1959 356A S/R coupe project chassis # 108625

[JTR70]

Joint readjustment:
Again the contour shape above this blue line was low and once I cut the top tacks free the fenders' surface just dropped out. The fender needs to be shifted upward slightly to allow these two surfaces to come into closer alignment. All the tack welds down this side would need to be cut free allowing this adjustment.
All the tacks cut with the fender reset into the needed position. Ready to begin tacking working from the top downward.
Here's the unforced contour shape over these two panels that I was shooting for. The blue line highlights how much it needed. Not much once you're down to splitting hairs but this little bit made a huge difference.
Eventually the rest of the joint was retacked.
Staying mindful of the overall fenders shape down the side as I went. Lots of welding and metal finishing to come but now its in its best mounted and joined position with the new nose. As closely as I could get it anyway.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[roy mawbey]

That last section of work as you say really made a difference Justin the line of the fender looks perfect now. But what a job that was in total. Its super now !
Roy

[JTR70]

Thanks Roy, Not perfect but minimal planishing to get it the rest of the way after welding. That slight shift made life easier on me and on the panels themselves. Had I left it, it would have required a lot of hammering to get that joint up and into alignment where its needed. A bit of work getting two wrongs to make a right. Justin

[JTR70]

The very top of the fender now carries the line on into the new nose with no hammering needed so far. Fully tack welded and in its best and final adjusted position.
Welded up a little more just past the top of the crown including that top weld joint I had to relief cut. Lots fine finishing yet but its on its way.
The fender to nose joint is all but set at this point so I left of the rest of the seam welding down the side for later and moved to the back of the fender. Began by tacking the cowl back together first. That joint is just wider than the thickness of the cutting wheel so the fender is back almost where it was originally. I had to move it out ward a touch to get the hood gap I was looking for.
Then onto replacing a small section of the original pinch seam that trimmed off during removal. Have to address that fatigue crack to the right as well.
Ready to trim back the excess and then onto welding it in.

[JTR70]

Left fender all but set:
Cowl fully tacked and the leading edge all stitched together.
Very rough and rudimentary lines and fitment but this is just a starting off point.
Most importantly I have 3MM+ gap I can work with and a workable shape down the side continuing into the door. A bit of welding yet to go as I have to finish plug welding the run inside the trough
and seam welding this outside run and then the cowl. But the fender is set at this point.
Leaving the rest of the welding duties on the left side for now and moving over to the right side now to get it caught up.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Relocating the right fender.
Same deal, establish the gap first against the edge of the hood and work outward from there.
This missing panel will be added once the fender is reset. I thought about adding it now but that would only complicate the refitment. Much easier to add it back in afterward.
Begin the process of finding my best average 3mm+/- gap.
Started out on the tight side and was a series small adjustments to get the fender to come out a bit. I'm having the same issue as I had on the other side where the middle portion of the gap runs fine then begins to taper down closed towards the front.
Slowly getting the 3MM+ gap I need but have run into an elevation issue through the middle. The fenders edge sits too low against the hood making the gap appear wider than it really is; Especially at this angle. Onto correcting this issue next.

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[roy mawbey]

Justin that left fender and its gaps to the hood have really gone so well ! To see the right side and the similar work involved makes me fully realise the sort of costs involved in getting this sort of work attended to by a bodyshop. To see all this 356 bodywork documented in every stage with excellent photo coverage makes me assume ? this visual aid also must be carried out by specialists involved when they have the same nature of work to undertake? How 356 bodywork costs can be accurately costed and quoted for is beyond me Justin. Does it all come down to trust and constant advice to the customer?

That what looked like some slight frontal damage to me on this car, has involved much more work than I guess even you expected. You never know till the damage is uncovered and fully inspected the repair procedure to follow.

Roy

[JTR70]

Hi Roy, Thanks, those lateral gap issues are residual accident damage as the shape of the shoulders has been warped slightly. It could always be worse of course. We spoke about this a while back and I still would be hard pressed to estimate accurately how long a particular repair phase is going to take. Way too many variables. Production body shops might underestimate it to get the job but that's when the lead and bondo start to get abused to bring it in for the price. The nose of these cars are so beautiful because they are one piece but that feature is what also makes them so difficult to rebuild or repair correctly. Justin

[JTR70]

