'63 356B T-6 Rebuild

[John Pierce]

Finally to a nice big piece of metal to install!



First to prime and coat this area so it hopefully won't rust out in the future.



Nicely protected!



Outer longitudinal primed, top coated and ready for installation.



Can't forget the heater muffler before buttoning things up!



Door well also primed.



Ready for the rear closing panel.



So nice to be beyond the original mess that Bubba gave me.

Onto the closing panels next. Thanks for following.

[JTR70]

Wonderful job John and congratulations with your current progress! Are you now past all of bubba's repair attempts?

[John Pierce]

Thanks Justin. ALL of Bubba's previous metal repair has now been painstakingly removed and replaced with fresh metal. Woot!! I'm now at a big milestone where the unibody frame is now complete.

Some finishing touches on the longitudinal: front and rear closing panels.



Closing panels fitted, cut to size, primed and top coated.



Front closing panel with a good fit.



All closed up.



Same with the rear.

Onto the left jack spur then comes some repair work in the rear wheel wells before moving onto the lock posts.

Thanks for following.

[John Pierce]

Last part for this side....the jack spur.



The flanges were remodeled to fit underneath the rocker and the inside primered and topcoat.



The door and rocker were installed to get a close fit of the jack spur and the flanges were bent to hug the rocker.



Nice new strong metal.



It's nice to look back to see what I started with.



Lots of bad!



Looks like a real 356 now

I've got to reinstall the lower door hinge boss and fit the door so I can then move onto the lock post/B pillar area. I've been reading the previous repairs to these regions by Justin, DG, Phil, Tom, Jan, but have yet to get courage to start welding. I'd hate to screw this up as everything has to fit together nicely. The front and rear fenders around the A and B pillars need to be replaced on my car so I've got some wiggle room. People have mentioned to fit the door and lock post rubber during the fitment. There's a lot of pieces that come into play here and I don't have an original to look at as my car came as a basket case. Any recommendations would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

JP

[DG58INNM]

Very nice John. You've made a lot of progress in a short time (putting me to shame!). Just dive right on in on the door hinge. There's nothing about it any worse than that mess you've already been through around the rear frame/torsion bar stuff. I've had to remove a hinge strap (very recently the lower right hinge on the Swiss Miss). Putting it back was just a simple matter of measuring/marking/a few holes and screws/install the door/check/remove the door/adjust/install the door/check.......OK, I said simple, but not necessarily fast! I always like to use 2 shims when fitting doors.
DG

[Jack Staggs]

I think a big thanks to any Bubba's out there might be due. Without them, many of the cars that you all are working would have likely disappeared in to scrap metal. Then where would you be?

[John Pierce]

Thanks DG. I pretty much came up with the same conclusion to dive in....what can I lose....plus it'll be fun

So true, Jack! Looking at things from a different perspective always is good. When you're in the midst of undoing Bubba's work it's often hard to see the silver lining.


JP

[ukinusa]

yepp second that ...

[Phil Planck]

John
Congrats on a job well done. It just keeps getting more fun, doesn't,it.
Phil

[John Pierce]

Thanks guys!

Ron Roland recommends installing the floors before working on the hinge bosses, lock posts, door to fender metal and rockers. I like having the floor opening to be able to reach and to step through. How much torsional stability do you think the floor provides especially as the longitudinals are now solid and the car is on a rotisserie? If you guys think it could help to get things more solid I'll install the floors next.

Cheers,
JP

[bbspdstr]

Geez, guys.....don't ya know my saying? "We used to have Parts Cars but now they are called Restoration Candidates."

I was a "Bubba" 50 years ago, when all we cared about was how fast we could fix 'em and how fast we could drive 'em! We cut up Speedsters and Convertible Ds for Parts! I just wrote to the two younger guys thrusting and parrying over on the R-site's bylaws thread that getting younger people involved was paramount.... no matter what it took..... and that now what it takes is m-o-n-e-y, unfortunately.

I said I am trying to understand how our 356s were able to be driven right off the road and onto a pedestal in so few years. Anyway, John, if you want to look at a plus side to your latest question, be glad you have a Coupe.

The stiffness of the three longitudinal tubes (left, right and tunnel)is complemented by that roof (and you are to be complemented for your work, BTW). If it was any open 356, you'd need to use the doors for reference or maybe one of these:



If you are still hinging on your doors then do all but the floor halves and after finishing the 'what-nots' and details, level it all off of the rotisserie and preferably on it's suspension and install the door you can and make the other door match in fit.

Then, the floor can be installed even though that was the first thing (with the rear bulkhead) to originally come down the assembly line, but it's more involved in chassis strengthening than you'd think.

