58367 The $75 Junkyard Carrera coupe restoration

[JTR70]

After taking delivery of my new collar clamp I was able to complete the cooler frame.


Found this standard 3/4 inch clamp on Ebay and it fit perfectly snug around the original metric tubing stand-off.


Had to weld the clamp on just a bit cock-eyed in relation to the rest of the frame so it would seat correctly on the tube. Also went to smaller square stock on the cross member for a better fit and finish.


Welding complete and cooler is securely mounted. It serves its purpose well; the cooler is firmly mounted with no flex as I try to wiggle it at the corners. Nice thing too is that the cooler is fully rubber isolated off of the mount flanges that I bought with it.


Just what I was hoping for; a simple bracket to make it possible to run this cooler with NO modifications to the fender brace. Lost of time spent getting it all to fit and mount right, especially after the welding. Shrouding and oil lines next.

Got my hands on some aluminum flat stock and finished the first section of the oil cooler deflector shield this evening. My Father also came in to visit for a couple of days. He was extremely happy and complimentary with the repairs on his old car. A nice trade off for the loss of progress for most of this week. His approval is of course very important to me! In many respects I'm trying to get this thing done for us both. Also to break the "Rio Curse" of never finishing a restoration project! My dad, his brother, his son and of course myself have yet to complete one of our 20+ year projects. I'm determined to be the first!

Dad and his old 356 reunited once again. Installed the doors for him so he could see the initial fit and finish.


lower deflector plate cut to shape and installed.


Same basic concept as the original version but with my own little cut-out shape.


Developing my paper templates for the upper shrouding next.

[JTR70]

After one abandoned attempt,along with several generations of paper templates and finally some close study of my one and only picture of an original unit; I finally built the upper portion to this deflector shield to my liking.

Lots of adding and trimming on my original template. Once I had the desired basic shape I made the final pattern (all green one). I was also shooting for single piece construction.


Final pattern taped and mounted. I was finally satisfied with the look of it to move onto metal.


Had to make sure my bends cleared the collar for a clean fit.

Got my final template back to the shop and traced it on a piece of alloy.Basic shape cut out here. Lots of planning and careful cutting and folding was next.


The sequence of each fold had to be planned in advance so I did not lock myself out or distort a previous bend.

Almost there; right in the middle of getting the overlapping tabs to lay down without distrubing the rest of the part.


My one and only photo of an original. After some close study I realised the lap joint on the corner and decided to replicate that as well.


Corner and lap joint finished and riveted together with some solid units I had on hand.


My first idea and attempt at this upper shroud is pictured below my final version. Wasn't really liking it and knew it wasn't going to fly. It was soon abandoned and I went back to that old photo for more help.


Upper shroud basically complete. I have alot of overhang on the left side that will be cut and flanged over for strength and a finished look. I like it so far, its made from a single piece, it works for this special application and it mimics the original. Follows the contour of the base plate pretty well to for uniform opening.

Upper shroud trimmed and mounted.

Sits in there squarely and fits better than I had hoped!

Thankfully got the recess cuts for the uprights and harness tube in the right place. Left side has been flanged over and will need a little heli-arcing but its there.


Drilled the outer side mounting holes here.

Aside from the uprights sticking through it looks close enough to my sample photo.


Fits nicely with the collar clamp. Inner flange needs a little tig-welding but its there.

Basically done with this. Onto the front ducting next. Thanks for reading this! Justin

[roy mawbey]

Perfect Justin, the Japanese 'origani' paper folding experts would be proud for you to join their club I think.

Looks factory for sure!

Roy

[JTR70]

Thanks Roy, I'm glad you like it so far! Here's a bit more oragani but I'm not quite ready to join a club yet.

When I began this front oil cooler side project it did not compute as to how much time and work it was going to turn out to be. You think I would have learned by now. I have at least 20 solid sessions on this thing already. The good news is that its almost complete. I have some fine trimming on the upper front duct and fabrication on the lower section. After that I'm onto the hardlines.


