The Resurrection of Foam Car - 63 T6B

[Phil Planck]

Remember that bear that busted up my bird feeder. I put a trail cam up and just pulled the SD card out tonight. One big old raccoon is climbing up every night, but on June 9, 11:10 PM he got caught by the camera. I would say about 2 1/2 feet tall, so probably last years evicted cub now out on his own as mama tends to this years brood. Fortunately there must have been enough crumbs on the ground to satisfy him/here.

[bbspdstr]

Phil, I took a measurement of the original deco on an original car and the repro deco ('spear') that came in on an "original" car and they are different in length by about 6mm or 1/4". That could be just in the pointy ends vs. the rounded ends...overall 48 and 7/8's vs 49 and 1/8".

Too long for my taste, both versions...and I'll need to move them back as far as I can, maybe find better originals for the now restored "original" car. The thing is, both rockers ARE original.





Mic, however, IS correct. But he must bear with us.

-Bruce

[Phil Planck]

Thanks for checking Bruce. When you find one you are happy with, let me know. I can always shorten mine and make more rounded ends. Now I am going to have to go through my books and look at rocker decos. My 55 coupe does not appear to have ever had them. No sign of holes in the rocker. Foamcar did not have them, but the holes were leaded in, so have been missing for many years.

Phil

Update: I measured my repro deco and the distance from the center of the end studs to the end of the spear(not the rubber) is 33 - 37 mm depending on where the stud is in the slot. Both of my original rocker end holes are 73mm from center of hole to center of torsion bar hole. I looked in my old Excellence was Expected at T6 cars and all appear to have the deco right at or over the torsion hole cover. But, a factory side view drawing with dimensions(not for the deco) shows a gap about like what I currently have on Foamcar. Maybe the original decos had greater than the 33 - 37 above, or maybe my rocker holes are an anomaly.

[Phil Planck]

My new yoke showed up today(a very nice USA made product) so with a little help from my friend, it is now on a stand ready to de-crud. Looks like the boots are original(or what's left of them). Now I can get my body under the wheel opening a little better to do the Bruce method on the quarter-lock pillar joint.




Phil

[bbspdstr]

Since we all take pictures now, be sure to take details of things like the orientation of the 'cradle' if it's removed for cleaning, painting. If the front round mounts are intact, reverse the mounting and make them upside-down from where they were, to extend their life.

About an hour of scraping most of the heavy crud and a 'few' gun cups of thinner (outside over a big piece of cardboard with eye protection)and the help of a stiff brush, that trans can look new again.

Remember to not clamp the new boots too tight until the unit is back in, so they can be moved to a comfortable neutral location, especially if split boots needing a 45* angularity. (This may be where Jack jumps in with an opinion?)

Solid boots are great and some have claimed to get them over the end without pressing the bearing housing off or over the inner cup somehow....but I don't know about that. I made a long piece of all-thread into a tool to drag them back together after using a big puller to get them apart after driving out the pin. (I don't like to disturb my press...it's usually more a shelf than a tool.)

The axle tubes look great after blasting and painting but you have to pay attention to bearings and seals/o-rings and preloading by measuring the brake backing plates...which 'while you're there' get cleaned and painted and cylinders checked and honed and rebuilt....and on and on.

And don't forget a new starter bushing. And shift coupler bushings. Now's the time....

It's likely more efficient to just get a barbed flail and flagellate yourself for a minute or so and get it over with. Chant "Forgive me, Herr Doktor, for I have sinned by not removing ALL the rust." You'll heal faster than the slow torture of rebuilding a 356 and a new car is usually far cheaper.

Then again, I must be a true masochist..'cause after almost 50 years of 356 waterboarding, it almost begins to feel good.......

[Phil Planck]

Bruce
Thanks for all the trans tips. I have new bushes for the shifter and starter. Have started a Stoddard wish list: clutch cable clip, clutch return spring, hard brake lines, trans front and rear seals, rear mounts. Have all the parts off except the throwout bearing and shaft. Took lots of reference pics for reassembly. Got 99% of the crud off and used some Dupont wheel cleaner on the housing. The bottom looks pretty good, but the top(which won't be seen when installed has some stains. Any way to get those out. And then, what to apply to protect the housing? I have read a few posts somewhere on installing the boots, and I think there is a youtube clip on installing them. Well, it is now back in the shop tucked out of the way so that I can get on with welding the quarter back to the lock pillar.

