1959 356A S/R coupe project chassis # 108625

[JTR70]

Quick detour before hood reassembly:
This deep pitting around the nose of this hood is concerning. The rust has only breached in two spots for the moment but the advanced rust that lurks in behind it will certainly rear its ugly head in the future at some point.
Same goes for the underside, pitted and with the rust lurking just under that lap joint. There is no avoiding it as the water it will come into contact with is going to run down and settle along this leading edge and no matter how well its seam sealed and painted water always finds its way. After talking with my buddy, now was time to address it.
Its a complicated area and while both pieces are pitted I am 90% sure we'll get away without a patch repair. Just going to clean thoroughly and seal with epoxy and paint. With the left side out its technically half way there so now most certainly was the time if it was going to be addressed.
Only surprise is that this area wasn't rotted out entirely. Look at that old water line; this had a pool of water in it on more than one occasion.
Once the acid devours this rot I'm sure there will be a pin hole or two to close but they be easily soldered shut with a gas weld.
Though there remains some rust under the right and rear section of the substructure this is as far as we need to go. We'll all be long gone by the time those areas ever become an issue. My main concern is this rusty low spot where the water will try to settle again. Acid bath next.

Thanks for looking!

Justin

[JTR70]

Last of the concerning rust removed.
Leading edge of the inner frame of course left heavily pitted but surprisingly no holes to backfill.
Will sleep better at night knowing that this leading edge under pinch seam is now free of rust.
Skin itself now all clean of that old advanced rust.

Only a few additional pin holes have shown up after cleaning. Quickly filled with a gas weld as before.
Onto getting these surfaces behind a good coat of epoxy and paint then its finally time to reassemble this hood.

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[JTR70]

Welded up the breaches that revealed themselves after cleaning.
If the rust had been left in there these are the ticking time bombs that would have made themselves known in the next few years. Hood handle repair metal finished while I still have clear access to the backside.
Primered and painted and ready to reassemble . Getting the original spot welds lined up in preparation for the first tack welds.
Tack welded first at the original gas welds. Then flattened out the leading edge of the lap joint and rewelded over the old drilled out spot welds. Squeezing down the lip again as it went. Happy with how its going right back into place so far. Continuing on with reassmbly.

Thanks for looking!

Justin

[roy mawbey]

Justin so sensible of you and your mate to decide to do that! As you say a few years and it would have showed up. Again I have to say it thank goodness mine is rust free. Never seen that repqir noted and made safe as you have done on any site.

Well done,
Roy

[JTR70]

Thanks Roy! Now was the moment to address these ticking time bombs while we were this far into it. This lower leading edge of the hood will always be exposed to moisture either from being washed, or driven in the occasional rain shower. It will pool along the trunk seal and go to work on that lapped underside leading edge or some water could also get by the hood handle seal allowing it in behind through the stud hole as it did initially. Now, no matter happens, all that old rust is gone and no longer growing. As I said earlier, we'll all be long gone before it becomes a problem again. See all the fun you're missing having a rust free hood? Thanks again! Justin

[JTR70]

Hood reassembly Continued:
Lateral section reinserted next.
Begin welding this section back in working from the rear forward. All the original drilled out spot welds realigned at the back lap joint and tacked to hold it while Its plug welded next.
Forward lap joint will be last to be welded so I can reset and manipulate the lateral profile which stood too proud in relation to the fender.
Rear lap joint welding compete with gas weld seam detail added back in where there were. Flanged lip crimped back tightly as I make my way forward.
Headed into that damaged high crowned area along the lateral edge. Measured off the floor to compare with the other side and added some downward pressure to relax the curve until it matched the right side.

[JTR70]

part 2:
Kept pressing downward until I got this side to come in at 4 inches to match the right side at the same spot.
Locked that position in with a pair of vise grips and am now ready to plug that old spot weld to reset this previously damaged area.
Leading edge completely crimped tight with all the lap joints rewelded. Its a solid unit once again.
Substructure's leading edge where it buckled now hugs the skin profile as best as I could hope for.
First test fit just laying loose against the car after reassembly. Hoods Crowned profile comparison along the edge of the fender much improved but there is a bit of metal finishing and hammer work of course yet to do. The true test will be after its actually hinged and mounted but a promising start so far.

More later...
Thanks for looking!

Justin

[roy mawbey]

Looking really good Justin, an early test but so promising . Well done !

Roy

[JTR70]

Thanks Roy! It will need some minor tweeking as it goes along with the fenders and the nose as their fitted together but definitely much improved over where it began...and now rust free up front.

[JTR70]

Hinge mount refitting:
One more shot of the initial hood fitment just laying on there loose. Corner is tucked a little low here but all these misalignments are well within striking distance. The hood has to be mounted and latched before I can take it any further.
Now time to reset and remount the left hood hinge mounting flange.
Its pretty much going to go right back into its original position though with a slight change in approach angle so the hinge can remain centered in the pocket.
The original hammered over edges where limiting the amount of lateral movement so I hammered them back out flat and will reshape them over the substructure as before once its tacked into the needed position.
Mounting flange is bolted down to the hinge where it was marked in its best adjusted position before I dismantled the hood. Ready to tack weld this flange back into the sweet spot.

