1957 356A coupe

[stevehogueenterprises]

356A coupe chassis repair for Trevor Gates


car as it arrived at the shop from the media blaster

[stevehogueenterprises]

[Trevor]

Thank you Steve for getting it to the point it is now, one piece! I still laugh at myself every time I see those pictures of the car in pieces.

[stevehogueenterprises]

Any time Trevor , Another 356 coming back to life ......

[Trevor]

Summer has come and gone, no beach day this weekend because it was raining. I spent all my free time this summer cruising in my Caddy, but I have been on the hunt for parts. Scored these "B" drums as well an original gas tank and VDO sender. The cool thing is that I didn't know the date stamp on the tank or sender until I received them in person from the guy who shipped them to me, it turns out they are date stamped 10/57 and 12/57, same year as my car. It was a nice unexpected bonus. I've started to take my Caddy apart and am welding away on that to get it ready for paint. Hopefully done in a month and then more time to tackle the Porsche.

[JTR70]

Hey Trevor,

Thanks for the update! Glad to hear you enjoyed your summer with the caddy! Nice score on the tank and sender. I see some flash rust down in it; how bad? Are B drums what you were looking for, not A drums? looking forward to some progress shots! Thanks again for checking in! Justin

[Trevor]

The rust is not bad at all, just looks it from the flash on my iPhone. I'm going to bring it to a radiator shop to have them clean it and it'll be good. I do have a dent in it, but I'm going to try and put two pieces of wood inside the tank for bracing and use a VERY small bottle jack to pop it out.

Yeah I like the look of B drums better than A, so I had been on the lookout for them. Actually I like the look of your drums the best, those are badass! However... way out of my price range. I'm trying to save all my money for the engine.

Progress (and pics)... yep on my to-do list.

[JTR70]

I see the dent you're talking about. Could be a stubborn one being on the corner like that. A trick I have done in the past is to put a heel dolley or some other heavy piece of metal as a slapper into the tank first. Then you can reach down into the tank and begin spanking it out with it. Depending on where the dent is of course but yours looks like a few I have knocked out this way in the past. Yes, having a radiator shop boil your tank is the best thing to do. I did that to one of my old GT tanks I had a while back. I left it with this hole in wall radiator shop in a rough part of vegas over night so they could clean it. I was very worried to say the least but my calming thought was that no one knew what it was from or what it was worth. It came out nice though and I know you'll be pleased with yours. I understand about the B drums; just a little more aggressive looking than an A. Thanks! I like my drums too!! They are also way out of my price range as well but I wasn't going to let that stop me! Best of luck with the trustee position!! Justin

[Trevor]

Best of luck with the trustee position!!

Thanks, so far so good.