Coupe into Speedster Conversion

[Manolin]

Justin,
Take the praise! Writing a book is one thing, and an author you already are...right here on your own forum. The pictures tell all. You are quite capable of it all as over the years you've done metal work on many cars. No one says you have to be a jack of all trades, but damn you're good. What you show here today is what other talented restoration guys end up hiding under paint. Equally impressive is their work, and I wish some of the old blood would post behind the scenes shots for lessons, comparison, and educational purposes. Thank you for exposing the work in such detail, and in a realistic time frame.
This is one of the best build threads to date!

[roy mawbey]

Yes, this is a great thread. It almost makes me want to start over again but well I remember the last time, or certainly the first time, sitting in my kitchen 2am in winter holding a cup of tea made by my lovely wife and saying to her ' never again'!

There has never been to my knowledge a better ' pair ' of bodywork threads than yours on any 'Worldwide Forum' thread Justin.

As Manolin says ' Respect '

Roy

[JTR70]

Thank you very much Manolin! I am always learning and making new mistakes as I go but my goal with these posts is give as much detail as I can as to what really goes into fixing these cars. That is a great idea I would love for one of the long time restores like Bruce Baker to put on a clinic sometime. The pitfalls he could steer us clear of would be amazing. The invitation is open but until then I guess you're going to have to settle for us hobbiests. Thank you again for the really nice words Manolin!

Roy, thank you too Sir! Your encouragement has kept me going for years now. NO, you don't want to tear your beautiful coupe down again to try and improve it. Its not worth the trouble and is completely unnecessary from the pics I've seen. If you get the urge keep that 2AM story handy. Its a good one!
My thanks to you both once again!!
Justin

[merbesfield]

[quote="roy mawbey" post=8231]Yes, this is a great thread. It almost makes me want to start over again but well I remember the last time, or certainly the first time, sitting in my kitchen 2am in winter holding a cup of tea made by my lovely wife and saying to her ' never again'!

There has never been to my knowledge a better ' pair ' of bodywork threads than yours on any 'Worldwide Forum' thread Justin.

As Manolin says ' Respect '

Roy

Roy, if you get the urge, grab your keys and go for a late night ride. But whatever you do, don't pull out the wrenches. Restore vicariously, it is much easier. And you are always welcome to come help me .

[JTR70]

6/6/13
Toe-board Bulkhead tacked in.

Yesterday was spent fine trimming and trying to achieve the best average fit.

About as close as I could get. Ready for a couple of tack welds to double check.

Slowly tacking it in.

The pre-punched hole for the master cylinder is just out and low to the original hole in its best adjusted position with "frame rails" and center pocket. I ran into the same problem on that rusty Speedster I did several years back.

Here's a shot of that old Speedster. A now confirmed and conistent misalignment with the original hole. If your doing this repair above the old master cylinder hole be sure to make a templete and keep track of where it originally was or you may experience alignment issues when you go to install your pedal assembly. Don't assume the repro part is correct; its been my experience that it is not.

This is as far as I got today. More welding tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by! Justin

[Restomod]

Looking good, like the part about repo panels being correct....never seen ANY repo panel for anything that was correct! !!

[JTR70]

Thanks Brock! Exactly, you are experiencing the same thing with that new nose your installing.

6/20/13
Right side forward frame/flange repair.

Lower toe-board panel just about all welded in. Replicated the lower mount flange on the original pocket. Have just a small patch to one side of the pocket to add.

With that repair all but complete I started back on the lower frame flange section.

Fortunately the decay stayed under all these stamped details. My flat generic repair piece can plug right in undetected.

You can see the original step flange joint here. All of my perimeter repairs will replicate these factory joints.

The actual elevation of the step flange is undetectable so I had to take a measurement from my car using the heater tube opening as my landmark. Sample section clamped into position here to establish the correct height.

I could now set the proper height on my new piece and get my cut lines drawn in.

[JTR70]

Just about confident enough to draw some lines. Thankfully all the new pieces seem to be tying in nicely together; the Toe-board flange at lower frame area here.

Again the owner wants a detail correct T1 conversion so the outer reinforcement T2 strut is out. I have to fab-up a T1 style inner runner like the original example above.

Began by making my first bend in some scrap I measured out based on the original dimensions.

My new U-shaped channel complete here and ready to be fitted.

Slowly fitting it in with the new repair section here. Looks and fits just like it should; overlaps the lower flnage just the original did. inside wall by the bulkhead gets turned down and seam welded to the toeboard flange.

Original detail example pictured here of my T1 coupe.

With everything now set I am finally ready to trim this piece to fit.
Thanks for reading this! Justin

[Erik H]

Amazing work! True craftsmanship in any field is art. Practice, patience, perseverance and diligence. Natural talent helps. Thanks, Erik

[merbesfield]

quote="Restomod" post=8372]Looking good, like the part about repo panels being correct....never seen ANY repo panel for anything that was correct! !!

Even the factory parts don't match sometimes. The front lip sold by Porsche was not exactly correct for my 66 911 and required customizing to exactly match the one from 66. I had to remove several intentions from later years where the part had superceeded others over the years. I sent Mike DeJong an email telling him to add it to his list.

[JTR70]

Thank you Erik! I really appreciate you saying so! Justin

6/21/13
Section now welded in


New lower repair section cut to shape and welding begins.

Just about stitched together here. Again the factory joint/break replicated at the end here. Also punched holes to plug weld the Toe board bulkhead wall onto this new section.

With the new section most of the way secure I began tapping the new T1 style reinforcement runner into position.

Now that it was in final position a little torch heat was needed to form the flange tight against the bulkhead.

form fitted and ready to be welded on.

Welded

Will go back with my torch to replicate a gas weld as originally.

Welding complete.

Began the painstaking process of grinding down the welds this afternoon.

Its taking shape. Thanks for stopping by! Justin

[Restomod]

Great job! So you are welding it with the mig then taking the torch heating it and hammering it?
Seeing this makes me SO glad I sold that rusty 65!!

[merbesfield]

[quote="Restomod" post=8908]Great job! So you are welding it with the mig then taking the torch heating it and hammering it?
Seeing this makes me SO glad I sold that rusty 65!!

Yea rust sucks!

Justin how do you use the torch?

Have you looked into the hand held stick spot welder thingy (scientific word) that allows you to fake a spot weld in areas where the factory used spot welders? I have seen this tool somewhere before on the web. It was pretty crude and basic IIR.

[JTR70]

Thank you Brock! No, I'm not going that crazy. I just follow the areas that were originally supposed to be seam welded with my torch. Yes, you will always be miles ahead starting out with a dryer chassis! Smart move on your part.

Hey Mark, I'm just melting my MIG welded seams with my torch for a more authentic detail. I've seen several spot weld replicators but I have my old Lenco panel welder here that gets the jog done.
Justin
6/22/13
Repair section now fully welded and dressed.

Done on this forward side.

Seam welded here just the factory did it. I chased my MIG welds with my torch for a more correct gas welded detail.

Okay, repeat other side. Starting that tomorrow.
Thanks for stopping by! Justin

[roy mawbey]

Nice work Justin. After trying my friends Mig a while back I wish I had that when I gas welded mine. But I did like the torch for forming difficult areas so tightly against the original items.

Tell me Justin, how would you manage if you only had gas welding? Would it have made you work differently? The distortion when I did a door made me realise it's good for some work but so difficult for other jobs like that. I suppose spot welding made things so much easier gas was used only used if really necessary.

Its going to look nice I am sure when you finish the underside of this car.

Roy