'63 356B T-6 Rebuild

[John Pierce]

Success!!

With a little tweaking of the bend in the lock assembly I was able to get the decklid to sit flush with the rear sheetmetal. No cutting or rewelding required! I am truly amazed at this Rube Goldberg latching mechanism that the Porsche engineers came up with. It has little room for adjustment. After a week of messing with this I think I've become an expert on its mechanics



Sitting flush.


Latch mechanism engaging.


Now on to more rear sheetmetal repair!

Thanks for following.

[Jonesy_356]

Nice work mate, theres nothing better than good panel gaps and flush panels. Worth the effort.

[Jack Staggs]

Well done. Good to get it over with now, rather than having problems later. Were you able to address the fit near the window?

[Trevor]

Glad you got it sorted John. Here are a few pics I took of latches when I was at Jack's. Red and blue are the same but you can see the difference in the square location as well as spacers on the grey one.

[Jack Staggs]

Thanks for posting the pix Trevor. We didn't have a T5 on hand for the pix, but the grey T2 one most likely has aluminum spacers, as I have seen in that location, as opposed to a stack of steel ones there like Justin's. Can't say It was not done that way though. I'm pretty sure I've seen an additional steel washer along with the alloy one. Anyone have pix of others? It might be fun to see some. T5 as well for comparison.

[John Pierce]

Thanks Guys for the encouragement and thank you for the comparisons, Jack and Trevor.

Everywhere I look there's more rust to repair. Fix one area and another area becomes more obvious. Some days it gets a bit frustrating, but if I don't look beyond a small section it doesn't get too overwhelming. Now onto fixing the rear frame members.



This is the left rear frame member after removing the rusted closing panel turned edge. The iron oxide was 1/4" thick in some areas. The rear of the frame was previously "repaired" by Bubba and is missing a bit of metal.



Inner side with gobs of weld.



New repair patch.



Repair patch welded in place with new weld nuts for the bumper bracket.

The right rear frame member is much worse. Bubba did some interesting repairs on it which will need to be undone.

Thanks for following.

[JTR70]

Nice work John! You my friend are just as tempered as I am for these tedious welding tasks that seem never ending.

Thanks for showing that Trevor. Looks like they finally dialed the upper tab in on the T6 relieving the need for spacer washers.

I'll see if I can find them Jack but this lid originally had one standard washer and one really thick (just better then two washers worth) spacer that went on this lid. After I replaced the rear wall it changed things a little and those old spacers were now too much. Three washers...Perfect. One washer and that spacer...too much. Spacer only...not enough.

[John Pierce]

For anyone interested in the BMW sunroof seals that Bruce had mentioned previously that will fit our 356's:

BMW part numbers: 54-12-9-734-130 (small) and 54-12-9-734-131 (large).

[John Pierce]

Time for an update, now that I found some time to work on the rust bucket. Still working on the rear.



Right rear firewall showing previous repairs. Quality is a bit wanting



Right inner fender and frame with previous repairs and areas that should've been repaired, but weren't. Rust is lurking under there.



A little bit of digging discovered the extent of the rust. The inner fender overlap had to be removed pretty high. The rear frame is thinned throughout and has multiple areas of rust through so will need to be replaced.



Out with the bad.



Just a few things missing.



Now to reverse the process. Starting with templates.



The inner fender is made in two section as original and will be spot welded to the new frame member and at the overlap.

Thanks for following.

[JTR70]

My God, is there any place on that chassis that ole' Bubba didn't bugger up? I would be continuously cursing the day he was born as all the sparks and grinding dust landed on the back of my neck as this removal progressed! I admire you getting it all out John, even in the deepest of regions. Its so very easy to say the hell with it, who will ever see it? But you'll know... . Wonderful job!

[John Pierce]

Justin, it's amazing what Bubba did to the car and then hid it under bondo, undercoating, paint...



Rear frame member and firewall patch spot welded in place.



The shock tower top was rusted through and had to be replaced. Welds ground down and the inner fender wall spot welded in place. I'll epoxy prime the overlap areas before bending down the inner fender lip.



Firewall patch turned out nicely.

Now onto the left inner fender and firewall before I can install the rear closing panel. Lots of pieces that need to fit together.

[bbspdstr]

For anyone interested in the BMW sunroof seals that Bruce had mentioned previously that will fit our 356's:

BMW part numbers: 54-12-9-734-130 (small) and 54-12-9-734-131 (large).

Just so everyone knows, the early A and B manual sunroof did not have the thick or thin fuzzy perimeter seals. Those were for the later electric (and rare hand crank) versions. I was wrong (yes, I have been wrong before but then found I was mistaken) and again was caught hanging on to bad intel from my youth...and more recently by a customer's nice A sunroof with the perimeter seals (modified by extracting the plastic tube in the fuzzy covering). I really looked at the T-5 B parts book and then found a line in one of Brett's books that cleared the mud.

-Bruce

[JTR70]

Nice! Like the way that overlap flange is looking just before you hammered it over.

Thanks Bruce!

[John Pierce]

Hey Guys!

I need some advice. The car I'm restoring is a 1963 B T-6 S-90. The original engine is missing and it came with a tired 1956 engine when I bought it. I purchased a rebuilt 912 engine thinking that would be a great engine for the car, even with the changes that would have to be made to adapt it to the 356 and the 12 volt vs. 6 volt issue. Nothing that can't be overcome.

A friend and local 356 club member, just yesterday let me know that he wants to sell his rebuilt 1963 S-90 engine that has an NLA 1720 cc big-bore kit.

Any advice between the 2 engines? My build is not going to be a numbers matching garage queen. It's going to be used as it was supposed to be....even in the rain....maybe snow. Gasp!!

Thanks for the help.

John

[bbspdstr]

John, here's where Jack Staggs will hopefully chime in! I'll give my personal opinion (since we are both up early).....but first a couple of questions; since both engines are "rebuilt"...do you know who did the work and what all was done to each? Receipts? That matters most.

A 1720 kit hardly matters, but if it's a good one (and being "NLA" can mean "no longer available" or Brad Ripley's parts store) it can be a plus. So it's a toss up otherwise and price can then be a factor. Actually, in my Hershey state of mind now, the value is about the same whether buying the S-90 or selling the 912.

Also important is the year of the 912 engine. Is it before or '68 or '69? Split-shaft Solexes or single shaft? Both work if in original condition, but I prefer single-shafts if they are the latest version.

Converting the 912 engine can be done with your older engine...flywheel (and yes, the early 180mm will be just fine with a good clutch assembly), generator and stand (if an earlier 912, the small diameter generator is a great beginning of a 12v conversion), front and rear and sides air tin, J-tubes/heat exchangers, etc.

Then again, an "appropriate" '63 S-90 engine, IF a 'quality' rebuild, would make the car a little closer to "original." Only those knowing the match numbers would know the engine doesn't match the chassis.

I'll hope to read the opinions of others.....I'd just want "the best one" whichever one turns out to be "the best." There is a reason that the value of an engine (356 or 912) is less than the sum of it's (good) parts....without a "pedigree" it's a roll of the dice.

Good luck and best regards,
-Bruce