1959 356A S/R coupe project chassis # 108625

[JTR70]

This is a full on 356BT5 tail skin factory installed on this late 356AT2.

Took a hard detailed look as to why this factory T2 rear bumper was so oversized in its fitment against this particular tail. Again, the example 356AT1 does swing wider at its corners but not to this degree.
The embossment for the coming T5 reverse light is the obvious "transitional" detail but there is more to it as this rear bumper issue began to highlight.
Again, after taking a really hard look at it I finally noticed the detent markings for the eventual T5 reflector bases above the tail light; both sides.
Then there are these later drain holes in the corners. Definitely an evolutionary thing.
Confirmation against this loose T1 tail section with the typical teardrop update from way back in the day. The tail is relaxed of course but it still fills up and sits well into the profile shape of this bumper. So the problem isn't with this rear bumper.
By contrast this tails' profile tapers and narrows much quicker; its different. You could easily assume this was just an A rear tail with a simple embossment add on change to the middle but coming to find out that the entire tail section is subtly different. The bumper is 356A and this entire tail is 356B. It was beginning to make sense as to why the fit was so off. More on this next...

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Rear bumper to body reveal and contour issues.

Shortly after sending the mock up shots in the previous posts to the owner, I was made aware that the reveal and the general contour shape at the corners were too wide and unsatisfactory. I really didn't question it at first as the bumper is original with no previous collision damage and the tail skin also being original though with minor damage retains its general overall factory contoured shape.
It does swing big and wide at the corners.
Both sides...
but so does this bumper though not quite as accentuated. This is an original undamaged AT1 bumper mounted with original irons against an original AT1 tail skin. This seems to be just a general production fit and they tend to swing a little wide at the corners. We discussed all this and while this may have been the way they came to varying degrees he felt that fitment on this car was too poor and would be seen as an obvious shortcoming to its final presentation.
I unbolted the bumper set in a box and pushed it over to the left side to create this much tighter uniformed reveal with an improved overall contour shape against the tail. This pleased us both immediately.
By contrast this is where the left side ended up to create that tight and uniform shape on the other side. This is going to require a good bit of alteration to the bumper to achieve the fit we're after against this body.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

More rear bumper component confirmation fitment:
Crawled under the car to add the exhuast funnels to confirm ample clearance with the body's lower skirt. Left side clear...
and all clear on the right side as well.
All the while keeping the struts centered through the holes.
Left side good to go.
Lastly, the reveal around the body spaced out to its best average fit. The center could stand to come out a touch more to catch up with the sides but at this point the bumper is pulled out as far as it would go. Any further and the struts would no longer reach without modification so the factory parameters were now coming into play.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Strut tube work:
A heavy bar with my floor jack made for the most straight forward and easy correction on those curled over tabs. Only a matter of dialing in the mounting surface at just the right height so the tube would exit out of the hole at center.
As the test fitting moved over to the left side I realized that I had been supplied with two right hand units.
Quickest solution so I could keep going was to cut off an end and flip it over for a left hand application.
Modified tube tack welded and in for a confirmation fit. Mounting tab at just the right level for the tube to exist out in the center. Ready to weld it back up.
With that I had every bumper related component mounted and fitting together as best as I was hoping for at this stage.

[JTR70]

Bumper Iron finishing After several sounds of heat and readjustments to both halves I finally had the needed approach angle along with the eyelet alignment I was after.
Repeat left side...
Towards the end of this sides' process I ended up with about the same issue as I did on the right side; oh well at least I was consistent. Onto another round of give and take from both halves to get this issue smoothed out.
First full bumper mock up with fully bolted up irons and chrome trim.
Begin introducing the strut tubes for further fitment and locating confirmation. A little more residual old crash damage discovered as the mounting tabs have been bent downward.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Bumper iron sculpting:
A brief and small window into what turned out to be a constant repeated process of shaping these irons to not only fit into the bumper mounts flush but also allowing for maximum adjustment at the eyelets while holding the bumper centered with the desired reveal away from the tail and at the right pitch.
Above shots are just two examples of what turned out to be many, many holding jig configurations then onto heat so these heavy pieces of steel could manipulated closer with each try into the needed shape and length whare needed.
Eventually got a flush fit into the bumper mounts but as you can see that was only a start. The ends are cockeyed and need some twist at the tips so they'll run parallel from side to side with one another. The eyelets on the frame side of this mount are nearly even at this point....
but once the ends were heeled over to meet the pitch that is needed for a flush fit against the chassis the tail length and eyelet alignment went completely out the window. The eyelets on the bumper side are also bottomed out against each other locking out any lateral adjustments options that may be needed... back to the drawing board.
With the pitch set and the ends brought back to open and even the end on this irons' eyelet was way out of range. This would require another round of give and take from both halves to dial all of this in to where it was needed. Again, this was just one example in a long series of repeated adjustments and mock ups to get these to fit properly. After it was decided that the bumper needed to be modified this process began again... all of that a bit later.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Rear bumper trial fitment:
Irons on both sides mounted for the first time.
First test fit. Notice how wide this bumper swings away at the corners. I didn't realize it yet but this would be the beginnings of another in depth detour/ learning experience.
Tilts upward a touch but again this was just the jumping off point.
Could only get one bolt started on each side but it was someplace to start.

