Canuck 1960B T5 Coupe Resto

[Phil Planck]

Restoration Design lists this for T5, but does not look like the pic above:
http://www.restoration-design.com/store/product/PP154A

Phil

[John Pierce]

Hey Steve,

Mine were rusted out also and I had to replicate the parts that I couldn't save. If your whole area is bad off then make a template of what you have left and make a new piece out of 14 gauge metal. Make it in 2 parts to go around the central mounting pin then punch a bunch of holes for rosette welds. The hardest part will be bending the edges up as the metal is pretty thick.

John

[Scott B]

Phil and Roy the part you mention is the bump stop. The part I'm after is the shock absorber mount. I'm going to slide by restoration design tomorrow and check but I'm pretty sure mike Delong said he does not make the part.

I'm convinced it needs to be made by hand again with a little heat and mechanical help. I plan on removing the absorber bolt so the part can be made hole and a hole drilled later to insert the bolt, given the compound curves it may be best to make in two parts.

[Phil Planck]

Resto Design calls it the shock mount. Go figure.

[JTR70]

Not sure how deep into the chassis on the other side of this plate you have gotten but


there is another heavy gauge internal plate that ties into the cross-member and the top and sides of the frame runner closing panel.

As you can see the tip of the shock mount ties into the center of it creating a double shear. I had to cut this one free to repair some rot it had. If your outer plate is that bad you better have a look at this anchor point too. The one above is an "A" version but I have to believe B/C's will be very similar.


Chassis closing panel is welded to it both top and sides. Holes drilled for plug welds here.
Justin

[Scott B]

made a little progress this weekend. passenger side transmission cross-member piece is complete. The drivers side is worse but I now have templates and a good example and knowledge on how to put together so hopefully will go a little quicker.

[Scott B]

Justin, in response to your suggestions and comments about the reinforcing plate for the shock-absorber bolt. In my car there is no re-enforcing plate. The bolt passes through the side rail and terminates with lots and lots of spludges of welds at the end of the bolt. The end of the bolt is visible as it exits the inner side rail and "nests" in the corner where all three pieces (parcel shelf, fire wall and side rail) all intersect together. In the photo you can see where the end of the bolt exits into the cabin.

[bbspdstr]

You guys are amazing, saving what we called "parts cars" only a few years ago. Thank you for preserving the 356s guys like me cut up for parts not many more years ago.

Before that, please let me post (again)what guys like me did in our youth. We found 'hurt' 356s and fixed them to drive an then 'flip'. It was much easier then.

This tacky short film made by one of my roommates (who also had an A Coupe)in '67 shows a car I found that has been run off the road (found and fixed in '67) and bought for $375. $75 more in used parts from a worse car (some suspension parts and a front bumper) and I had a nice '61 S90 Coupe with original paint (dull-by-then silver) and interior (red with gray corduroy inserts), a sunroof and Rudge wheels.

I sold it for "all the money" a year later (After this student movie and I got my draft notice) for $1,300. I had prepped it for paint myself, the paint was $15/gallon and the guy with a booth who sprayed it cost me another $15. I was in the car for less than $500.

The next owner had a serious wreck shortly after that and THEN it was cut up for parts, so it is no more......except maybe as parts on another 356, maybe still today.

It makes me smile to read these restoration threads. All this makes me get back on my own '58 A sunroof Coupe...while I still can.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gL3GxAgWYE

As the title says, -'Bruce'

[John Pierce]

"Bruce": so freakin' cool! Thanks for sharing it.

JP

[Don C]

That's great Bruce! Was the guy filming sitting on the front hood to get the shot thru the front window?

[bbspdstr]

It's so long ago I don't remember the specifics but I think Dave sat on the tailgate of a station wagon and zoomed in. I remember him cramped into the rear and leaning in from all around the car before I moved it.

As primitive as that student short was, he eventually did well in film and retired early.

That lot where we parked in '67 usually had a '53 Coupe (mine sold to a classmate also named Dave), my Speedster and that '61 Coupe, Dave's '58 Coupe and a Fiat Abarth. We were all in art school and car crazy....and at least the guy with the Fiat paid his share of the rent on time.

[Scott B]

Wow that put a smile on my face. I wish I had a hot tub time machine to go back in time and buy a few cars for under 500 hundred and store them for forty years. That film is freek'n great.

The leather gloves are a real nice touch, goes nice with the retro striped hippy pants. Of course the rudge wheels are bitch'n. The film was nicely cut - the funny hook of course is this fast sports car that can't go fast and gets jammed in traffic. Fun.

[JTR70]

Interesting to see all 6'6 of you fold up enough to get in there. When you're young, flexible and thin enough anything's possible I suppose.
It is a neat old video!

[roy mawbey]

[Scott B]

I have managed to get the passenger side inner frame rail sewed up. I am frustrated with trying to make as one large piece. It really looks like a patch work quilt doing this is smaller more manageable pieces but tackling one large piece for this area with all the curves and edges is just beyond my limited abilities.