next.

Thanks for looking!

Justin

[JTR70]

Prepping for the new right side upper closing wall.
Went back and forth as to whether to do a partial or complete upper wall replacement. Had it not rusted out in the door well I would have left it alone and just did a partial but it is and so is the metal on the other side of this wall. It has to be repaired in here anyway so the best and cleanest approach is to unpeel this onion a little further and get it all in one shot. This would require the removal of the splash pan.
To get access to the top attachment points of it required cutting back into the cowl a little further. Cowl cut back exposing the top of the splash pan here.
I chose this cut line as it gets me the needed access to the pan for both removal and reinstallation. It is also the lowest point in the body contour and will be a much more stable weld joint. As you can see I'll also have access though limited to the backside of the weld joint for planishing.
Top spot weld run free and just about separated from the remains of the original wall.
I was really dreading the double run of spot welds down its face but as I began drilling and peeling from the top it became clear that the inside run of spots where completely detached at this point. The row of spots along the edge also gave up quite easily. Very uncharacteristic of factory spots even when the panels are rusty but hey I'll take the break when I can get it. Detached from the door stopper base and just about ready to remove at this point.

[JTR70]

Upper portion of the splash pan removed. I decided to make my break along the weld joint of my previous lower patch repair. I knew if I tried removing it all in one piece I'd make a drilled out mess of this lower area as the plug welds are a lot bigger and won't give up without a big fight so I thought it better to leave this sleeping dog lie.
Now I have a clear shot at the remains of this wall and all the rust damage behind it.
The nature of this cars construction with all of its overlapping and intersecting layers along with where the rust and accident damage ended up can constantly take you down avenues you hadn't previously planned on.

Had to take a step back to move forward but looking at it here confirms this was the only way to go for a thorough repair.
And a quick look inside of what will eventually be. Cleaning out the remains of the OG closing wall next.

Thanks for looking!

Justin

[roy mawbey]

Justin, its not until you see the complete strip down of the front body panels do you begin to realise just how its never a quick fix to get perfection on a 64 year old 356. I can understand why you have to give this great thought as proceed. Sure I welded a few bits and pieces on my frontal area but could never have contemplated back then what you are doing now. Its going to look fine justin !

Roy

[JTR70]

They are tricky at times Roy. If the damage you're after is under a couple of top layers or entombed behind a closing panel then there really is no other way around it unless you're just going to fish plate over the top of it. That of course would be a huge red flag when you go to sell it. Thanks Roy!

[JTR70]

remnant wall removal and corner rust repair and clean up.
Rust damage always runs a little further than you think. The cowl removal above this intersection is exposing more rot that I'd never been able to address otherwise.
Last section of the old vertical closing laid over exposing the rotted area I could see from the door well. Now I have a clear shot at this rusted out corner I had started to strip back some time ago.
The remains of the top flange of the old wall go back and over a little deep than I thought (high lighted with the screw driver) I'll have to drill out a couple of more spot welds so I can lift the corner of the tough out of my way.
Four panels layer and intersect at this corner and all four rotted through. This outer most layer is the kick panel or speaker boss section.
Begin paper templates based on the rusted foot print of the old section. Small but tedious stuff.

Thanks for looking!

Justin

[roy mawbey]

Justin you have so much patience! Its hard to believe all these restored 356 cars do not have these issues above just sitting there waiting to be eventually found . I guess it helps if the car lives in parts of CA or Nevada for its working life but to see all the layers of rust on this area of the car must mean it sat outside somewhere wet for a long time. Although, it did not show all the problems when you started just like so many other356 cars many still probably, with hidden problems like you show above. After deciding to keep my car clear of wet roads after doing all the work in the mid seventies I reckon it would never have lasted another50 years without so much work.

So good for the owner to know even though he will never see it, these area's above are attended to properly. Its so true, the 356 shape just tends to hide the problems from view. Even in poor shape they still look so good to the eye. Or they do to mine !!

Great thread indeed.

Roy

[JTR70]

Thanks once again Roy! Right, it depends on what climate it spent most of its existence in but more importantly how it was stored through those years.
This recently unearthed speedster is a perfect example. It was left undercover in a back yard for 40+ years.
The owners I'm sure thought they were protecting it from the elements with all the generations of blue tarps and car covers through the decades.
but all they did was create a hot house and the rust went absolutely wild.
The rust has essentially burned it down to a set of torsion housings, its speedster specific parts and a VIN#. While it still would have rusted the car in general would have faired far better uncovered.

[JTR70]

Right upper corner repair:
Decided to hold off on that inner patch to go ahead and finish repairing the inner sections first.
A real luxury having a clear shot at these internal structures.
corner and vertical wall patches installed. It worked out leaving that inner section for last as this hole gave me an access to clamp the patches tightly as the stitching went. Welds also dressed and cleaned up at the bottom of the hinge pocket; on this side anyway.
One last piece left. A lot of welding to clean up in here as it was a bit awkward to lean in and weld reaching up. I sure miss this thing being on a rotisserie!
Last piece welded in. I got a little greedy with the heat and blew this hole out at the very bottom. Its hard to convey but its little set backs like this at the end that can really try you during a session. This sort of gives you a tiny window into the realities of that speedster project above Roy; there is just not enough good steel left in it to weld onto.

[JTR70]

Begin new lateral closing wall fitment.
Again, a bit more weld dressing to do in here but I may wait until its back on the rotisserie. Three of the four walls that comprise this corner are least repaired and its layered in there like it was. Most of his area will always be visible so its important to get the final presentation as clean as possible.
Now back to prepping for the new lateral closing wall. Grinding and peeling the remains of the old walls flange.
Begin by cautiously trimming back slivers for an eventual flush fit against the chassis.
This is a very nice panel but is still a repop and am dialing in the initial fore and aft position by sight marking the embossments to the floor features in relation to the left side which is still original. It of course won't be perfect but just shooting for the best average fitment. This is only half of the equation and not the most critical.
What is most important is where its top mounting flange ends up in relation to a closed and latched hood.

[JTR70]

The eventual fender will mount back on directly to that new flange and its position will dictate both the final gap the fenders leading edge height in relation to the edge of the hood. I'll have to hit that very close to avoid the need for any fillers to level them both out when its all over. This final position will also have to take into account the hoods final resting height both latched and under tension of a hood seal. Lots of fun ahead...
Continuing onto finding the sweet spot.

Thanks for looking!

Justin