Rusty Tub 2 1958 Speedster Project

[Drew.s]

Thanks JOP

I only produced one finished part and only for the left side as the other side was OK on WUF810.
Now I've found it I will put in pride of place on a shelf in the workshop.
Cheers
Drew

[Drew.s]

Hi Guys
With door No.1 stripped (on the outside anyway) I thought I would take a look at Speedster door No.2 but before the stripper came out I lined up one of the repro door tops, everything lined up beautifully.



So on with the stripper, this time there was no bondo and I got down to metal without any drama.





No dents, no rust, WOW what a door.





Spured on I have now started sripping the inside structure, this is very time consuming with every little bend and seam having to be scraped out with my trusty putty knife.



Interesting to see the last three digits of it's original chassis number, wonder where the rest of the car ended up?



Thanks for looking.
Next update when I get back from holiday.
Cheers
Drew

[John Pierce]

That's a mighty fine looking door! No rust to boot. A good place to begin the journey.

[JTR70]

Beautiful pair of doors!

[Drew.s]

I have got the hammer form to a stage that I can strike the first set of pockets, I may have to take some more wood out to get the right depth.

A few other things have been happening in the background, I have found a pair of door handles with locks in Belgium and have started taking them apart to get them chromed. Also ordered a key to be cut to the number so I just hope it fits when it turns up.





Also awaiting the arrival (finally) of the remaining parts from Ric including a 58 engine, front bumper and a whole list of other bits and bobs.



You can just make out my bumper in this picture.

The shipment is on the water so should turn up in the next couple of weeks.

More updates soon.
Thanks for dropping by.
Drew

[JTR70]

I'll say Drew, they are definitely more traveled than I am! So you decided to pack them in your suitcase just so you claim that you've wood-widdeled in Spain huh . The forms are coming along nicely. what is basic plan of attack? Will these be made from two halves like Armand had suggested doing or are you shooting for one piece construction? Thanks for the update! Justin

[JOP]

Heay, Drew....you bring work with you on your holiday
Or this is your way of winding down
It sure looks like to become a good form to be able to reproduce the pocket molds.
You are a good joiner.
Now I know whom to reach out to If I ever want to do a 356 "Speedster".....but it will take a while because I already have a speedster project but on a 964 that will become a early 70 look
Njoy "Ballermann"
/ Per

[Drew.s]

Good morning Justin and JOP.

Yes I know its a bit sad taking your project on holiday but it's kind of therapy and beats sitting on the beach.

The plan is to try and hammer it as one piece, I will be cutting the main opening out of a piece of heavy gauge (4mm) aluminium which will be clamped tight over the opening.
This should hold the steel in place and give me a good crisp bend around the top.

Have also started to get the body down to bare metal 1/4 at a time.



Thanks for watching.
Drew

[Rusty Tubs]

Drew, lots of work getting it cleaned up!
Compared to the body we sent Justin for his conversion ( under the current spotlight), yours was one of the best bodies we have ever supplied for a conversion. Looking forward to the progress.

[roy mawbey]

Yes Drew,

How are you getting on with the car? would like to know

Roy

[Drew.s]

More updates to follow.
Cheers
Drew

[roy mawbey]

Drew,

Thanks for letting us know! That lock post photo really shows the difference between the coupe and the speedster. Without looking back at Justins great work on his conversion did he encounter the same much fuller male radius at the top of the lock post that your new panel shows. There is ( or seems ) a considerable difference in form.

The existing coupe form looks very different on the top of the lock post area its possibly deformed it looks hollow on the radius? I thought all 356 lockposts looked the same but I think you also need the full rear quarter speedster panel to suit this speedster lock post form Is this item now specially produced that both you and Justin need to get? And are your lock posts specifically speedster ones.
I attach 2 photos of that area not so different to your coupe.





Roy

[JTR70]

Thanks Drew and thanks also for the update. I was wondering what was going on. Definitely, rounding up all the speedster related parts is daunting and certainly should be one of the main priorities. The striker posts look nice and I think Rusty tubs offers them for about 80 bucks a side. However, the thing I gather from your car is that you don't need these. If they are not severely rusted out why in the world you create all the extra work for yourself by disturbing perfectly fine originals. All you have to do is re-contour the profile at the very top which is pretty straight forward. The strikers are identical otherwise. I wouldn't disturb those but that's just me. If you get a chance could you take some detailed shots of your new windshield frame? curious about the detail in the extrusions and the posts. Keep up the great work! Justin

Thanks Roy!

[Drew.s]

Hi Roy yes the door posts are speedster ones and Stoddard's have newly listed them.
And Justin don't worry I will only be using the top section it's just easier when you don't have speedster nearby to measure.
Here are some pics of the new windshield frame and posts.
I would be very interested to see how they stack up against the real ones.







Nearly finished the rotisserie, just one more side bar to drill and bolt up and I can roll her over.





More updates soon.
Cheers
Drew

[JOP]

Hello Drew,
The parts look really nice from you pictures.
Good to only use top piece of the door posts.
Your rotisserie will be really helpful to you to gain acces.
Also noted that you did have a small arsenal of machinery to produce inhouse parts
But I did not see a "rollenstreckmaschine" but I guess all of you lads have one in your sheed
Thx 4 ya update
/ Per