Initial paper template for the front ducting shroud. Basic shape there. Time for a second template based on this one to begin cleaning up the shape.


here's the inside, Very rough and fish plated example to get all the gaps filled and correct shape. A change in plans was including the turnsignal light inside of this housing. My original plan was to have the mouth of this duct match the horn grille opening. However the angle needed to clear the light base was way to steep and would disrupt the air flow to the outer face of the cooler. Its a smooth and straight shot this way.


second template. A much clearer picture is coming into focus. Just a about to move onto metal.

Upper half of the front duct fabricated. Once I was comfortable with the fitment of the second template; I went ahead and fabricated this section. An all day project just to get it this far.


here is that straight on feed created by bringing the turnsignal light into this housing.


The front and rear housing interlock for a smooth transition.


trial fitments with lots of trimming to go. The leading edge will not touch the body, there will be a rubber seal between the two when finished.


Beginning paper templates for the lower section next.

[JTR70]

It took a while but I Finally wrapped up the basic fabrication and mounting of this lower duct section. I had so much time invested in mounting the cooler that it was becoming hard to keep the motivation up to finish this last major section.


three generations of cardboard templates later I had my final model.


In again for its one of many test fits.

Finally able to move onto metal. Piece cut and putting in the bends here.

Very basic shape here.

Lots of fine trimming and bend tweaking still to come.

Along the way I decided on how I was going to mount the lower section to the cooler. I had these generic L-brackets on hand and figured I could make the cooler nut plate a compound mount.


Right bracket plug welded together. Left side still to do along with some final cutting for length.

With the lower mounts set I was able to finish off most of the trimming and final shaping.


Mocked up in the car. It fits!! Lower L brackets trimmed to final shape.


Profile view.

View through the inlet. Just have to fabricate a vein but its a simple flat piece.


A very long road to get here but I can live with it! A little trimming, welding and a vein still to do but its basically there. Thanks for looking at this! Justin

[JTR70]

Finished the vein! I'm officially done mounting this oil cooler and building its alloy shroud. Just have to get it all heli-arced but I'm done making parts for this conversion. Can't believe how involved it all became.


All the fine trimming and fitment to the cooler complete. Bolted it together so I could make the vein template and to get it ready for welding.


Basic position and shape.

Mocked up with this nose section. Happy enough to move onto metal.


final cut out shape in metal. Note the stepped edges for a mount/flange with the housing.

lots of careful trimming to get it to fit and close tightly again.

With its final position determined I put these relief cuts in both side so the center stepped portion of the vein would poke through for a clean and strong weld joint.


Inside joints will be clean and all welding will be to the outside.


Almost there, just a little more trimming still but its getting tighter.

Done! Back on the car for yet another test fit!

I'm happy! Just gotta get it welded together.

[JTR70]

Ducting all tigged-up!


front duct all tigged up and ready to go! finally done with this! More time and work than then i thought it was going to be. Always is...


Another test fit! no distortion and no fitment issues.

filed and polished the outer joint seam since it is very visible. I'm happy with it, only some detail polishing down the road. Cooler and ducting are mounted solid in here. I can grab that center deflector plate and really crank on it with virtually no flex. The car starts rocking first. Really done fabricating this unit now. Sending the mounting chassis out for coating, With everything set as far as shrouds go I was able to finalize this frame. Instead of paint I decided to have it all plated.The chromer here in town offers a really cool translucent black nickle plate finish which I think should look great! Even though you wont see most of it.



A tortured piece of metal! Many cuts, splices, welding and grinding to get it to do all that I needed and to line up and fit. Not much to look at but this repesents a huge chunk of my time. There are 14 tapped holes in this little frame. It does several jobs at once, which is what I like. Frame and brackets ready for the plater. Straight plating with no polish by the way. I told him not to bother I just wanted a coating on it. Besides I did not want to risk this thing getting tweeked out of shape if it got clipped on the polisher.



