Coupe into Speedster Conversion

[JOP]

Wow, that is for sure alot of extra hours to get it to fit your "Speedster" but as we all know it aint a module that we just exchange it is "Made By Hand" piece.

But still people think it is just to buy a new repro/NOS part and out with the grinder and cut off the bad rotten part and weld in the new..... And then start complaining that the part doesnt fit 100%.

All our 356 have the same curves from a distance but are as mentioned earlier "one piece off" with their own specific modifications to pass the quality inspection

Justin, now when you have fully dismantled dash for the 356 you can start your own "Justin Global" supply 4 the rest of the Coupster owners

Keep the Made By Hand Pictures coming....in the end you can write a book of your blog
/Per

[JTR70]

Thanks a lot Per! You are so correct, this is nowhere near a "module" type replacement that just clicks into position ...Wished is was though. As you mentioned you just can't weld in the new piece straight up. Although I technically could of welded in this face as is because it sort of fit. However, too many details were wrong and though it would have been a "speedster" dash in there it would always have something off or not right about once the car was painted. At least in my mind. Thanks again! Justin

3/17/15
Dash face left corner prep.

Begin shaping and flanging the outer "cap" run on this left corner. Another detail I noticed as I was getting ready is that the bend is too tight and sharp. Notice how the OG dash is just a smooth graceful turn as it makes its way to the bottom flange. Its not a hard corner so I want to soften that detail too.

A few additional relief cuts were necessary to gather up more excess metal to smooth the contour out where I had made the first alteration.

First relief cut added to the corner to begin cupping and heeling over this area to mimic the original. Also began softening the sharp bend mentioned above.

Very initial shape and test fit with mount flange in.

a lot more shaping and work yet but its at least promising.

More on this left corner tomorrow. Thanks for looking! Justin

[JTR70]

3/18/15 (yesterday)
Corner shaping on both sides of the dash face.

As the left corner gets closer I thought it would be a good idea to start bringing up the right side for a more accurate test fit overall. Relief cut and slowly adding in the turn to the end. The hammer formed relief area between my thumb and the marker line was left more flat and not crowned or developed like the left side was so I'll have to add that shape in as well as it goes so it matches.

After a few cut and reinstall rounds the edge was beginning to seat against the A-pillar. As it finally seated I then noticed the profile curve of the face itself was too tight and did not mirror the other side like it should have.

A direct comparison with the original confirmed what I was seeing on the car.

As all this was going on I was also continuing to softening the radius on the flange. You can see how sharp it was up from the marker.

As with the left side a relief cut was needed so I could gather up that bit of additional metal to allow that contour to soften.

Much more accurate shape after the cut.

After all this I felt the left side now was looking too shallow and weak right at the corner and not symmetrical with that "new" right side contour. So, I added a little pie-wedge back in to tighten this shape up but right before were the eventual wooden eye-brow will be.

Overall face contour is finally within striking distance of the original.

here's a quick comparison to show just how far this corner had to come to match the original profile.

By sessions end both ends were fitting flush against the A-pillar and the corner contours of the face matched a lot better. And the wooden eyebrow still sits flush.

3/19/15 (today's session)

Final radius profiling and mount flange on left side.

After installing the flange the basic shape was close but it was still too weak and flat in that shaped area just in front of the clamp in this shot. Still needed a little more muscle to be right.

With a little torch heat and securely clamping it into position I was able to hammer form it beginning with the upper section.

You can see the much more accurate crown it was taking along with a better defined flange area. Lower section next.

Lower all but about done and a tack thrown on to rejoin the sections and hold the new shape.

Very relieved that this worked.

Matches as best as I could hope for. If you look at the original you can see traces of solder and form fitting to get to lay down tight. I truly believe this area in particular can slightly vary in shape from car to car.

repeat on right side tomorrow. Thanks for looking!
Justin

[John Pierce]

Wow! Lots of work and massaging to get that to fit. I'm surprised you aren't more frustrated. You mentioned a hammerform. Did you end up making one or are you using dollies to manipulate and form those edges? I'd love to see the tools you're using.

