1959 356A S/R coupe project chassis # 108625

[roy mawbey]

Justin, Hoo-ray and well done great result. "When you first started on this car some years ago now, to do just the bodywork is that still the case? Have you not become attached to it after all effort? I suppose its the effort I have made over the past 56 years or so, that makes me keep mine. My middle son in his mid fifties, has been an invaluable help to me on some jobs on my 356 over recent years, as you can't always achieve in your eighties, jobs you did easily in your 50's.!!

Roy

[JTR70]

Thank you Roy! The bodywork and final paint will be handled by a local shop in his hometown. My final mission will be to rough in the body to a level that any competent bodyshop can finish it out correctly. Actually its quite the opposite, I am very anxious to get his car back to him. He has been incredibly patient and understanding so I really want to get this old shell back to him as soon as I can wrap it up. Thanks again! Justin

[JTR70]

Ready to come off the Cellette Bench for the final phase.
Gone as far could with it mounted to this frame table. To finish up the loose end chassis work it had to go back on the rotisserie but before I could do that the rear bumper work had to be completed first as the rotisserie attaches to the bumper mounts. Dismounting it was bit dicey at times as this was a one man operation but I just took it very slowly.
Cellete bench out of the way and ready to mount it on its dolly so it can go back inside.
Safely remounted back on the rotisserie.
This is dolly it was mounted to when it showed up. It was built to the car so now in a relaxed state the misaligned mounting saddle bares witness as to where the beam was before it was pulled back out to factory spec on the Cellette. Not end the world and probably could have been compensated for but its now corrected and the chassis blessed on the bench.
Ready to begin tying up the loose ends I had no clear access to mounted on the frame table. Finishing out the plug welds long the lateral gussets, the rear wall of the battery box and then onto mounting the diagonal brace. All that up next.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Lateral gusset loose ends.
Frame table certainly had its roll to play but no way to get a clear shot at these areas. A rotisserie is the only way to go
Starting with the gusset plug welds along with those three plug weld holes along the bottom flap of the new closing wall. The factory only had three spots securing that run. Begin test fitting the new diagonal member as well.
Plug welding complete and in process of dressing them smoothly here.

Then it was onto adding the seam weld detail along the leading edge at the front bulkhead as found originally.
And finally seaming up the back leading edge. I would have bridged these two edges together solid with weld but that is not how they did it. Lateral gusset installation complete.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Battery box loose ends:
Another unreachable area with it mounted to the cellette bench. Had to install more set screws than usual to hold these panels tight for welding
as no clamp is big enough to reach this flange.
Center recess wall all welded up with gas welds added along the four corners as my original reference piece shows.
Same process, leap frogging each plug weld with lots of set screw to ensure a tight fit.
Then down the left and right sides to add in the gas welds at the corners and the tips of the fender braces as found originally.

Carefully cutting through the old gas welds to remove the remains of the original diagonal brace. There is a stepped shoulder that the braces ends seat into so I had to make sure I didn't cut too deep.
Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Initial loose ends completed
Plug welds dressed smooth then followed up with the panel spotter for the finishing detail.
Panel spotter follow up along the back battery box wall flange.
Got the recessed mounting flanges cleaned of the remains of old diagonal brace in preparation for mounting the new one.
Began prepping these finished surfaces for a sealer coat.
Initial sealer applied and now onto prepping for the diagonal brace installation.


Thanks for looking.

Justin

[roy mawbey]

Justin what a lucky guy he will be when he gets this car back. Those pictures above are as good as any I have seen before and show so well the effort put in my yourself. Fantastic result actually. I still have my original battery box and that's quite rare over here. So much that often rotted out on UK cars and not easy to replace. without so much work involved.

Well done !

Roy

[JTR70]

Thanks very much Roy! Just doing the very best that I can to copy what was once there. An original battery box floor anywhere in the world is an extreme rarity. Your car is a bit of a time capsule for sure and you've been a great custodian of it through all of these decades. Thanks once again! Justin

[JTR70]

New diagonal brace:
As the loose end tie-ups progressed I began test fitting the new diagonal brace to get some sense as to how much work was going to be involved before it actually fit.
It of course did not disappoint. The saddle relief was way oversized (left and right) and would require a bit of reshaping to get it all to fit together tightly. That saddle or trough width should match the one in the beam base and as you can see its almost twice the width. This is going to require a hammer form and bit of heat to get this all matched and mounted cleanly. That later access hole feature correct for a B/C application closed by this time.
I noticed that this corners leading edge was unfinished without a rolled shoulder like the original below it shows. I thought this was an oversight but my late original cross brace has the same shaped corner on the right side as well. This seems to coincide with that large knock-out hole I previously welded shut.
I had two very rough original examples on hand so I dug them out for direct comparison and as a guide.
During the comparisons I noticed that the repop part is made from 18 gauge steel where as the originals were stamped from a heavier 16 gauge equivalent. I was liking this new brace less and less. More later...

