The Resurrection of Foam Car - 63 T6B

[John Pierce]

Nice work Phil! Hard labor for a little part.

[Jack Staggs]

I'm glad to see that you are also correcting the radius at the rear as well. A long while ago (30 yrs?), a friend of mine was call upon to put a door skin on a 246 Ferrari and was able to get a panel from the factory. He was thrilled! When it arrived from Italy, it was at least 8" too large around the perimeter and the depression for the air intake on the quarter panel was not even near the right shape. We have to remember that both these cars were hand made (home made???) and we actually are fortunate to have replacement panels that are somewhat close to start with. Nice work. Keep welding...

[bbspdstr]

Jack, I could have been 'that friend' back then! Sometime in the early '90s, a Porsche customer bought a rusty 246 to me to "restore." "An investment" he claimed...as he "always wanted a Ferrari." And that was the best he could afford.

We in the shop sneered and chuckled after he left, much like a decade earlier when people actually thought a Convertible D would ever be worth anything more than a parts donor for a Speedster or Roadster!

I, too, ordered a right side door skin from the local Ferrari dealer and waited, and waited, and waited...until it arrived. Yes, the triangular scoop was a little 'off'.....but it was, after all, just a big rolled piece of metal, a 'hint' of a door skin. It wasn't exactly cheap, but at least it did arrive pre-rusted! It was a cruel joke by Ferrari.

With the remediation, fabrication of fit and finish and the spraying of the thick polyester filler to emulate that of Ferrari, I could have made it faster and cheaper on my own....but I must say that the finished Dino was actually a sharp little car. However, fortunately, I never saw it again but get to say I got to do some spirited testing before it went away. It wasn't my size, but being much younger and thinner, I was able to 'put it on' for a drive. That and my previous 'bugeye' Sprite made Speedster ergonomics look really good!

[Phil Planck]

Took the plunge today and started the attaching process of the quarter panel repair piece. First I made a small piece to replace a rusty section at the bottom of the lock pillar where the bends are. Used Tom's technique of forming the last bend after welding it to the lock pillar. Worked great - thanks for the tip Tom.

I have done everything on Foam Car solo so far, but think I will need a second body for my next step. I have the repair panel tacked along the back and can move the front in/out to get good alignment. But, I cannot tack the front to the lock pillar as need to do it inside the wheel opening while an assistant pushes in to get the panel slightly below my "strings" that run front to back along the body. After that is tacked in place, I plan to uses Bruce's slit and peel technique along the rear and top of the repair panel.

All suggestions welcome.




The rocker is not in correct position up/down. Just there to help support the repair panel.

Phil

[tperazzo]

Hi Phil,
Way to forge ahead! What ever happened to all those Z bends on the lock post. Did you forego those rust magnets and use Bruce's modification? Still curious how that works out.

If I was in your neck of the woods, I'd help hold that piece for ya
Take care,
Tom

[Phil Planck]

Tom
The z bends are gone. Doing it Bruce's way, more or less. Got the repair panel tacked to the lock pillar:


This was a tedious process as had to put the strings on, measure the distance from the lock pillar flange to the edge of the patch when it was just below the door. Remove all the strings, re-measure and mark for welding alignment, hold to mark with one hand and tack weld with the other. Do this over every tack. Sometimes I did not hold it just right while welding so had to grind the tack off and start over. Anyway, it is now in place and time to climb in the wheel opening and weld the complete lock pillar to the repair panel.

Here is a string check after final tack:



Look Ma,, no more clamps:

[JTR70]

Looking good Phil! Your repair section seems to be taking a nice line off the edge of the door.
Quote: hold to mark with one hand and tack weld with the other. Do this over every tack. Sometimes I did not hold it just right while welding so had to grind the tack off and start over. We can all relate to your recent experience Phil but eventually your brain figures out a way to get it tacked in where you need it. I've had to hold sections down with my foot while tacked it.
You've probably had to do the same. Keep up the great work and progress!
Justin

[bbspdstr]

Phil, glad to see the door seal in place, but one word of caution. The seal still needs to be over whatever thickness of material will live there, wrapped, when it's back together.
I use tape, as many layers as equal the wrapped upholstery (6?), paint and primer and the more the mocked-up ingredients simulate the final assembly, the less surprises and frustrations will hit you. Every little bit counts in getting the door to fit correctly. I am now, late in my career, installing the door window frame AFTER it's replated but BEFORE painting just to proof fit with the seals that will be installed in final assembly. Everything that's touched in any way affects what's near, next to or around it.

Back to panel repair fit and not enough hands; I have lightly tacked pieces of metal to the door and the repair panel where I want it to stay and just cut the tack and ground off what's left with no harm. Nice when the door is latched to the lockpost.

Also, I use a length of aluminum strip to bridge the door to fender or quarter or all, with long clamps from the wheel arches to hold it on to check curves and contours...strings don't do Staggs...er, Jack...other than optically. A wood furring strip would suffice, or a long aluminum 'yard(+)stick.' Think of a continuous 'Speedster side trim' with some heft (3, 4 maybe 5 mm thick and 50mm wide), but flexible. This is especially important as a reference if the door is bare of latch or the receiver or lockpost is unusable.

Think about every aspect and it's influence to the final end result, from weld shrinkage to trim to upholstery thickness changes (like vinyl vs leather) to repro rubber dimensional differences (especially in door seals)to chromer warpage to filler, primer and paint mils, etc, etc, etc.

I've told before about one of the 'good ol' boys' who (unknowingly) trained me... who sat in front of a job or project and stared sometimes for an hour, often making notes. The boss thought he was 'wasting time' but what he was doing was the job itself, in his head, BEFORE he picked up a tool. His work was then more efficient and with better results than anyone else I've met.

Basically, as Justin says, 'ya do what ya gotta do' to assemble the pieces while keeping the adjustments open, never completely attaching anything until everything is where it can stay...THEN lacing things up and working the metal and welds.

I am very impressed not only with the work being shown here but with the fact it's being done at all. The sharing is cathartic for all, poster and reader. Thanks to all!

[356JAGER]

Nice work Phil. Bruce is correct in his observations as to preparation. That IS the job. Doing the work is just the follow up.
Measure twice, cut once.

[Phil Planck]

Thanks for the added tips and encouragement. I did build up the door with tape per Bruce's suggestion quite some time ago, but did not think to do the area under the w/s, so will do that also, or add some vinyl strips I have. I do have a 4' rule and one long aluminum strip. Will see if those are long enough. At the top of the lock post I took 2 measurement off of the lock post to the old quarter panel bend before removing it and made sure that those 2 spots were the same. There was a lot of lead on top of this, so will need more lead up there when I get to that point. I do my thinking(staring at the job) when I go to bed. I lay there and plan out how to do the next step. That is why some days I don't get more than 1 hour in on the job.
Phil

[Jack Staggs]

That is why some days I don't get more than 1 hour in on the job.
Phil

Your day job?

[Phil Planck]

Jack
I would have been broke long ago if Foamcar was my real job. I am retired, so it is just a hobby job. Unfortunately, I have too many hobbies, so sometimes Foamcar takes a back seat. For example, Spring wild turkey season opened last Monday, so I have been in the woods a bit this week.
Phil

[Jack Staggs]

Oh, ok. That sounds better. Take a few swigs of that Wild Turkey for me

[roy mawbey]

Some nice work here Phil, also Bruce good tips again. So true about thinking it all through first. Its not easy at all this work.

Roy

[356JAGER]

Here you go Phil, about a block from my house in some of our open space. You'll be able to get back to Foam Car in a couple of minutes.