Great job. Persistence pays off.


JP

[Phil Planck]

I agree with John. Justin, you have the patience of more than a saint. Unbelievable how much modification you had to make to that dash.
Phil

[JTR70]

Thank you very much guys! No special tools here John, just basic hand tools like hammers and dollies that both you and Phil have in your workshops I'm sure. Thanks once again for appreciating the time and effort that has gone into this thing so far.

3/22/15
Dash face prep nearly complete.


after adding the lower flange back in the excess was trimmed away to match the width of the original. The entire lower run will need to be trimmed back as well before it goes in for good.

After the welding was completed in this corner a lot of picking and filing remained.

backside look after welding and flange forming complete.

Mounted back on the car for yet another test fit.

Its very close and shaped out a lot better than I thought it was going to. Just a touch a of lead will clean up the lines and welding scars to get that last 10 percent. As a diversion from welding and hammering I began adding the holes for the windshield wiper and the headlight switch based on templates from the original dash.


Went back to work on the right side with the left corner all but finished. To achieve a more "bowl" shape in this area I just used my ball-ping hammer and my heavy table to act as a sort of "manual" power hammer as I well the dash in varying degrees to shape this bowl.

After several rounds of that I had a basic shape and contour that closely matched the other side before I started messing with it. Adding the mount flange back in was next.

flange back in and the shape is pretty close but I want just a little more roll in it.

As with the other side torch heat was concentrated where I needed it to give way. Tapping directly against the edge of the flange caused the heated area to bunch up giving me the elevation and tighter curve I'm after.

After a really long session this face is just about ready. Using a template off the original, a pilot hole for the starter switch and for the hand-throttle control were added to the right of the gauges. Will have the rest of the holes and the welding to the right corner finished tomorrow. Thanks for looking! Justin

[Don C]

Justin,
Great work as usual. Looks like you're getting real comfortable with that TIG welder!

[JTR70]

Thanks Don! I'm not quite as comfortable or competent with the TIG as I'd like to be. I still do all my initial tack welding with my MIG then I fight the urge to just stitch it in completely with it. I need the practice so I stop and set up the TIG and take it the rest of the way. However, MIG is what I know and I am comfortable with and old habits do die hard. I'm glad after the fact because the TIG weld is so much nicer and cleaner and I forced myself to practice a little more with it. Thanks again! Justin

[merbesfield]

Looks great, but man what a ton of work just to get that thing even ready to tack! That part does not look that complicated, but obviously it is. Is there only one person reproducing those? With the amount of time you must have into that piece, seems like there would be options? Never give up!

[JTR70]

Hey Mark, Thank you! Yes, its been a ton more work than I ever expected and I still have the dash cap yet to do. Its getting close though. In my mind this area is by far the hardest and most time consuming part because there is so much going on all at once in these three basic panels: the windshield mounts, heater vents, steering column, windshield wipers dash face emblems and accessories etc. etc. Then add in the fact the panels also require fitting and correction. While the rear cowl and quarters will have their own issues I am sure, it still will not compare to the work required up front here. So I am feeling that the most daunting aspect of this conversion is about complete. Famous last words I know!
Trevor Marshall is the only other guy I know of who is making this dash but I am quite sure there are others out there. I am seriously thinking of making exact 1 to 1 molds of my original dash panels and having a very talented Hot rod fabricator I know of have a go at making a set. Thanks again Mark!
3/24/15

Finish hole drilling for dash face accessories.

Slowly expanded my paper template until all the holes were located and set from the original.

As the hole drilling progressed mock fitments of each part were done to ensure it was going to look and match up correctly before I committed to the next series of holes for the remaining parts.

So much easier to do this now versus waiting until the dash is mounted in the car.

Hole drilling all but complete here.

