The Swiss Miss ('64 C #126687)

[JTR70]

WOW, You really had that hood completely dismantled This was a great how-to entry for anyone considering such an intimidating repair. The new nose section looks like it profiled in really nice. Looking forward to seeing how it looks with the weld dressed down. Great tutorial on the hinge mechanism repair as well David! Glad to see you back at it!

Bruce, thanks for the link, Ricks work is really impressive! I'd love to intern there myself.

[Jonesy_356]

Hey DG, nice work on the hood. A great read. What type of weld is that? It looks like a gas weld? Any tips on dressing the longer welds?

Also, a general thanks for the detail in your posts. They are proving to be very helpful as I progress.

Regards,

Jonesy

[DG58INNM]

Hello all, and hope everyone is enjoying a nice Labor Day weekend (for those of us in the USA). Been a very long time since a Swiss Miss update. Not much to report Been primarily working on getting the old '72 911 back together for my friend Carlos. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy keeping tabs on all the great projects here. You guys make great progress. Wish I were as productive.

However, I've snuck in a little Swiss Miss time the past few days, and wanted to share a few pictures. When I left off, I'd just finished replacing the front 12 inches or so of the hood skin and inner frame. Since then I've finished smoothing the hood, primered, and painted it. Just wanted to see what it would look like, and also wanted to see if the Ruby Red paint code I had was a good match.

Next I fitted it, and leaded the front gap. There was no lead at all on this nose to start with. It now has a little moon shaped smear around the hood, but nothing excessive. I though it came out pretty good.



Filled a few pits and shot a little primer on it.





A little more finish work on the hood, and a little more red paint (it will get sanded down and properly sprayed with the rest of the car when the time comes).





I'm pleased with the hood and nose. Its come a long ways from when I started.


Hopefully more frequent updates will occur from now on!

Take care,
DG

[John Pierce]

That turned out very nicely.

It's nice to enjoy Labor Day working on our hobbies instead of our day jobs.

JP

[JTR70]

There you are David, I thought we'd lost you. Great job with the lead work on the upper nose. The transition line from the hood is spot-on, not to mention the gap is real nice too! Keep up that great work that you do! Justin

[Phil Planck]

Thanks for the update Dave. Really looks nice.

Phil

[Jonesy_356]

Really nice work DG, those lines look fantastic. That weld across the nose of the hood worked out really well - a difficult task.

Thanks for sharing, hope to see a lot more soon,

Jonesy

[DG58INNM]

Thanks guys. No Justin, you won't lose me. Still the best 356 site out there. I very rarely visit the R site any more, and will probably emulate Bruce next May when my subscription comes up for renewal. I am really lousy about posting. But I check this site out regularly and follow all of your progress. Going to get a little more time in on the car today. I hope.

Oh, by the way, that is "lead free" lead I was using. #523 from Johnson Solder. I'm a convert. At first this stuff was awkward to work with, but once I got the hang of it, very nice. Highly recommended.

DG

[roy mawbey]

Nice work David. Interesting your comment on the non-lead product.

Roy

[merbesfield]

The good old days. Way, way back, when I was a young pup sweeping the floors at the local Porsche shop, I watched the owner make one 914 from two. Front of a yellow car, mated to the back of an orange car. Right through the middle of the passenger compartment. I thought it was impossible. But man that guy was a talented welder! Always wished I had his skills.


DG

I also have a very talented friend who is a welder and Porsche restoration expert. He rebuilt a 912 from two halves. But it was the "top" half of one and the "bottom" half of another. Crazy shit!

[merbesfield]

Thanks guys. No Justin, you won't lose me. Still the best 356 site out there. I very rarely visit the R site any more, and will probably emulate Bruce next May when my subscription comes up for renewal. I am really lousy about posting. But I check this site out regularly and follow all of your progress. Going to get a little more time in on the car today. I hope.

Oh, by the way, that is "lead free" lead I was using. #523 from Johnson Solder. I'm a convert. At first this stuff was awkward to work with, but once I got the hang of it, very nice. Highly recommended.

DG

David, could you offer some more info and how to on using that #523 Lead free lead? I like the sound of that. Too scared of the real deal for health reasons.

[DG58INNM]

Mark,
I will do that, the next time I do some lead work, which should be soon. It is really quite simple to use, only requiring a little different application strategy than actual lead. It likes to be dabbed and pushed, rather than "spread". There is less sculpting of metal in the plastic state like with real lead. You just build it up higher than needed, than sculpt it with the file and sandpaper. It is harder than real lead too, so filing is more labor intensive. But the finished product is quite nice. I've also found that shaping can be done with rotary burrs at relatively low speed, which makes things easier. Real lead will instantly plug a burr, but if you don't get the 523 too hot it cuts pretty nicely with the burr. The first time I called Johnson solder to buy this material, the guy on the phone was extremely helpful. He gave me a little verbal tutorial on the properties and how to work it. Seemed genuinely interested in the car I was using it on.