The floor is "V'd" down under the tunnel and it keeps a horizontal stress as it's laced in as if you were stretching a canvas over a frame for a painting...center welds on all 4 sides and tunnel sides and then next to those on each side and front/back and DO NOT just start at one spot and go around that floor perimeter. As the welds shrink, the stress is added by each one a little at a time. Even stress is good, but otherwise you risk "oil-canning" and whole frame warpage which can throw everything off, likely why Ron recommends doing a pan first, level, no external stresses from a rotisserie mounting.

I Tec-screw the pan on a jig the same way... between spots and/or for TIG or MIG pre-punched plugwelds If the three 'tubes' are equally leveled, the floor keeps them that way by adding it's stiffening. I weld the holes from the top and leave the screws in those in the two overlaps of the transverse "hump" to be welded when back on the rotisserie.

I'm sure you could figure out the loading principles intuitively even if just from what metalwork you have done so far. That said, I hope I may have added a little to your understanding of chassis priorities.
Keep up the good work,
-Bruce

[John Pierce]

Thanks for taking the time to write that Bruce! Your insight is much appreciated.

The more I think about what you wrote and the stresses involved, would it better to install the floor pans now? The car is on an Emory "hoop rotisserie" attached to the lower front torsion bar and rear transmission mounting points and the car is level. If I install the floors now then I can align the fenders, doors and rockers without risk of further movement. Good or bad idea?

It would be nice to get younger members involved in 356's, but as you say, it's a pretty expensive hobby when the base prices of these cars is so high.

Cheers,

John

[bbspdstr]

"The more I think about what you wrote and the stresses involved, would it better to install the floor pans now? The car is on an Emory "hoop rotisserie" attached to the lower front torsion bar and rear transmission mounting points and the car is level. If I install the floors now then I can align the fenders, doors and rockers without risk of further movement. Good or bad idea?"

John, the stronger the lower "frame" the better the other alignments will be, so I'd recommend that you install the floor pans now.

Picture the roof itself being only the thin A and B pillars and rear sailpanels and the majority of the curved-for-strength center missing. That could torque and twist subtly, throwing off the way the doors close, etc. That's an exaggerated example, but I hope you get that comparison to what we are talking about under it.

A 356 is a true unibody construction, which means ALL panels are important to the integrity of the whole structure. The floor under the tunnel completes the middle 'tube' and stops the movement, however slight, of all three front-to-back 'tubes.'

FYI, during my thorough restorations, the shell is off and on a rotisserie maybe three or more times. I have never installed a floor while the shell is on a rotisserie....but I will say I have no experience with the 'cage' or 'hoop' type.

Good luck,
-Bruce

[JTR70]

I'm still a "Bubba" and after reading through all of Bruce's most recent tips I have violated several cardinal rules along my journey with the Coupster like installing the floor on the rotisserie. What keeps me from full panic mode at this point is the cockpit Jig as I hope it was enough. I'm more than a little anxious to discover how the chassis is going to behave once I begin sawing through its legs but I won't do it until its back on the ground for good. Always something new to learn, thanks Bruce!

Agree John, it would be nice to get younger guys involved with 356's but as stated they are getting way too valuable these days. I believe the "entry level" 356's of today are the replicas. If you want to instill and nurture the passion in the "classic shape" then this is going to be the only realistic avenue to attract more of the regular guys which is why this site welcomes these builds. I believe they will eventually aspire into acquiring real deal one day. A tough pill to swallow for a lot of the old timer purists but a real missed opportunity otherwise. Besides, I think it also helps to break down the misconception that everyone who's into old Porsche's is a stuck up ass hole. Its always been my mission to break that perception. If you're into the old bath tub shape plastic or steel then you're okay by me...

[bbspdstr]

Justin, I agree but with one codicil....if I were to have a replica of a Porsche, it would be of a plastic Porsche, like a 904 or 906.

I was, however, tempted by a Brit company's plastic replica of a 718 RSK Spyder a few decades ago, but never pulled the trigger. The RSK is my favorite shape of the aluminum bodied RS racers and I never could afford a real one.

I am happy to see a new interest in a plastic kit racer made by a man name of John Sabel. I had one of those from him in the '60s-'70s and put it on a tube-framed support construction bolted to a shortened VW Bug pan with a 356 motor, etc. Nice looking design similar to a Lotus sports-racer, maybe a 23B.

I always say that "car guys are car guys" and I just found out that there is a guy in my new neighborhood that has an old MG tucked away in his garage....so I need to find him as soon as I can and say hello.

-Bruce