Everything seems to fit and look correct. I still need to fabricate the upper mount for the grab handle but that shouldn't take too long. Just about wrapped up here and ready to move onto the dash cap... the last piece of this dash related puzzle. Thanks for looking! Justin

[Drew.s]

Hi Justin
Looks amazing.
I would like to be first in line for a dash if you get some made.
Also could you hold onto your paper template for the holes as it may come in handy in the future.
Keep those details coming.
Regards
Drew

[merbesfield]

Those pics are certainly motivational and I'm sure quite pleasing to your eyes. I think one of your greatest talents is that of persistence. Keep pecking away at it and you will get there. Cars don't finish themselves, I can promise you that having just picked back up my welder for the fist time last night in longer than I can remember. It took a few minutes to get my bearing and find all my tools etc but it sure did feel nice to be back at it. Got the roll over arms in place and car strapped down. Not just have to hope it stays put!

[JTR70]

Thanks very much Drew!! No worries, I'd be happy to make you a fresh template for the hole placement if you're ever in need. Just let me know and thanks again!

I appreciate that nice compliment Mark! Bruce Bakers pearl of wisdom: "its amazing how long it takes to finish a car you're not working on" really stuck with me. So that in part keeps thing moving. Glad to see you're back on your project and making good headway with constructing your octagon. Once its done you'll kick yourself for not building it sooner! Keep at it and thanks again you guys! Justin

3/25/15
Dash face prep complete
Grab handle mount and right corner completed today taking this part as far as it needs to go before actual mounting on the car.


Always nice to rummage through your hardware bin and come up with the piece that fits the bill.

Tube trimmed to length and mounted to the handle here to correctly locate and position both it and the handle itself. Ready to add a tack-weld.

Another chore was to get the rest of this lower flange trimmed back to original width.

Finished up the last bit of welding, shaping and flanging on this right lower corner.

All the perimeter flanges added and or shaped back in.

In for another test fit.

Matches the left side as best as I could hope for. its officially ready to go on for good.

BUT before that can happen this cap has to be dealt with first. Getting my head around what exactly I need to do and how to approach it tomorrow. Thanks for looking! Justin

[Jack Staggs]

Justin, I am flabbergasted at the amount of correction required to fit this dash. Good on you for your concentration of the details.
Please allow me to interject once again, if I may. I would not drill the holes for the Speedster dash script until I have the one that is going on the car, to orient the script properly. The post locations on the back of the script have been found to vary wildly, at least by me. Another concern is that the posts on each end are very nearly the same width as the spear that it is attached to, allowing a small bit of the drilled hole on the dash to be visible on the upper and lower edge of the script when installed, even on original cars! I don't like that. The center pins are easily covered and not visible if the hole is oversize. What I like to do is file the upper part and lower part of the post, a bit undersize, kinda like a generator pulley shim, flat on the horizontal planes, and rounded on the vertical planes. I then drill one hole at the far end that is the size of the newly filed horizontal size. I then file the hole to an oval shape to accommodate the new shape of the post, and do the other far end likewise. Next, I drill the center mounts a bit oversize to allow wiggle room. Now fit the script. If the script will not fit flat, as it is mounted on a slight curve, simply oval out one or both ends a bit more to make a correction.
Paint will fill the holes more than you might imagine ( gauge openings and other badges are problematic too!) I instruct my painters to remove any primer in these areas (and around headllight buckets... you did fit them prior to paint, yes?) before finish coat is applied. If need be, I use a very fine tapered file to open tiny holes. DO NOT PULL BACK WHEN FILING!!! Paint fractures will likely occur.

[JTR70]

Thanks Jack, its been considerably more work than I could have imagined.

That is a great tip and something I honestly did not consider; I mean how far off could these studs be from emblem to emblem? Just enough to be a problem apparently. Thank you for sharing that tip on emblem variance. Knowledge only acquired from vast experience.
Too late for our dash but for anyone else reading fair warning.
Yes, rat-tail files wreak havoc on painted edges if you pull back.
Thanks again!
3/27/15

Dash cap adjustments

begin paper templates for the add-on section required to make the edge long enough.

You can see here how misshapen this corner profile was. No matter how much upholstery went over this section it still would have looked weird.

A few things to do yet including locating and cutting in the defroster vent openings. Thanks for looking! Justin