Right substructure mounting flange readjustment
With the fender now gapped against the edge of the hood and sheet metal screwed down tight against the entire run of the upper closing wall's flange I had a contour issue with the middle portion of the fenders shoulder dropping out and away from the fenders edge.
Once the screws were removed in the center the shoulder would relax back up into alignment with the hoods' profile. The issue was closing panels flange profile shape as it was drawing the fender downward at the center.
I started out trying to rebend a higher and slightly more graceful arch through the middle of the mounting flange. I soon abandoned this approach as the flange would be way too narrow before I even got it close to the needed shape and height.
Only option was a relief cut. Fender remounted into the needed position and the loose section of flange was screwed and drawn upward where this portion needs to be. A couple of straps where tacked in to lock in this needed shape so the fender could be removed.
Here is the needed profile shape to get the fender and hood to contour uniformly. Back filling this run next.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Backfilled and fender remounted for another test fit. I thought I might have missed it in the final location of the new upper closing wall but the fender sits fine at both ends so the issue was just in the contoured shape of the flange, too flat.
Synched down tight against the flange all the way down while leaving the edge alignment with the hood I was after. Not perfect but well within striking distance. The last variable to add in is the hood seal but just shooting for close at the moment.
Leading edge of the fender now established. Next challenge will be getting old and new to flow into each other smoothly. The new section of trough runs a little too straight and will need a quick cut (blue line) so a sweep can be added.
Etched in the line where the fender tapers in too tight. Its now very short and just a wisp so I think I'll be able to tap it back but we'll see how that goes.
Fender set with the edge of the hood; now I can work outward from there.

Thanks for looking!

Justin

[roy mawbey]

Now then Justin that last bit of work was interesting ! You make it look easy when its not. Most would still be scratching their heads ! You are correct with your answer to keep lead and filler to the minimum but thats not always so easy as your work to keep like it was originally shows in the rules you follow..

Roy

[JTR70]

Hey Roy, In the early days I didn't have the confidence or experience to question new parts and definitely shied away from altering them. I'm at the opposite end of that spectrum now and I fully expect to have to make alterations to get things to fit and line up correctly. I understand that in a production restoration setting chasing that low spot out like I did would be prohibitive and that this area would simply just get mudded over to bring up the line but thats not how I would want my car built. Justin

[JTR70]

Jumping to the other side to finish up a loose end.
Weld finishing is extremely tedious and I'd been away from this side long enough to get motivated to go ahead and finish up all the plugs and seam welds down in the jamb. A lot of tweaking to get this new section to flow into the original but its there. A good coat of builder primer should smooth of the remaining weld scar.
Still have to finish up the remaining plug welds on the fender side but will knock that out later on. I thought that I had nothing more to add in the trunk but I forgot about the trunk release conduit...always something.
Here is the raw and basic 3mm+ gap we ended up with for the left side. After the hood seal is added it will change things slightly but a skim coat of lead is all it should take to prefect this area.
Back over to the right side to address this residual bit of crash damage to the lower wired edge.
A portion of the wire has jumped out. The sheath is crumpled to the side with a small hole on the outer skin. Cleaner and simpler to add in a fresh section. Will leave the original wire intact though. This repair up next.

Thanks for looking!

Justin

[roy mawbey]

That wired repair will be interesting to see Justin. A good idea to keep the original wire intact.

Roy

[JTR70]

I thought it would be the best approach in keeping as much integrity as possible through that wired edge Roy.

[JTR70]

Lower wired edge repair:
Marked out the graceful edge contour that is needed onto this new section of 20 gauge. The only clamp I have small enough to fit inside the needed radius has a straight edge so I had to hammer in the new flange in small sections at a time.
A pain but I had curved edge that I could work with.
Damaged skin section peeled leaving the original wire intact.
It will need little straightening but fine otherwise.
New section trimmed back to final need shape and ready to install.

Thanks for looking!

Justin

[roy mawbey]

Oh well done Justin that was a great to look at !

Roy

[JTR70]

Thanks again Roy, Below is the conclusion to this patch repair.

[JTR70]

New section tacked in and just about ready to begin heeling the flanged edge over the wire.
Double checking the new edges contour and its continuation of the fenders profile shape.
Edge heeled over. Continues the opening profile close enough but there will be some slight adjustments as it goes. Leading edge stitched and continuing on up the rest of the way.
Stitching complete. Gone as far as I can here for now. I'll deal with the bottom loose end as the he new nose and this old fender are joined together for the final time.
Back over to the top side to address this contour transition issue I am seeing between these two panels.

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[JTR70]

This right side upper corner shape has been problematic from the initial fitment. Its been low and tight from the start. I made some correction as it went to get it to line up with the edge of the hood...
But now that I'm finally fitting it against the shape of the fender I'm finding this area once again too low and too tight. Original fender profile shape is sweeping down hill into the hood and by the contrast the noses' profile shape is sweeping up hill into the hoods edge. The valley is too deep and too pronounced so its running upward to meet back up with the hood. The original part is always the rule so this area of the nose has to be reshaped to match the fender.
This valley needs to soften and come up. Started out with a relief cut to allow this area to gather. You can see all the hammer marks in the surface through here so this feature is very hardened.
After a few round of hammering the valley was coming up and transitioning from the fender a little closer but a long ways to go. The valley shape below my cut was still too tight. Again, this area is very hardened and doesn't want to change shape very readily.
I began referring back to this original donor nose to find the correct contoured shape in through there.

Thanks for looking.

Justin