Back from plate. Very cool and unique color tint. I'd really like to do my roll-bar in this as well but the chromers charge double over just regular chrome rates; these four small pieces alone were 110.00. A large item like the hoop may prove too expensive to justify. I'll look into it though.


reassembly begins yet again!

Mounted one more time!

Don't really see too much of it once all the shrouding is on but what does show ties in real nice with the alloy I quickly hand polished. Best of all its not going to chip like regular paint would have.BTW used all original NSF hardware to hold this entire unit together.


The easiest assembly sequence for this contraption means the cooler unit must come out first and go in last. This means the sub-frame and flat deflector shield are most likely in for good at this point. Okay done with this; onto hardlines now. Thanks for looking at this! Justin

[admin]

Super Nice fabrication and finish work. Its more like a work of art .

[roy mawbey]

great result

Roy

[JTR70]

Thank you Bruce! That is really a very nice compliment; I appreciate it!
Thank you too Roy! It was a very long road just to get this far. The hardlines are next which posed thier own set of problems. Thanks once again! Justin

Now with the cooler mounted and covered I went ahead and ordered the tubing and the bender for the hardlines.


My shipment of 18mm T6060 alloy tubing the day it arrived.

this is going to be an oversized Carrera system like the one Warren Eads built for his '58 GT coupe. A few MM's bigger then a stock system and a MM smaller then a stock 911 unit. Right in the middle; should be fine for that 4 cylinder going in.


Just having a quick look at how the system might look with the bracket placement from page 30. A couple of scrap ends that were included in the shipment are pictured here. I could not do a thing until the bender arrived. Thanks for stopping by! Justin

[JTR70]

Once the bender arrived this new journey began.



Bender worked beautifully. Getting to know it here with varying degrees of bend in my scrap pieces.



Here is when I learned that this bracket was in the wrong place. It sits too close and is in the radious. I'd have to move it forward for a proper fit. Fortunately this is the only brakcet up here that would need to be remount.





Same process as the rest of the work on this project; gradual progress with many repeated test fits to get the shape and fitment I'm after.




Rocker sections will need this "S" shape to meet flush and square with the splash pan and clear the access hole for the hinge pin. Playing with shapes using this test piece, its getting close to what I'm after. This is all part of getting aquanted with a new tool and a new task.

[JTR70]

some progress on the oil line fabrication. I have been taking extra time planning and rethinking how each tube will lay before I commit to bending them. I've got over 300 bucks in this tubing alone and am really trying to avoid any mistakes or afterthoughts... But eventually you just have to jump in; which I did starting with the rocker sections. They will be the easiest, making them a perfect experience and confidence builder before I get into the real curly sections.


outer runner tube is going to be the simplest of this system. Once the two bends were set up front its just a straight shot out the back. Later 4-cams and Bill's Faux cam project have the rocker brace set horizontally and tied into the longitudinal. There are also some U-shaped reliefs cut into the door stricker flange for the oil lines. While this is the way it was done by the factory I cannot follow it. Same rule applies to the lines as with the oil cooler before; all modifications have to held to a bare minimum. With no reliefs being cut into the striker these lines will come out just a bit lower. A non invasive bracket will be fabricated to clamp onto either the rocker brace or flange to secure the ends on the lines. This will also eliminate the need for a mount flange to be welded to the jack spur like the factory did. Another little project down the road.


Front of both lines are pretty much set. Some fine adjustment down the road I'm sure.


Both tubes are bent identically but by staggering thier placement a nice relief presents itself for a clear shot at the hinge pin access hole. This is one of those simple remedies that came into focus after hours staring at it and planning then replanning. My first ideas made it so much harder then it had to be. Always learning!


planning my next couple of bends to snake around the jack spur with this scrap stock. A plan is taking shape.


Rocker hardline section fabricated. One - third of the way there.

Both lengths installed and in thier final positions.

