1959 356A S/R coupe project chassis # 108625

[roy mawbey]

Justin its not easy this repair but it looks like it will be successful those gaps dictate everything really.

Roy

[JTR70]

Its a tricky spot Roy. The gaps for sure but just as important is the body contours remain consistent across those gaps.

[merbesfield]

Justin, it’s not too late to consider a career as a Plastic Surgeon. I admire your patience and through forethought. I tend to get in a hurry sometimes and it can bite you. Thanks for posting.

[JTR70]

Thanks Mark, a lot of nip and tucking for sure. I still get impatient at times and it usually comes back to bite me as well.

[Jbrooks]

Looks ready for 3M™ Self-Leveling Seam Sealer, 08307. You need a special gun, but it works well on these floor seams.

[JTR70]

I'll take a look at it John and thanks for the tip.

[JTR70]

New repair section stitched in.
Fender clamped to my table so i could really throw the heat at it through the flats.
Trickier to stitch as the fender curves and the edge makes the turn.
Had to prop it up and weld in small runs through roll on the body contour.
Stitched and dressed smooth.
Did a little heat shrinking through this swollen area after all the welding was over. A lot of hammer work yet to do once its mounted on for good but its someplace to start.

[JTR70]

Fender back on for the first time after welding to check the contour and gap. Again lots adjustment to made as it goes on for good but it is a promising start.
Lots of fine tuning yet to go up and around that leading edge corner.
New rocker skin added to study the overall picture.
Right about here is where I have chased this side about as far as I can without welding anything on permanently.
I still need the ability to remove this nose as the right side fender repair and fitment goes. Time to catch the passenger side up. Begin repairing and adding in the right side fender next.

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[roy mawbey]

Justin that is much more than promising that is some great work there. You really do have the hang of it my friend !

Roy

[JTR70]

I appreciate that Roy its just process of tightening up the lines little by little. Thanks again! Justin

[JTR70]

Begin catching up the right side.
Begin locating the original splash pan back into its original position.
Another small repair patch will have to be added as the metal was very thin through here when it was removed.
Before it goes back on a few rust issues along the mounting flange for the fenders' skin needed filling.
Before I commit to remounting the splash pan I have to get the right door fitment and contour issues I was having earlier ironed out first.
The fitment of this door really went sideways through all of my repairs to both itself and the car. Not terrible but issues I cannot leave alone. Once I got the top of the door fitted to the body contours I lost my 3mm gap at the bottom. No problem since the rocker will be reskinned so I'll have another crack at it. Removing the old rocker skin next.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Old rocker skin removal:
Usual process of drilling and breaking the old spot welds. During the forward removal I spotted some old accident damage I had overlooked previously. The drain tray up here is still a bit smashed and bowed in narrower than it should be. It will be easy to relax back out once the skin is removed
Just a few more stubborn welds remain.
New skin on for a quick initial mock up. Looking better already.
Before I can begin installing anything, this door has to be set in its final adjusted latched and hinged position so I can build around that. Its been giving me some contour issues with the rear quarter panel from the beginning. Will be posting that up next.

Thanks for looking!

Justin

[JTR70]

Right door fitment issues from the start:
Just like the left door this right side insisted on mounting a touch too far forward. Once the top of the door was set even with quarter window opening this 5mm+ rear door gap was what I was left with. I could get it to close up but meant lowering the back edge of the door out of alignment with quarter window opening.
I thought about building the edge of the striker to close up this door gap but after mocking up the window frame that wasn't an option. The frame is not moving and gap with the B-pillar is almost 10mm. Completely unacceptable fit.
Before I removed the front fender it was confirmed that this door just needs to come back a few MM's. I attribute this non existent gap as old front end collision damage but it does not account for the huge rear gap.
While all that was going on I also had profile issues with the edge of the door. Top stands out too proud while its even at the mid-line/ door handle area.
Then tapers too quickly as it makes its way down. My plan was to correct as much of this as I could through the hinge assemblies.

[JTR70]

Hinge work:
Elongated the holes to get the door to move back further.
Next was shaving the rearward shoulders off of the plates to take full advantage of the elongated holes before these bottomed out against the inside of housings.

next issue I noticed was that the top mount had bowed shape in the mounting flange.
Tried drawing it back out but the bow would come right back once the pressure was released.
That bowed shape finally gave up once the old gas weld was cut through. It was a promising start but left this and went back to chassis repairs. Now I was back on finishing this door fitment issue up. That up next.

Thanks for looking!

Justin

[JTR70]

Finishing up the hinge mounts:
Fastforward to now and finally tying up this loose end. Its all changed so I was also playing around with various shim thicknesses as I went.
After a bit of trial, error and slight adjustments through both the upper and lower hinges I finally had my best adjusted position.
As it went I had some height transfer issues with the edge of the cowl to the door. I melted the solder back to expose what was really under the lead. Left very raw in through here with a lot of solder used to smooth it all out.
Finally had the top edge of the door aligned to continue into the quarter window opening with a good basic 3mm gap.
Gap between the door frame and the B-pillar at a manageable distance.

[JTR70]

The rest of the door frames' gap in the roof opening runs about the same width. Centered in there as best as I could hope for.
With that confirmation Both the upper and lower hinge mounts were all welded up. Upper hinge half cleaned and bolted on for the last time.
Lower hinge mount welding also completed.
I added the lower extension tie in to the mount first so I could bolt the hinge half on for good. I'll weld it to the threshold once I have the final height of the rocker assembly dialed in.
Lower hinge half cleaned, shimmed and bolted in for the final time. Pulling the pins for door removal makes life so much simpler. To disturb these bolts again at a later date would be a huge PIA. It takes the use of a floor jack to raise the door up where it needs to be while you tighten the bolts. A big pain, especially if you're on your own. Anyway, right door all set into final position.

Thanks for looking!

Justin

[roy mawbey]

Justin well I think I would have had a 'nightmare' with this last exercise of yours. So to get that sorted as I can see in the last photos you took, you must be a happy guy for sure! By yourself this car has presented so many hard to resolve problems but the standard of repair, has looked so good with everything you have been working on. You deserve a medal and I hope the owner agrees this has been a real eye opener of a 356 body restoration.

Roy

[JTR70]

Hi Roy, I could get the rear gap I was after if I lowered the back of the door but I'd lose the line along the top edge and then Vise vera. It just wouldn't give me both without getting into the hinge mounts again. All par for the course my friend as usual. Thanks again!

[JTR70]

Left door set onto building the body around it.
Basic 3MM gap with the top edge of the door level with the bottom of the quarter window opening...finally.
Improved but still a touch proud up top with the belt line of the door (door handle area) even. Frustrating but I'll get it all lined up before its over.
Bottom tucks a little too quick as well but again these will all be dealt with as the progress continues.
Now that the door is in its final adjusted position I can begin repairing and remounting the splash pan.
Door had to be in final position so I could reset both this mounting flanges height and distance to the leading edge of the door.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Lower Splash pan repair:
Begin fitting the new rocker skin to the bottom of the newly adjusted door so I can dial in the final shape and flange position of the eventual lower patch repair section it will mount directly onto.
To get the rocker skin level with the bottom edge of the door creates a big gap with the mounting flange with the remains of the old wall.
I cut the old lower section free and moved it out a few MM's where it now needs to be.
That adjustment gives me the best average fit all around. Once this section was determined to be short a final three piece repair section down here was looking less likely.
Began developing my paper template for a clean and tight one piece repair panel.

Thanks for looking.
Justin