Thanks for looking!

Justin

[JTR70]

Hinge mount remounted.
Fore and aft placement of the flange on both the hinge and hood itself back into position before all the cutting. Initial tack weld laid down.
Eventually got enough tack welds along the outer edge to hold this sweet spot for hood removal. Backed the bolts loose to test for any tension. I'm shooting for a natural fit with no lateral loads going through the hinge from being forced over. So far so good.
Removed so I could lay down some good beads along the outer edge where the old gas welds originally were. I needed this side fully secured before attempting to work the other side into shape.
Going to have to use some heat to get this side over for a shaped fit. This mount is every bit of 16 gauge and the much thinner hood frame would stand little chance against it cold. The substructure would conform more to flange versus the other way around which is what I'm after.
After several series of heat and hammer work this side was now very close.

[JTR70]

Here is the correction from where it sat originally. The front of this flange is pretty much where it started but the back of it was swung outward about 5MM give or take so that it would sit flush against the hinge while centered in its pocket.
Hood remounted for another test fit after all that heating and hammering just to be sure before I committed to anymore welding. So far so good, everything staying centered and flush without force. No amount of beating to either the hood or hinge would have overcome that 5mm's worth of misalignment. It would have turned into a mud hole; this way it all fits together natural and nice and the hood will be available for removal and installation with hinges installed as it should be without too much drama. I'll be testing for that here shortly.

Thanks for looking!

Justin

[roy mawbey]

Very neat way of getting that aii sorted Justin. Nice the hood can be taken off and on with no drama. Will you still use some datum holes in the hinge plates as they did at the factory to always get the hood in the correct position? ( maybe the original ones are close )
Roy

[JTR70]

Thanks Roy, I've delt with a couple of hoods that were sort of a forced fit and the gaps kept changing on me slightly as the bodywork progressed all the way past final paint. Didn't want that issue again so the goal is a natural relaxed fit right out of the gate. Since we're almost starting from scratch the Datum holes were filled on the mounting flanges and will be redrilled to match the hinges once again to lock in the final gapped position after the front end is reconstructed. Justin

[JTR70]

Hood repair and reconstruction complete.
Finished out the gas weld details around the edges that were there originally.
Same up front along the lap joints.
Remounted for another test fit. After all the welding the flange did draw in ward a touch but a couple of raps with a dead-blow hammer brought it right back.
No issues on the right side.
Now that the hood is repaired and in its final state I can confidently begin construction of the front end group around it. The hood will still need some shape adjustments along its edge as the progress continues but for now we've got a hood that operates just as it should.

[JTR70]

Onto installing the latch mechanism and getting all these loose edges to fit together.
The car is getting a little closer to having a face once again.

Thanks for looking!

Justin

[roy mawbey]

Super effort Justin I have learn't a lot on this exercise. I think if I were 50 years younger I would have liked to try some of the things you have been doing but left it too late! But.. I mentioned I had a small gap issue on the front bonnet lid on my car well today I got my 14mm spanners out and would you believe really improved the gap no end. I was delighted. Once you carefully think about the hinge adjustments and the closure of the front locking bolt I have now got it back to when the bonnet lid was when I bought it in the 60's. I have had the lid off a number of times and obviously did not pay good enough attention. It is true now the hinges alignment holes are only as original on the l/side the r/side one does not now line up perfectly as before but the gap is so much better!

Sorry to mess up your thread with my efforts today.

Roy

[JTR70]

Thank you Roy! No need for apologies, thanks for sharing and congratulations on improving the gap and overall fitment of your hood. There really are a lot of contributing factors on how the hood ultimately sits in there once its closed fully. Even a slight bend in the latch shank can pull the hood to favor one side or the other depending on how that bend is oriented. I've been through all of that before. This is my main reason for having the hinges and latch all fit tension free out of the gate. If its a force fit the gaps and fitment will change slightly every time its messed with. Thanks again. Justin

[JTR70]

A hinged and latched hood.
Hood once again gapped and set against the cowl dictating where this lower base mechanism would sit. Mechanism/base was engaged onto the upper shank then the hood was lowered down and the back of the base was marked at the center line.
Then the for and aft placement was dialed against the installed closing wall. Bottom slid forward until the Lower base edges rested against the wall as my original undisturbed reference example showed.
Hood officially latched closed for the first time in a while. No danger of getting locked out of the trunk so now was the time to find if the angles and placement was good or if it was going to jamb. Released just fine though the true test will be after the upper part of this base gets a tack weld. A promising start anyway.
Now with a mounted and latched hood I can go back to dialing in this new panels flange height. More on this later...

Thanks for looking!

Justin