1964 Bali Blue SC Coupe Restoration Project

[Red911]

Thanks Roy, I will keep plugging away. The members of this board will not let me down.

I am waiting for some door hinge 1 mm spacers from Stoddard, I decided to remove the fuel tank.






Kind of rusty, but okay to salvage. POR 15 will be fine for the bottom. However, the hemp seat for the gas tank is a wick for moisture and will start rust quickly. The car is 54 years old and this is probably the first time the tank was out.

Definitely considering the e coating both inside and outside.

Tom

[Red911]

Hello all,

In Drew's thread, I posted about a DVD entitled Bodywork Restoration Tutorial that I purchased from David Garniner who lives in Great Britain.

His website is Metalshapingzone.com.

I just viewed it again and I strongly recommend purchasing it for the low to medium skilled restorer, like me.

Tom

[Red911]

Door fitting:

Hello all,

Reading Ron Roland's book Restored By Hand, the doors are the place to start.

My passenger door has been posted before. Now is the time to get going on it.

Note, Justin's site has given me more confidence, so thanks for the confidence building. My '64 will not be a concours winner, but will be sturdy and drive able.

The passenger door and front fender have a hit right at the gap between the back of the front fender and the door. If you look at many of my previous posts, you can see the two deep dents in the front of the door skin.
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To be sure the front fender and the door match the 356's side curves that make it so beautiful, I made a template from the driver's door.

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The side view is not pretty as the closing panel is bent from the impact. I tried to move the back of the front fender to match the door curve and bring the fender up to the template.

Unfortunately, now the door hits the front fender. I studied the front fender and determined that the fender was not hit from a forward crash, so now I have to make the door and fender cooperate.

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[Red911]

Hello all,

To get the lay of the land, I drew Sharpie lines on the fender and the door. The vertical line just left of the amber running light is the "home" location of the wooden template. However, the template is fine moved all over the door and fender.

The gaps on the rear of the door and rear quarter panel are great at 4 mm, so all the adjustments need to be in the front of the door and rear of the front fender.

The legend:

• Door and Window :
  • "Ok" and the vertical line means the wooden template is good up to that point.
  • The number are the mm's measured at the gap. For example the second line the 10 mm is the measured difference off a relative line that the door skin should come up. The 3 on the fender is how much the fender needs to come up to match the template.

The Sharpie line on the rear of the fender next to the gap is where the cardboard template of the driver's door overlays the passenger fender. In other words, where the fender gap needs to be moved




To get in back of the fender to slap the dents on the fender and to "unwrap" the closing panel that attaches to the front fender, I cut the spot welds and cut off about three inches of the closing panel. I was able to open the fender flanges where the closing panel is married to the fender.

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[Red911]

Hello all,

After opening up the fender flange where the closing panel is spot welded in, I used a Vice Grip and wide chisel to tap the fender opening forward with the help of the standard hot knife torch lapping on the fender.



Here is the chisel I used.



So, now I need some guidance on next steps. My plan is as follows:

1. Order fender patch panel (Zim's) and closing panel (Restoration Design's 18 gauge for more "beef). I may try to save the fender however. Stay tuned about that. The driver's side fender near the door is very rusty, so I will order that part anyway. I may be able to use templates off the driver's side for the passenger side, as the existing fender is still 95% solid. However, the closing panel is shot and the RD piece will be ordered anyway. Can I replace the closing panels on both sides and the bottom of the front part of the rocker with the tapered drain without cutting off the fender?

2. Cleco the fender patch panel on to see the curves that the door needs to follow, or use the driver's side template. This will tell me the contour of the door bottom and front. I have a Stoddard door bottom. Previously, I purchased a RD door bottom patch, but the last six inches needed to be flanged. The RD metal is 18 gauge, so tough to do, therefore, Stoddard purchased.

3. Using the rocker step (outside 1/2" of the rocker) I can match the door skin bottom for my gap. The rear door gap is 4 mm from top to bottom. I can install the (RD) door bottom and the Stoddard door skin bottom patch and get the gaps I need.

Any guidance you can provide.

Thanks, Tom

[JTR70]

So glad this Site has helped Tom, we all help each other along. Ron is absolutely correct the doors are the place to start but that holds true for the decklid and the hood as well. As none of us posses factory jigs we have to build these bodies from the closing panels outward to have any shot of success. Since the closing panel (door in this case) is your base I highly recommend completely finishing all your metal repairs to it first. It has to be "what its going to be" in shape and contour first then mount and adjust it to the car. After that add in your new rocker and forward fender repair to match the fully metal finished and adjusted door. Much less heartache and frustration and required filler in the end than doing it the opposite way. Don't get too caught up in making both sides contour equally. As Bruce has said, you can only see one side at a time. They just have to be close, the important thing is that the lines and body flows smoothly down the side you're looking at.

