1959 356A S/R coupe project chassis # 108625

[JTR70]

Took a little break from filing and shaping lead and went back to stitching in this long weld joint.
Back to hood fitment with a small adjustment needed. I ended up turning the plunger in a little more for a tighter latched position to engage the rubber seal a little more. Once I reset that and opened up the leaded gap back to 3mm+ to accommodate this change I lost my matched contour elevation with the fender in through this area.
Same issue over on the right side though this side of the hoods leading edge needs a little tapping upward so not as bad as it appears here.
Wasn't sure how I was going to get this area back in line. First thought was to cut the vertical flange in through the high area there then tap down and reweld. Later figured the best approach was to heat the base of the vertical flange then tap the high spot downward. This did two things, it saved more cutting and rewelding ceremony and this approach tightened up the gap slightly as the flange was heated and heeled over. In process of that here and was working as planned.
Heated, carefully tapped then checked and rechecked with the edge of the latched hood (with seal) as it went. Much improved in this shot with just a little ways more to go.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Finishing up those lost lines.
High spot of this shoulder tapped back level and in contour with the hoods edge. Cleaned and ready for a finishing coat of solder.
Soldered up the side and file shaving and shaping for a 3mm+ gap.
Basic gap with some room left for further improvement. What's most important here; I've got a latched hood with seal creating a level transition from the edge of the hood onto the body.
Repeating the same process on the right side. Fender side tapped down and the edge of the hood tapped upward where needed to meet in the middle somewhere.
Once it was close then it was onto paddling on the lead solder. In process here.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Finishing up the correction around this right side turn.
After a few passes I had enough solder applied then it was back onto shape filing.
By sessions end I had a decent roughed in gap that I could work with and refine further. Most importantly those troublesome shoulders now flow off the edge of the hood. Latched with seal installed.
As the leadwork progressed I jumped to the back corner to continue stitching this cut line back together. I had to exercise extreme patience through here and hold the welding to only a quick tack weld as I jumped to the opposite side while the previous area cooled. I really wanted to just lay down a bead and get it done but I had to keep heat warpage to a minimum. I have access to the back to work and planish this joint which is why this line was chosen but its limited access so I couldn't get crazy.
It paid off in the end with minimal warpage across this joint. Repeating on the right side soon.
Ready to go back and finish up the bumper modifications and final fitment to the car.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[Scott B]

Justin this coming along nicely. It’s tough pulling it all together. You are within striking distance. Is this a Trevor Hammerworks nose? I found the crown on the drivers fender by the headlight was high by about 3/8ths.

[JTR70]

Thanks a lot Scott! yes, it is a Trevor's nose and I am not surprised that there was a discrepancy or two when you began fitting yours. They are hand made so modifications to get them to fit right on a specific car is a given. I'd be more shocked if it slipped right into place out of the box....Something must be wrong here...

[roy mawbey]

Justin, some time since i posted a reply. Not intentional just occupied with some health issues which seem now to be working out okay so far. Your recent wok getting those gaps so nice to look at is amazing. So good to look at Justin. I did a fair amount of leading year years ago and I remember the fact I was so pleased with the results which have lasted over 45 years and never shrunk or moved. The results you are getting are really good and a good idea to have fitted the rubber hood seal and engaged the bonnet lock too.

Keep up this super work !

Roy

[JTR70]

Hey Roy, Really sorry to hear that. I hope you're on the mend and that the prognosis is good. I'll send you a PM. Yes the lead remains very stable over time doesn't it. I prefer using as the base then chasing out any remaining irregularities with a little plastic filler. Thanks once again Roy!

[JTR70]

Final front bumper work:
This hastily remounted bracket is just out of adjustment range of the slotted hole in the bumper iron with the bumper spaced and mounted where I need it. Cutting it free to move it over into range and reattach it cleanly.
Good thing I did this nut was being held on with only a portion of this tack weld securing it. Cleaning all the old welds next and hammering out some of the old residual damage.
As that went I also finished out the center joint weld, both sides. Prepping for a skim coat of lead solder next.
Solder applied and ready for file shaping.
Filed down into basic shape. There remains some low spots and irregularities but I'll take it the rest of the way with a little plastic filler.
Thanks for looking.
Justin

[JTR70]