Lots of reshaping and incremental adjustments to come.

[JTR70]

Thanks a lot Roy. We were expecting the rear bumper to go even quicker but as it turned out it became more of an in depth dive than I could of imagined. Will be posting that up here shortly. J.

[roy mawbey]

Justin the front bumper looks great now and the back one should turn out well for you. A lot of work though on those bumpers. As I have said many times lucky my car had bumpers in good condition when I bought my car 56 years ago. So they are still okay now

Roy

[JTR70]

Minor residual crash damage:
Bottom skirt needs a little ironing out. The back end of this car has never been hit hard but it was nerfed at some point causing some minor damage to the skin
and to the corners of the chassis at the bumper mounts. The forward hole has been stretched outward from the impact.
Eventually got it pounded back into shape using this square stock clamped into position as a bucking board.
Corner of the chassis all squared back up with the new bumper irons fully bolted down for the first time.
Similar damage on the left corner but a little lighter. Repeated the process on this side. Notice the upper strut tube mounting tabs have been pushed downward as well. Easy fixes thankfully.

[JTR70]

Begin rear bumper fitment
Original bumper (not to this car) and a new reproduction bumper iron set.
All the threads had to be chased first.
Initial mock up.
A bit of shaping and rebending before these fit to the bumper much less the car itself but its a starting point.
Turned the car around and dismounting my rotisserie rig to prep the car for its new rear bumper.

[JTR70]

Last mock up
Now onto the rear bumpers' final fitment.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Finishing up the front bumper.
Trying out this HD industrial epoxy sealer system I got from a buddy of mine. Its recommended for heavy equipment exposed to the elements. Once I confirmed that my tops coats where compatible with it we bought this system. The sealer is off white and the activator is the green stuff. Both are very high solids and mix very much like JB weld. Its direct to metal and can be brushed on or thinned for a spray gun. Mixed it will yield over two gallons. The entire underside of the body will be sealed out in this coating. Probably overkill for the life this car lead but added durability will be nice for peace of mind.
Mixed a cup of it straight with no thinner and brushed a heavy coat of it on to fill in my lead divots and other obvious imperfections. Once it cured it was block sanded level and is ready here for another overall coat of it thinned for a spray out with my gun.
Second coat of sealer was applied then followed up with these thin swatches of putty to catch the last of the rough imperfections.
Putty was blocked then sealed again then a work coat of white enamel was applied. Still some rollers to take out but this was as far as I needed to chase it. The body shop can take it the rest of the way. Reassembled a with all the trim for one final mock up.
Then one last test fit to the car itself just to make sure there was no surprises for the owner or the body shop.

[JTR70]

Finishing up the front bumper prep:
New capture nut tacked and indexed over where needed.
Now both sides are more centered in the eyelets allowing for any needed lateral adjustments with the front end.
Now onto cleaning the underside of the remaining old paint scale and rust.
A bit of work eventually got the entire underside clean along with the in and around areas of the mounts. While cleaning I noticed that one side of this blade was completely different color as the other half once I got past the top coat of primer. It became clear that this was two dead bumpers mated together to make one. No wonder the profile shapes were off side to side in the beginning.
One more full mock up with the car. Best adjusted position with a good consistent reveal all the way across. First test passed. Now for the second; adding in the jewelry for its final test fitment.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Hey Roy, Thank you hope all is well with you! Yes, all these little repairs can side track things a bit but in the end it all has to be addressed eventually. Thanks! Justin