Chassis 85517 Number 17 356 Convertible D

[JTR70]

Dash body work phase:
Begin swatching over the obvious low spots and imperfections.
First full sealer and work coat applied.
Next round of blocking to highlight the low spots which where everywhere.
Next round of swatching and block sanding including the entire lower flange run. These are thin veneers as the dash overall was pretty good but its just wavy from being manhandled through the years.
Next round. closer still but not quite yet.

[JTR70]

dash body work continued:
Last little stumbling block was the embossed hole for the manual throttle pull cable. It had been slightly bent inward and off to one side.
Not by much but enough to disrupt the reflection to where I could not leave it. I couldn't just back fill around it otherwise I'd wash out the relief shape. Couldn't hit it back out with a hammer as I'd probably make more of a mess out of it than I started with. I had to both support and preserve that raised shoulder as I tapped on it.
After some rummaging around my shop for ideas I settled on using my smallest knock-out die punches. Its a standard size but it was close enough to the shoulder size to work. I turned the cutting edge around so it only supported and reinforced the shape as I snugged the bolt...not too tight though. Once snug I tapped on the die both from the back and on one side to bring it back up and level as close as possible.
That turned the trick. Not perfect but close enough to get away with it.
Dash body work phase complete. Chased it about as far as I can. Another round of sealer then a light sand and the final color coats next.

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[JTR70]

Dash face into final paint:

Too much drama to paint this area in one shot along with the rest of the body so now was the time to knock it out.
Especially trying to ensure good even coverage along this bottom flange and backside lip. You'd have to lean in way in there all the while trying not to touch the wet rockers and door thresholds with the air hose or yourself; no thanks
Highlighting the newly repaired column mount area.
Once the dash cured I went ahead and blacked out the areas with overspray along with the column support so I could go ahead and remount the steering column assembly for my final time.
Column installed so I have the luxury once again of steering this thing. All this will of course come back apart once again to remove the tape and reinstall the harness etc but not by me.

[JTR70]

Clean column clamp to dash fitment we were looking for.
A quick glimpse of the color combination . It definitely has grown on me....
Area completely back masked and back to getting the rest of the body ready for the booth.

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[roy mawbey]

Super Justin looking good. The colour combination does go well. I think that as well as my Meissen / Red really
look 50's period. I of course remember the 50's quite well most of the normal cars driving around London were black and brown upholstery. Meissen/ Red or the one you are working on would have looked really different and modern back then. Around 57 or 58 I saw a new 356 in light green outside AFN the London Porsche agent. It looked so unbelievably almost out of this world. No wonder that image stuck with me till the 60's till I bought one!
Roy

[JTR70]

Thanks Roy, I was telling my buddy the exact same thing, this Drauz version of Meissen blue leans heavily green/ turquoise and truly has that 50's vibe to it.

[JTR70]

prepping body for the booth
As with the dash face I pre-painting the headlight buckets ahead of the body. I want uniform coverage with no runs in there so I'm giving them my full attention now. I hate painting these things anyway as they deflect the paint right back at you so I'm glad to get these done now. Final body painting day just a little more simpler.
Hood mocked up one more time to be absolutely certain before the final spray.
Final light block sand across the gaps.

Buckets carefully masked and taped off and ready for a final base coat of color.

Final base coat applied. All set no more detectable blemishes.

[JTR70]

This coat is my insurance policy to find any remaining blemishes that I don't want to find on final paint day. What I was looking for in through here was any remaining saw marks from all the previous rounds of block sands. No issues there.
Front end group good to go.
Moved down the left side one more time to check in and around the door opening.
had a few nagging issues with the door transition over the top to the body so this was a final top coat after several rounds of reworking that area.
Still a few flaws down on the lower rocker's edge to deal with but closing in on it.