Bumper work continued:
Moved out to both corners and soldered up the remaining weld scars and irregularities from the previous hole readjustment.
Bumper remounted and almost in its best position here as the right side needs to come up a touch. Its remounted to locate the final needed position of the bumper mount I just removed.
With each repeated install the bumper falls into the needed position a little easier.
Closing in on my best average reveal width between the body and bumper.
With the bumper set I can now I can dial in this inner mount bracket to center in the slotted hole of the bumper iron. It may not be needed but it just gives us more future adjustment options.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Put in a proper capture nut this time around but first a quick bath in acid to get take care of this residual rust.
Repositioning so it ends up at center of the slotted hole in the iron.
Installed and plug welded from the outside this time for a more original looking attachment.
Had to disturb a little of the previous bodywork performed by someone else but no choice.
Bumper reassembled and mocked up one more time to confirm the fitment. Thankfully its improving with each try.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Ready to punch the final holes for the strut tubes.
Some additional fine adjustments as this continues but the bumper is 95% fitted to this cars new nose. I'm confident enough to commit to the final diameter and placement of the strut tubes holes. I kept these pilot holes small for final hole size offset options to keep the tubes exiting out at center as closely as possible as fitting and adjustment went.
The knockout punch die I have on hand is a couple thousands smaller than the original but the rubber seal should squeeze in there with no problem.
Ready to begin cutting. The drawing bolt was too long and the chassis was interfering with it. Fortunately my smaller punch collar stood in as a nice spacer and used up the excess length that was causing the issue. Its always something...
Holes punched and bumper remounted once again. Tubes at least for now are at near center. By the way these end up mounting at two different angles, downward and inward as they go through the holes so anything near center of the hole is a win.
Again, there is still some fine adjustment to come but the tubes are exiting out of the holes as close to center as I could hope for. At least they are at this point. Note the fender brace runners in shadow in the horn grill openings both running as symmetrical side to side as closely as possible. This was not by accident a lot of obsessing and planning as this whole front end has gone back together.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Overall front end confirmation:
The final location of the holes was dictated completely by the mounted and set strut tubes; the only concern was they exit at center as close as possible. After all the smoke cleared this direct comparison with a factory punched hole was best confirmation I could have wished for.
Flipped over to confirm the left side. This now confirmed the overall picture that entire nose itself is in just about the right spot to allow all these other features to align.
This side of the battery box is all new but the tubes mounted position exits at center in a now confirmed factory location.
This side of it is original with the same result. There is very little in the way of adjustment with these tubes so if the horn grille openings where too low or too high the final needed hole position would have much further off to compensate.
I slept so much better knowing that the headlight and grill openings are as close to original position as I could have hoped for and that the choice to cut the nose free from its trough to lower the nose down a few MM more was the right choice. Final mock up here before moving onto breaking the bumper down again for its final body work.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Bumper body work
Chased this as far as I can for now. Time to dismount the bumper again pull it apart and finish up the surface of it.
Back to a bare bumper. Wire wheeled the disturbed areas back a little further in prep for lead solder.
tapping and spooning out the obvious low spots and dings before lead.
Onto applying the lead.
Filed and leveled out about as far as its going to go.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[JTR70]

Front bumper work continued:
Wire wheeling the previous bodywork back a little further. The thickness was at a totally acceptable level but the problem I was finding was the flash rusting forming underneath it. This is why I never go body filler straight to bare metal. You have to have a primer barrier between them. When the filler is wet sanded during the shaping process it soaks up the moisture and it eventually makes it way to the steel waking up any microscopic traces of rust left behind. Especially if your dealing with old pitted original metal which this bumper is.
I ended up cleaning most of the middle portion of the bumper back to bare metal.
Sanding back the flash rust and also hammering up the low spots just a little closer.
Not much detail prep performed to the underside. Lots of old rust and paint scale left behind.
The bond between these two layers of gray sealer wasn't as tough as I'd like. The dark could be chipped off of the previous lighter gray a little easier than I feel comfortable with. Especially for a front bumpers' surface that bears the brunt of road debris.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

[Scott B]

What a crazy amount of angles and shapes to contend with. Determining the position of the hole on the front took some work to get it right - with one shot at it. You can breathe a little easier now. Really nicely Executed with so many pieces and angles to get right all shaking hands together. Another battle won!!!

[JTR70]

Thanks a lot for that comment Scott. I know with all that you've been through with your project that you can appreciate fully what has gone into getting all these parts to come together to create some sort of a symmetrical picture when its all over. Appreciate it! Justin

[JTR70]

Right bucket reinstallation:

Picked and filed the top of the weld joint at the fender to nose to a point where I now longer needed direct access to the backside of the joint through the headlight opening. Now the bucket could be installed.
Slowly working the bucket down into position. The fitment got a little tight and resistant at this point but a block wood with some firm but not too firm taps kept the progress going. This was the first time fitting it in there BTW its too hard on the bucket and the nose itself for repeated test fit pounding. The mounted edge or lip of the bucket can deform as well as the skin surface around it. One way or the other it was going in for good this time around.
Fortunately on this one it eventually cooperated and seated fully. Now onto dialing in the needed clearance gap for the bucket seal plus a faction extra for the eventual paint and material thickness.
Adding a set screw at time as the needed gap was forming. Due to some residual crash damage the headlamp trim ring would not seat around the bucket lip at first; way too tight. After some careful light taps with the a hammer around the bottom this lip it eventually slipped over with a firm positive fit.
Trim ring finally seated snuggly around the lip with the seal installed.
The 4 o'clock section here started out being the tightest area as the fitment began but eventually got a good spacing locked in as the set screws were added around the perimeter.

[JTR70]

Before I committed to the first plug weld I stuck some spacers in that tighter area to make sure it didn't close back up on me.
Prepping the conduit for installation now that the bucket is set. Cutting the horn mount free here and like the rest of the brace it will be repositioned and built to suit.
Conduit installed and dialing in the best adjusted position for the horn mount. Mock up with the stand-off here then eventually a horn to make sure it clears and sits as close to center in horn grill opening.
As I referred back to my original example a profile discrepancy in the conduit caught my attention. The original shows a much shorter and tighter radius in the 90 degree turn leaving more of a "neck" as it makes its way up to the bottom of the bucket.
The provided conduit has a softer longer sweep which almost ends at the base of the bucket. Not the end of the world but the more I looked at my original reference the more it bugged me as it no longer looked right in there. Conduit redo next.

Thanks for looking.

Justin