The Swiss Miss ('64 C #126687)

[DG58INNM]

Next, fabricated the little weatherstrip channel at the top of the closing panel




And welded the closing panel, fitted earlier, in its final resting place


Top of closing panel, and the little weatherstrip piece. I can get to almost all of thhe closing panel with spot welder tongs. Only a little piece in the middle where I have to use the Lenco. But I have to say I have gotten comfortable enough with the Lenco to use it for structural things and not worry. Just takes a little care, and really clean, shiny metal.


Took a break and went down to the Zia 356 Breakfast Saturday morning. Cool, wet morning, so most of my friends brought their lesser Porsches out.


Thanks,
DG

[DG58INNM]

Came home from breakfast and jumped into the front fender replacement. The right side was also (unfortunately) going to be a frankenfender. I had an old Simonsen repair piece hanging in the rafters, and thougth what the heck, might as well use it.









The Swiss Miss has all 4 fenders and a nose, for the first time in who knows how many years. Maybe not for long though. The RF fender came out so much nicer than the LF. Starting to think maybe I will have to cut it off and start over

Thanks,
DG

[John Pierce]

DG,

Your pictures make it look so simple. I know the time and effort it took to make the panels fit so nicely. Great job! It's nice to have a parts car to get those little pieces with embossments that are a pain to make by hand.


John

[roy mawbey]

David,

I was thinking the same as John and then saw his post. I agree with him, just how did you do that what looks like to me, a perfect job. That really opened my eyes, did that repair panel really just sit virtually in place ready for welding up just like magic ??

Lovely bit of work.I can see why you might be making comparisons the the left wing (fender)

Roy

[Carrera_The_Kid]

Fabulous work David, thanks for sharing.

[merbesfield]

[quote="DG58INNM" post=33144]Came home from breakfast and jumped into the front fender replacement. The right side was also (unfortunately) going to be a frankenfender. I had an old Simonsen repair piece hanging in the rafters, and thougth what the heck, might as well use it.









The Swiss Miss has all 4 fenders and a nose, for the first time in who knows how many years. Maybe not for long though. The RF fender came out so much nicer than the LF. Starting to think maybe I will have to cut it off and start over

Thanks,
DG[/quote

David, I too want to know about that Simonsen fender patch panel. If it is that nice I will go ahead and order a couple for the eventual use on my 57. Let us know. I am assuming they are still available. Thx Mark

[Carrera_The_Kid]

All this discussion about the strength and weaknesses of the various available reproduction panels might make it worthwhile to start a dedicated thread about them. I think it would be a great asset for people who do their own work to knows which pieces work and which do not. I would do so myself but have no experience with repo sheet metal outside of some of the 4-cam pieces.

[Phil Planck]

Really nice work Dave. Thanks for posting.

Phil

[DG58INNM]

Thanks for all the kind words guys. It really is simple, but it is not quick. That panel did not just lay in place ready for welding. I started at one end and coaxed it little by little to the right spot. Well, may be not the right spot, but close enough I could live with it. As for using a preformed fender patch panel, I had gotten in the habit of using just a flat piece of 20 ga. I like being able to precisely match the curve of the fender with the leading edge of the door, and I think this is easier to do if you just have flat metal. But I had this panel from years back, and the curvature was very close already to the door. The door will need some repair too, so the front edge will get re-leaded, and so I thought I'd just use the pre-formed repair piece. It really was a pretty nice fit though. The little nudging and coaxing required was a few millimeters, not inches. Where I had a problem on the left fender, it was that the flat sheet I used allowed the seam between the rear edge and the bulk of the fender to move toward the centerline of the car as I worked. I wound up with it low in this area, by probably 3/8", and so far I have been unsuccessful in working it back outwards. I was pleased to not have this problem on the right fender, and I think it was prevented largely by using the pre-formed piece. I think in the future the key to using flat metal for the repair will be to make a plywood template, and thus hold the shape of the fender and keep it in the right place while working. Live and learn.

Thanks,
DG

[Trevor]

Good feedback David! I really, really, really wish I could have used those Simonsen pieces, would have saved me a heap of time. I had (still have) two of them and they were MANY inches off when I started laying them on the fender to match the existing door curve. Here's my Fender Repair 101 on Craig's car. http://forum.porsche356registry.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=40193

For pushing up low spots, I like the tool called the Wing Ding Spoon Dolly. http://www.tinmantech.com/html/body_dollies.php It is a beast...heavy and because it's so long you've got some leverage. If you can't get behind it enough, you could go down the route of using a stud gun combined with this tool. http://www.steckmfg.com/20014-StudLever.html For the guy working by himself, it gives you three points of contact on the metal. One pulling the pin, one where the pivot point is on the StudLever and the "third" is a free hand with a body hammer in it.