[JTR70]

Nice, You can eat off of that housing! I'll bet your glad to be done with that duty Phil!

[John Pierce]

Phil,

Looks so clean! What is your plan with the transaxle (paint vs powder coat)?

JP

[bbspdstr]

Eric Wills turned me on to Gibbs chemistry. I had used some many years ago, but he now swears by it and he gave me an aerosol to try and it IS good.

www.gibbsbrand.com

If you used aluminum wheel cleaner, some steel wool scrubbing with the Gibbs solvent may help the stains, but use it all over the aluminum and whole trans for corrosion resistance. It's like WD on steroids.

Check the release bearing fork and pivot arm very carefully for cracks. Eric replaces those with the quality reproductions on almost every major trans rebuild he does.

As you say, the rear input shaft seal should be replaced due to age, even if not leaking. Not that difficult when the guide tube is removed. Clean/soak the vent 'mushroom' as it gets loaded with debris. Don't forget to check/replace the Bowden tube (guide tube for the clutch cable next to the trans and the throttle bellcrank bushings.

Powder coating is very nice for the tubes and other parts, but it messes with fitting things if not extremely and accurately masked, so urethane or epoxy 'paint' is the next best thing, rattle can enamels being a last resort.

-Bruce

[Phil Planck]

I have/had a can of Gibbs, so if I can find it will give it a try. I also have a NOS release arm that came with my PreA. Current plans are not to open up the trans any more than needed to beef up the hockey stick. Although, I need to check out the S90 gearing. May want a different 4th gear for cruising. All the parts I removed will keep me busy in my spare time getting cleaned up and rebuilt: brakes, starter, hanger, throttle bellcrank, etc. On the PreA I used rattle can Rustoleum black for all of this stuff and it has held up well over the years. But, I have a local powder coater who is very reasonable, so may go that route.
Thanks for all the tips, again.

Phil

[Phil Planck]

With the brake drum and rear axle out of the way I was able to grind the quarter panel flush with the lock pillar edge(after cutting away one bend). This was the longest part of the 2.5 hr. ordeal. If I understood Bruce's technique correctly, 85% of the quarter panel is now "Bakerized" to the lock pillar:





All that is left of the tack welds is one way up at the top. I still have about the last 4" at the top to do, but had enough crawling under the wheel opening for one day.

[356JAGER]

Phil,
So much better 'Bakerized' than 'Flakerized'... Looking good.

[Jack Staggs]

Be sure to check the engagement of the door to the striker plate. I have used the "Bakerized" method in the past and found that additional shims have been needed, as the factory used in certain circumstances. All in all, a significant improvement. Bruce?

[JTR70]

WOW Phil, you have my sympathies! What a nasty chore sticking your head up into the well to run that seam weld. Nice job on it BTW!
Justin

[bbspdstr]

Be sure to check the engagement of the door to the striker plate.

Yup, one of the things learned 'the hard way.' The geometry of the closing is subtle and you want to get as much engagement of the 'finger' on the door with the final closure into the striker plate as possible without contacting anywhere else and still getting the flush door/quarterpanel fit with easy and repeatable small adjustments.

The Factory provided two shim thicknesses that I am aware of, 1 mm and 2 mm, one or the other or both needed in most cases. In rare cases, when someone has left an impossible angle to shim with flats during a repair, the striker has had to be milled at a slight angle one way or another to work properly with the door's closure, but it's a small amount and never seen/noticed.

A bad alignment and thus interface of latch parts could mean the door flies open upon a hard turn, never a happy unexpected surprise.

This why everything involved is mocked-up after it's f'd-up the first time....(say maybe 43 years ago?) Things are never 'finished' until everything is fit with tacks, screws, clecos, the parts attached, tape layers for thicknesses of certain final additions, seals, etc, etc.
-----------------------------

The fillet welding of the inside seam and eliminating the overlaps is made easier in one extra step....putting it on a rotisserie. For pros doing many or a single 356 done by a hobbyist, the time saved using one vs. the time spent installing one is huge. It's been broached in the past how great it would be if a pool of those contraptions was sold and resold when finished with among the Porsche community. Rental would be difficult if the use was long-term, like years and years...but conversely, the need to pay and then return or resell would prompt better planning, time management and sooner completion of the tasks rotisseries make easier and better done.


-Bruce