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

The more I handled and compared the repro brace with the originals the more it felt like engine tin to me and not something substantial enough for the job its intended to do. I was formulating my best plan to build one good solid brace from the two I had on hand.
The rusty brace is an A-version unit and the crashed but rust free brace is a later T5.
The crashed end has that large hole with and unrolled leading edge just like the reproduction has. The correct A version on this side survived being rusted out.
Back part of the brace are identical.
This little relief shape with the drain hole is a later feature which the repro brace also has. I was hoping to cut past this area using the A-version brace buts its too rusty in through here. Will just nip and tuck this feature out later.
Initial cuts and initial mock up. Cut just ahead of the beam utilizing the A-tips and the later base with lots of excess overlap for adjustment purposes as fitment goes. This was the best option to eliminate what was crashed or rusted out on each to create one good brace suitable for an A-car. Look how nice that saddle shape continues on through to the beam cap; no substitute for original parts.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[roy mawbey]

Justin that spare 356 A saddle looks fine and much stronger than the repro item. Again my saddle is still original but when I bought it, the area where the saddle connects to the floor had been used a lot by garages to put their trolly jack plate on to lift the front of the car. This was common I think and the marks from their trolley jack's are still there to see. But if the steel used on the saddle had been like that repro item, I don't think it would have lasted long as mine has for the past 67 years. Also the saddle is surely subjected to a lot of suspension forces and I reckon needs to be as strong as possible.

Interested to see the final repair you make on that saddle item.

Roy

[JTR70]

Sorry for the confusion Roy, this is the diagonal brace assembly. The saddle I was referring to is that recess shape the sway bar fits down into. Yes, you are so fortunate that you've never had to contend with reproduction structural components; nothing like the real thing. Justin

[JTR70]

Diagonal brace repairs continued:
This old bent brace was considered scrap several years go so it was hastily removed back then. Adding in a few MM of the back leading edge that was cut away with some strips of 16 gauge.
Back edge of the brace centered and set screwed into its best position first. Then telescoping the new ends out into the their best aligned position to the beam so I can etch in a final cut line.
Most critical that the saddle reliefs aligned across these two parts.
Final cut line was etched, excess removed and now both tips tack welded on working from the center outward.
Some residual deformation but will be chased out as welding continues from the center outward.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[roy mawbey]

Oh yes Justin thanks for advising the correct ' diagonal brace ' wording! I did not know the correct term for that. A good sensible decision indeed to fit your modified strong part !

Roy

[JTR70]

That was my fault Roy. Thanks again! Justin

[JTR70]

Weld repairs complete:
Both replacement ends fully welded and dressed. Took a little doing but eventually they bridged cleanly across these weld joints. Note the green primer on the brace, this was part of that factory replacement front frame clip that ended up being wrecked severely again in the distant past. The rear battery box wall is also from that same clip so after some repairs these two old components get second chance working together once again on another car in need.
Really lucked out to have the crushed and rusted out sections at opposite ends of these two braces allowing for the creation of one good usable part.
And most importantly the 356A specific tips in usable condition.
Underside of the brace and the blind spots inside this compartment thoroughly coated in sealer before it goes on for good.
Weld joint will be undetectable from both sides especially once its undercoated. Love this sealer BTW as it cures super hard and feels very much like powder coating.

[roy mawbey]

Justin I think you are a magician !!!

Roy

[JTR70]

Because I almost made the weld joints disappear Roy? LOL! Thanks! justin

[JTR70]

Diagonal brace install:
Once the sealer cured it was scuffed and coated with a top coat of semi-gloss black to ensure all the blind spot are the right color once the brace goes into position.
Brace remounted for the final time. Set screwed and clamped into its best adjusted position.
Once the ends were securely clamped it was onto tack welding the edges in prep for final seam weld as done originally.
Seam welds complete with the outer surface of the brace cleaned and ready for a sealer coat.
After much prep and repair the brace installation was finally completed. Surface cleaning continues for its coat of sealer.

Thanks for looking.

[JTR70]

Continued cleaning back to the front half of the floor. The trademark Simonsen red primer is nothing you want to rely on for serious rust protection. Its the cheapest stuff and is easily defeated with some lacquer thinner and a scotch brite pad. The inside surface of the floor is not nearly as critical as its not exposed to the elements but out here we want the most durable sealer surfacer we can get.

Outer surface of the brace in an initial sealer coat along with some of the front floor. Ran out of gas scrubbing that red primer off for now.
Another round sealer, a coat of black and finally undercoating coming up next.
Here is our final seam weld presentation and detail
Done up here for now. Onto the next deal

Thanks for looking.

Justin