Here's my example of building out from an established closing panel.


Nothing to hang my hat on other than a hinged door.


Rocker first then continuing the line off the door.


Just build outward from the adjusted and latched closing panels. HTH & I hope these damn photos show...

Justin

[Red911]

Thanks Justin, for both hosting your site and second for the calm, professional help you provide.

After looking at your build out, I feel luck that I still have fenders and a top. I could not build what you build.

That being said, at age 72, I am having fun banging and worrying about what I will do next. I used to wake up worried about the normal large company issues like competition, personnel and keeping current. Now I wake up worrying about how to weld a door skin on. I love it. And I love the support I receive here.

Tom

[John Pierce]

Tom, I would repair your door first before moving onto the fender and closing panel. You can then use it to accurately obtain the curve and gaps of the fender. It's easier to cut out the offending portion of the fender before installing the closing panel. My 2 cents: I really dislike the RD metal as it is too thick and galvanized, which leads to toxic fumes and splattering when welding. Simonsen has nice panels.

Lots of work to do, but just take it one step at a time.

Cheers,

John

[Red911]

Thanks John for your sage advice. I will finish the door first.

The door needs a bottom and the lower door skin, as well as fixing the bumps and bruises from the PO.

I have ordered the Simonsen front fender patches. I will use that to rough in the front part of the door and the existing rocker panel for my bottom gap.

Today, I continued to work on the door and it fits better and better each time it goes on.

Stay tuned.

Tom

[merbesfield]

[Red911]

Hi Mark,

I will take some photos tomorrow as I just received the front fender pieces from Zim's yesterday. They are ample, as the photos will show.

I bought these for the door profile between the front part of the doors and the back part of the front fenders. I did see what John Pierce recommended.

Also, here is the stud puller I use. It has much more control then a slide hammer.

Tom

[Red911]

Hello all,

As part of my door restoration, a few years ago I had both doors dipped. I found out that Bubba had replaced the OEM door opening wire with a copper strand wire with a loop at the end.

Well, after the door sat for a few years (sometimes life gets in the way), the wire was rusted and stuck inside the tube from the handle to the door latch.

I pushed and pulled, used WD-40 as a lubricant to no avail. The copper wire would not come out.

I broke the three welds that held the old stuffed up tube with a small chisel, got some brake line and bent it following the old tube route, welded tabs on the newly painted tube and plug welded it inside the door.





Tom

[Red911]

Hello all,

I reached the point of no return today. I cut off the rear of the driver's front fender so I can mount the Zim's fender. The driver's door fits well already and the gaps are good. This is preparation of the passenger side door and Zim's front fender repair panel.






Note the junk removed from the inside. Bubba followed Ron Roland's recommendation to fill up the top of the closing panel a half tube of seam sealer.


Now, I will need all of your help and encouragement. I have done a FV (fiberglass), 67 chevy racecar tow truck, VW Scirocco, '66 911 and '67 911. I have never been as challenged as I am with this '64 356.

I have decided to stop reading books, watching YouTube videos and reading every word on Justin's board, It is time to move forward. Wish me luck.

Tom

[Red911]

Hello all,

My next job is to fix the rust on the closing panel and other panels within the driver's side front fender.

I used the orange paint remover to loosen the tar on the inside. That was a very slow process and I switched to the hot knife, or MAP gas tank to heat up and scrape out the tar.

We must really love this hobby to scrape this tar up restoration after restoration!

The "death wheel" pictured is loud but effective to get the tar off.

I can get away with welding in one half of the closing panel.

Tom

[John Pierce]

Lots of dirty work. You're doing it correctly: repairing the doorwell and closing panel first. Great job.

[Red911]

Thank you John.

[Red911]

Hello all,

I wanted to see how much damage the car received on the passenger side accident that I have documented well in the past, so I used the orange paint remover to get it down so I could clean up the fender.

Here is the first layer attempt.


Down to the bondo that Bubba put on. No great accident report yet.



Using the Eastwood green fingered wheel, I took the fender down to the steel. What I found was the passenger fender bulged out in the middle.



The driver's front fender, along with the door and rear quarter panel was a smooth, sexy and smooth transition from the front of the driver's side fender, through the door into the rear quarter panel. I used strings across the three panels to show the gradual lines. Therefore on the passenger side front fender, where the accident happened, I will try to shrink the fender back gradually to take the bulge out of the fender. This will make the fitting of the door panel more precise.



For the driver's side, I have ordered the bottom half closing panel and will start by fitting and welding that in. As shown below, there has been much rust worm, so lots of fitting and welding to make the fender section fit and keep the proper gaps and lines.



Still plugging along with the group's help.

Tom