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[roy mawbey]

Justin,

Just remind me are you doing the final paint coat in your workshop or elsewhere? Or is it being done by a separate company. Also I remember a while back you were looking for the best Meissen blue paint supplier who did you choose? Sorry if I missed something there! Your preparation looks amazing if only I had paid more attention to that the last time I sprayed mine with the hired spray kit I used in my garage! Its the small areas you can so easily miss on the prep.
Your effort makes me want to do mine again but I am not going to! I sort of expect now after over 30 years since I last did it, some deterioration and actually it has proved to me, the area's I welded and then leaded, on the first full bodywork I did on my car in 1976 now 44 years ago, have lasted really well but, the good quality normal plastic filler I used in places in 1989 has seemed to have shrunk a little after 30 years or so, even though I lightly applied it. Of course I used cellulose on both re-sprays maybe, the 2 pack new type paints don't have that effect so much?

Also, your gaps look better than factory and certainly closer than mine ! Do you think Justin in the 51 years I have had my car the box sections move slightly they are not rusty but do things settle over time? Yours look so even all round that bonnet lid !

Roy

[JTR70]

Hi Roy, I'll be renting a spray booth from a body shop around the corner for a night. I could shoot it myself but the same guy who sprayed my car is available so I'm inclined to let him shoot it to keep my stress level low. I bought the paint from my local suppler which custom matched and mixed it right there in house. Single stage paint is very limited these days as most everything is two stage so only one line was offered there. This hood has messed with me since day one and it isn't perfect but its at a level that I can live with. No, the last thing in the world you'd want to do now is to tear your car apart. I'd trade perfect paint and gaps any day of the week for a car that I could get in, drive and enjoy. Thanks again Roy!
Justin

[JTR70]

Left side final finishing:
Final base color/tracer coat before final paint.
had some last minute issues with the door to body transition on the upper profile. last work coat here and one more round of sanding.
Door is coming off for the final time and addressing the door jamb details.
final finishing on all the reveal areas and leading edges.

Same with the threshold and striker; all the edges and reveal surfaces . Also cleaning up the torsion hole shoulder of excess paint thickness.

[JTR70]

Left jamb detail work complete:
Final tracer coat with no need to chase it further.
All edge and shape reliefs at a level I can live with.
Finally chased out the last of nicks and other shape issues on these reveal profiles.
One last sand after this cures fully and its off to final paint.
The to do list is really getting small body wise so I'm Beginning the gas tank restoration in between cure times.

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[Scott B]

Justin - fantastic work and attention to detail. I love your patience and control and not rushing near the end - no “summit fever” with your work. Scott

[JTR70]

Thanks a lot Scott! My biggest fear at this point is getting it all painted up only to discover some small flaw or flaws I overlooked because I rushed. As much as I need this done now, that keeps me from racing for the finish...

[JTR70]

Gas tank prep:
The original tank to this car is actually very nice. The liner is intact with surface rust. Just some old shellac at the very bottom.
Outside bottom shows just as clean and nice.
Did find tow small pin holes on the vertical rear wall but as you can see it has rust from the outside inward from something holding moisture against it many years ago. If it had to rust out this is the version you want to find.
Removed the last of the original paint. Amazing that the factory used no primer, the tanks went straight into paint much like an old radiator. It will be epoxy sealed this time around.
But before that I went ahead and soldered up the two pin holes on this back wall.

[JTR70]

Final cleaning before primer:
Filed and finished out the solder repairs so I could begin cleaning it up for primer.
Scrubbing the surface with soapy water and scotch-brite pad.
While I was at it I cleaned up as much of that old shellac as I could.
Clean and bright . Ready to mask off the openings.

Epoxy primer next...

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[JTR70]

Sealer and some body work:

good coat of DP 40

All the way around
Once it cured it was onto smoothing out some small dings on the surfaces that will show.
Of course I found more as it went.
Pretty much got all the ones that stood out. Not going for perfection just a nice presentation. Another round of epoxy then a test coat.

[JTR70]

Satin black test coat:
First test coat to see what I had.
I'm good with this version. Not too flat and not too shiny...
Back to blocking sanding.
and finishing out the remaining flaws that I needed to chase.
Straightening and cleaning up the OG straps next.

Thanks for looking!
Justin