[DG58INNM]

An update. But not on the Swiss Miss. A new Porsche in the barn. But its not mine.....its my wife's.

The last two years Cha had been thinking about a fun car. Maybe a gift to herself for turning 50. Or maybe for getting through the cancer thing. Or maybe just to make the rapidly approaching "empty nest" syndrome easier. She wanted a car she could call her own, and maybe a little more modern than our other cars. When we were young and newlyweds, she drove a '68 targa (we still have that car). She definitely wanted an open car, for topless drives on sunny days. The thought was a 964 cab, or maybe even a water pumper. I wasn't happy about the water pumper idea, but this was her deal, so I tried to stay out of it.

Anyway, she looked at a bunch of cars. Came close to pulling the trigger on a couple. All nice enough, but nothing really spoke to her as special. A few months ago I spotted a local ad for an '88 Targa. Very little info, high asking price, and a couple of poor photographs. About the only thing you could tell was that it was green and had cookie cutters. I thought it was probably a bastard 2.7 with flares. Almost didn't give it a second look. But something clicked in my memory. I had met an old man down at the local dealer years back. We visited a bit, and he told me he always ordered his cars exactly the way he wanted them. He mentioned he also had a green targa, with chrome trim. Figured the car in the ad was probably not that car, but what the heck, never hurts to ask.

So I showed Cha the ad. She wasn't wild about it, but agreed it might be worth a look. Guy was really hard to get hold of. Left messages. Time went by. Finally got a call back after about 3 weeks, but we couldn't come see the car yet. I'd call every Friday to see if it was a good time. This went on for several more weeks. Finally he said it was good, and to come on over. Nice fellow, very low key. Seemed to know almost nothing about the car. He was an artist, and had bought it just because he thought it was such a beautiful color. I looked it over good. Very dirty. Cobwebs hanging in the wheel wells. Tires looked to have 5 miles on them, but dry-rotted. But never any damage or mods. All original paint, and it looked like it would clean up nicely. Perfectly original and un-messed with! And that color! He was calling it Viper green, and said it had custom "caravela" wheels. Stainless roll bar and chrome trim on the car. Plus that crazy interior. Pinstripe velour inserts in brown leather. Definitely an unusual car. But man, was it beautiful!

We decided to bide our time. I wrote to an overseas friend with connections in good places. A week went by, then most of another, before the confirmation. "Special wishes" officially noted, including paint-to-sample emerald green metallic, chrome trim instead of black, ATS cast aluminum wheels, rear wiper, mahogony leather with pinstripe velour inserts in seats. The green Targa was built by Porsche exactly as it looked. Perfectly original. So we made an offer. And waited again. On pins and needles for a few days. Finally he called back and said yes. Then another wait to find a time to conclude the deal. Agonizing. Anyway, all ended well, and we got the car home. It was most definitely "the one". Serendipity. A perfect fit between a girl and her car. Cha named it "Hygge".

Cha spent some time cleaning and polishing. It is coming up nicely. Just a phenomenally original car. Wonderful shape. 99,700 miles on the clock. Not flawless. A few rock chips here and there. A little wear on the drivers seat bolster and steering wheel. A few pieces of weatherstrip that could be replaced. But everything correct and working like it should. Used, but never abused.

On opening the service book, sure enough there was the name of the old guy I'd met at the dealer 15 years ago. Don Janssen was his name. He'd ordered the Targa as a tourist delivery car and picked it up at the factory on Apr. 26, 1988. The first stamp in the book is an oil change back at the factory on May 3, 1988, with 936 miles on the clock. We have since learned that Don was the first PCA member in New Mexico, in 1955. He was a founder of the Roadrunner region of PCA. Don regularly ordered new Porsches, starting in 1950's, and would probably have been considered a "special" customer at Porsche. A good friend of ours currently owns a 59 coupe that Don was the original owner of. Apparently Don traded in the Targa in 2003, on his last car, having put over 92,000 miles on her. The second owner (the artist) bought it off the dealers lot the next day, but only logged 7000 miles over the next 12 years.

Hygge has found the right home, and Cha will take good care of her. They are both very special girls.












Sorry for the lack of 356 content, but thought some might enjoy seeing this car.
Take care,
DG

[Carrera_The_Kid]

Hi David,

Congrats on a fantastic car. I am sure she will love it. Those funky special orders are really cool. Just so much better than the next standard silver or black car.

My misses had to get used to the 996 C4S but now loves it. All the talk of wanting a mini clubman has now vanished. Actually, she has been bugging me to get started on her '65 911. Tells me it would be a perfect driver for the summer months.

I am counting my blessings as it gives me an excuse to spend more time in the shop

[merbesfield]

Fantastic car, fantastic wife. You are a lucky man. Enjoy.