The Resurrection of Foam Car - 63 T6B

[Phil Planck]

Made a paper template first to determine how much shrink or stretch the outer panel would need. Fortunately none, so made a cardboard template and traced onto sheet metal. Used the bead roller to start the flange bend and a shrinker to get the contour to match the old metal.





Measured up 2" and marked about 6 spots to use to align new patch, as taught by Bruce Baker when doing my door bottoms. Got the patch clamped in and marked for final trim:





I bought new, stainless heater can rods so cleaned up one of the old ones to use for fender wire, as diameter appears identical. Now all I have to do is find where I laid it 4 days ago.

Phil

[Phil Planck]

Not much done today. Found my wire and it's getting close to naturally laying along the flange. Very tedious process getting it curved in 2 planes. Don't want that job.

Patch is scribes and ready to trim

[bbspdstr]

"Now all I have to do is find where I laid it 4 days ago."

Priceless!

We at my shop have 2 methods to deal with the above: first, we all look for whatever is missing...for no more than 5 minutes.....realizing that we all have stared right at the missing whatever and not seen it (yet) and the second method is to buy a new whatever.....and that brings a finding of the whatever very soon after.

We also forget names or other parts of a comment and invoke the 30-second rule. We move on, which distracts us...and within about 30 seconds the forgotten name or other missing tid-bit occurs to one of us. Five brains occasionally make one.

The average age of 65.4 is still heavily weighted toward 70+ and gaining in age every day......at lunch today, a discussion included which brand of B&W primitive TV we watched when we were just old enough to remember. That's both humorous and sad. We realized we can Google that now.....

-Bruce

[Phil Planck]

Thanks Bruce

You just have to laugh and get used to it. My only excuse is I have 4 projects going on in the shop at one time so lots of tools and parts out that are not normally there.

I trimmed the wire flange down to 9mm once I re-checked and adjusted contour to my NOS piece. Put my body in rotisserie mode and tack welded the patch in. Ground the tacks smooth and planished the tacks. Even though the contour matched the NOS piece, there is a flat area at the bottom just above and to the right of the wood chassis support that will have to be arced.



Phil

[Phil Planck]

Got the patch all welded in(not my best out of position) except for the bead flange joint. Next will be attaching new bead to old and forming over the flange. Got the flat area re-arced by shrinking the flange a little in that area:



Removed h/l wiring tube from original fender bracket in hopes of salvaging it. Inside of old tube was a mess. Will use tube off new bracket I welded in on other side, less the original tube which was clean inside and I did not have to unweld it from the body or bucket.



Now off to deer camp for a week.

Phil

[Phil Planck]

This is not directly related to Foam Car, but an interesting tidbit of info I learned on the R forum. Maybe Justin knows where to move it:

http://forum.porsche356registry.org/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=44247

Phil

[JTR70]

Thanks for the link Phil, We discussed that detail along with a few others here:
http://www.abcgt.com/forum/4-356-Forum/5072-Evolution-of-the-356A-T1--T2-How-they-differ.html?limit=6&start=6

Nice work on that lower repair section. What I am most impressed with is your staying power to do such a nice job in such an unpleasant and compromised work position.

[Phil Planck]

Would like some input form those more familiar with the T6 than I(most everyone). I installed the front bumper to see how it's contour matches the nose. Does not look good to me, especially when compared to Tom Perazzo's pictures on his thread. I have "flattened" out the curve somewhat on the more detailed shot by stretching the wire flange.






the center section is not welded in yet


Thanks - Phil

[John Pierce]

Hi Phil,

Tom spent a lot of time reworking that area to get a smooth and even curve between the fender and sheet metal. I believe there's a good discussion on his build page where people discussed that must 356 fenders don't match the contour of the sheet metal. That's the way they came from the factory as being hand built. Not to say that is correct, but it'll need some massaging to make better.

HTH.

JP

[DG58INNM]

Phil,
Your bumper looks pretty good to my eyes. They all get close to the nose in the center, drift away out by the horn grilles, then hopefully follow around the corners of the nose more or less on the same curvature with something like a 1-2" gap. In short, T6 bumpers fit like crap. But when the cars are all together, with those big clunky chrome bumper guards, it fools the eye and you don't really notice it. I've walked around at 356 club meetings checking out bumper after bumper. No two are alike. Tom's bumper fits unusually nice beacuse of all the attention he lavished on it. If I were a concours judge, I'd be deducting points from his score for a too good bumper fit
DG

[John Pierce]

It's like: Tom, you've made your car too good so you lose points! Too funny

[Phil Planck]

Whew, may have dodged a bullet on the bumper fit. Thanks Dave for all your observations of actual T6s. I have been putting off installing the wire bead so I can adjust the contour if needed. This feedback puts me one step closer to getting it installed.

Phil

[Phil Planck]

Next question. I am measuring 13" on both sides from torsion bar frame to fender edge. Is this in the ballpark?




Going to try to salvage fender support bracket. This is remains of the fender attach end:



I scrapped out small foam particles and straightened it out for possible pattern.

[Phil Planck]

Reshaping the remnant and measuring the other side repro bracket, I was able to make a new end. Used my harbor freight stretcher on the flanges to get the arc, then tappered the flanges.





Sitting in place:





Phil

[Phil Planck]

Got the wire (former heater control rod) fit and welded to the old wire:




Formed the flange over:



Also removed brace tabs from gas heater bucket and reshaped as it was dented in about 3/8" at the flanges from former hit. Got new flanges welded on to salvaged bracket.