What I've found is that you're going to get a lot of high spots in the metal when you using the stud gun, and IMHO the StudLever is better for pulling up the pins/studs as opposed to a slide hammer because it gives you more control. Of course once you've got high spots you'll have to shrink them back down, but hopefully in the process you'll have pulled up all the metal enough to reduce the 3/8 low spot.

And then there is shrinking the metal... maybe another whole discussion.

Good luck!

[JTR70]

That fender turned out Bitchin David! I see a ton of time slowly rolling that rear repair section in. How are you doing the final crimping on the edge? You don't have that slick seam roller that Phil showed us a while back do you?
Thanks for the link Trevor. "wing ding" is the perfect name. I need a better job so I can afford all these great tools you guys keep showing.

[DG58INNM]

Update on the Swiss Miss? No. Well, actually I have been at work, and have some new progress photos. But today I have a question (somewhat directed at Bruce Baker) and it is rather self serving.

If I were to sell the Swiss Miss today, what do you think I could get?

First, the reason I ask is a good friend of mine wants to sell me his T6B coupe. Its a ratty car. Faded paint and a bunch of thick, cracking bondo. But its not terribly rusty (NM car for decades), with some older so-so patchwork on floors and closing panels. Mechanically very good. Its a driver. Something I could enjoy today. He'll make the price reasonable (by 2016 standards) for me.

I can't do it without selling something. Both financially, and in the interests of marital bliss, one of the other cars would have to go. The Swiss Miss is a good car, and I'm enjoying the project, but I don't have any real connection with it, like I do with the '58 and '61. The Swiss Miss is a '64 C Reutter-built car. Matching numbers. Originally delivered Ruby red with black/grey cord. interior; chrome wheels; side spears. Delivered new in Switzerland, and has the AMAG lauf# plate on the engine. The metalwork heavy lifting has already been done. Whats left is to finish the floor (just fitting and welding, ledges are done), finish repairs to the inner rear fender wells, and tidy up a couple areas on the rear quarter panels. Oh, and the doors are not done. I intend to do new bottoms, though others might choose to live with them as is. Car is complete I believe, with the exception of headlights. Engine is partially dismantled (I took it apart). Will need new P/C's, but has nice standard crank. Big project, but a good one I believe. So what's it worth?

And for Bruce, I noted in another post that you have a friend in Cal. looking for a project. Would this be of interest? Not such a bad drive from NM to California. I've got a good trailer and I'm always up for a good road trip.

Or would I be foolish to do this, after being well on the way to having a really nice C, to go for immediate gratification with a ratty old B coupe

Thanks for any thoughts on the matter.

DG

[JTR70]

I understand your angle of instant gratification on a 356 that you can jump in and drive today David but the true test-of-will, will be your ability to leave the car alone and not start down the road of improving it. "oh, I'll just fix this one thing because its easy" Oh, wait I should take care of "that" too while I'm in here... then before you realize it the car is another shell in your garage. The problem is you are too capable of doing the repairs so the temptation will eventually become too great I think. It is a good move to maybe sell this car if your not really in love with it but instead of buying another I would laser focus my efforts on one of the two 356's I really cared about already in your possession. Just my 2 cents of course but just think how happy the Mrs. would be. Good luck with whatever you decide!
Justin

[DG58INNM]

Thanks Justin. Yeah, I guess you know me pretty well! The temptation would be great. I've never been able to resist before. Why would this one be any different?

Here's a couple of pics of the little thing. Its sitting in my shop right now. A clever marketing ploy by my friend, to store it at my place for a while! Come to think of it, that's exactly how I wound up with the Swiss Miss













DG

[JTR70]

That is a nice looking, honest and dry car David I can see why you're interested. Its simple "Porsche-Polygamy", she's brand new to your world and its fun getting acquainted not to mention its currently in better shape than all of your other "old girls" in the garage that have become rather familiar over the years I'm sure. Yes, the owner knows exactly what he's doing and you're nibbling at the hook. Looking forward to updates there brother Gensler.
Justin