1958 356 A/1600 Coupe Project, Austin, TX

[MarvinsPorsche]

Beginning work on building a driver out of my Dad's 1958 356 A. Its taken me a year to get the car from a friend of my Dad's that was keeping it for him about 60 miles south of Austin, TX (where I live) but its now in my garage. Going to get started on removing tar paper and tar from the inside. My good friend on here John Brooks gave me some good advice to start by using a scraper and heat gun to remove the paper, then an angle grinder as needed before making any necessary repairs to the floor. Any tricks of the trade so to speak to removing the tar paper and tar would be appreciated. Like I said John has given me good direction and this is my plan for removal but wanted to see if anyone had any other thoughts.

[JTR70]

Hey Marvin, Thanks for sharing your build here. My car is from my Father as well so I understand your passion for this car. When stripping the old paper out you'll either want one extreme or the other. If the paper and tar are really cold then it will chip away very manageably with a narrow scraper and hammer. On the other hand if you want to try and preserve the paper for a later reinstall you'll need to heat it with a gun or a map-gas torch from the backside of the panel if accessible. It takes a lot of time and patience but knowing what I do now I try and preserve as much of the original paper as possible. The repro kits are very expensive for being what they are and while some are close there is no substitute for the real deal. But again, it depends on what your final goals are with this restoration. Best of luck with it and we look forward to your progress updates.

Justin

[MarvinsPorsche]

Justin - BTW I'm Mark. Dad's name was Marvin and we still refer to it as "Marvin's Porsche" in the family!

[MarvinsPorsche]

Floor work to date on driver's side.

[JTR70]

Hey Mark, Just saw John's post on the Registry and realized this was the same car under that tarp in the back yard?!? This car looks to be in surprisingly good condition considering the way its been stored. Tarps usually work like a hot house and the rust just goes nuts under there.

[MarvinsPorsche]

That's the one Justin!

[MarvinsPorsche]

Progress photos from my brush work on the floor pan, longitudinals, and shifter tunnel.

[Jbrooks]

I am helping Mark long distance with his tub. Its better than I expected. this is his first attempt at a resurrection, so everyone feel free to chime in and help him. He is in Austin Tx., He's a good guy, if anyone is close give him a call. He can always use the help.

[MarvinsPorsche]

John - thank you! To everyone else - John is a great resource if you need help. He's mentoring me long distance and knows his stuff. Great guy.

[roy mawbey]

Mark, like you I have been through the restoration process on my 59 A coupe. but I started on it though now 54 years ago, Since then a lot has changed on equipment and methods . In my opinion your best resource is any one of Justins restorations. His way of doing it and the really helpful photo;s following each stage should be carefully studied. I only had oxy/acetelene welding gear in the early 70's when I did most of my welding so many choices now and after trying a Mig a few years ago, it would have been so useful back then. Its the same with so many tools, they are so important to have nearby. Look at each area to see if its problem is replicated on the forum. If you are replacing metal always make good templates, make sure you have accurate dimensions of the existing part. Justin always has another car to make comparisions with and don't trust that replica parts you buy will always just slot into place. I guess your 58 car is a T2 version like mine? There were 356A changes frrm the early T1 to the later T2.

My car was only 10 years old when I bought it, even then it had rust as its a wet area UK delivered car and when I started, I thought 6 months should see it finished. As you no doubt already know, these time factors never usually work out like you think, months turn into years if only you are doing it. But it is very satisfying to see it gradually take shape and you be very pleased, if you make a good job of it.

If you can smile when busy on it that helps too.

Best of luck

Roy

[MarvinsPorsche]

Roy - Thank you for the feedback and advice. I really appreciate the help I've received on here. It does take a lot of time and patience. I'm determined though and think about my Dad while working on it so I'll slowly get there.