Relief bend for the spur was of course the trickiest. It Took extra time and care while bending it up in small stages. Fortunately it worked out okay.


To feed the inner section into position I had to go ahead and punch the access holes into the splash pan. wasn't real excited about doing it but it had to be done. On the upside these two holes and two more holes into the engine compartment will be the most invasive modifications I have to make to the car for this entire system. Not too bad I guess.


with the bends set and the holes punched here are the tubes set in there best position for clearance. Did not care if the drain hole was blocked but it just worked out this way.


I'm happy so far; With everything set the tubes still run pretty much parallel with rocker and frame for a cleaner look. Onto the more tricky front sections now. Thanks for stopping by! Justin

[JTR70]

Hardlines continued from page 32.

Front cooler lines proved to be as tricky as I had thought they might be. To hug the inner structure the bends all have to be indexed in relation to one another. After an initial failed attempt I learned alot. No substitute for just jumping in and making your mistakes.



All my prep in order to avoid a mistake was in vain. Burned a full piece here after I indexed the second bend in wrong. Damn it! I have 3 extra full sections so I have two more strikes before I have to order more tubing to complete this job. Also have removed that upper clamp bracket in this shot.


Even though this section was now unusable I continued with the rest of the bends for more practice and planning.


All was not lost however, this failed attempt was now my full model example. I cut it after the 90 degree bend and hose clamped a new section on with the proper bend and index. This is going to work out perfect for my next attempt. With this unit on the ground it will tell me where and how to bend the next piece. It will take all the guess work away. Again just things you figure out as you go and because you have to!


Last length by the front suspension horn bent to desired shape and hose clamped into position.

Model complete and Just what I wanted. At the end of this excersize it had to look good in there too; not some piece of garbage. I was now ready to try it again with another full piece.


First front section sucessfully fabricated from one piece. That sectioned model turned the trick! Life was so much more simplier with a 1 to 1 model to copy from.



new section succesfully copied. I had an afternoon invested here just to get these 3 bends in the right place. This is the extra time that must be invested when you don't know what you're doing.


New section fits just like the model. Some adjustment to do but I can at least use this piece.

Nice thing is I can use the same sections to mock up the upper runner. Some slight differences but I can at least get the shape I'm after before I commit. While doing this mock up I came up with an idea for tubing clamps. I was going to use the factory style steel clips but I want to make a full craddle version out of some billet alloy. I'm going to have those made by my machinist Bill before I bend up any more tubing just to ensure it all fits together like I want. Thanks for stopping by! Justin

[roy mawbey]

Nice Justin, with that bender you can get now some extra work as a plumber! I had one long ago it was a great too. The pipes look very professional.

Roy

[JTR70]

Thanks Roy! I might call myself a plumber is these pipes don't leak.
Yes, these tubing lever bender work nice. You simply must have the right tools for the job to get a clean result. Thanks again! Justin

12/21/11 Back in business; Bill my machinist finished up my alloy clamps this afternoon. By the time I got back to the shop I only had an hour to play with them. looking forward to my next visit.


Put my thoughts on paper and drew out what I had in mind the best that I could. Bill was able to take this crued laymans plan; scale it and produced them just like I wanted.

All five as ordered in basic form here. Corners will be rounded and shaped. Some lengths will be trimmed to fit. Holes are oversized for a silicone unsulator wrap.


Warren Eads told me that the original carrera oil line rubber insulators were orange. I later found this high heat silicone pot holder in orange. Just cut it into strips for a nice factory style touch.


Quick mock-up here. I have some cool allen head bolts coming so I just used a standard bolt to hold it together so I could have a look.


This middle clamp required the most shortening to fit down flush in this trough.

Clamp trimmed to fit with the corners rounded and shaped. I think they look so much better then the angular profiles.


Silicone insulator sleve also installed. tube already has a very nice positive, secure feel to it.

Similar and based off the original design but with my own little twist.