58367 The $75 Junkyard Carrera coupe restoration

[JTR70]

Simple glue and fold versus relief cutting it as I had done on the last one.


Turned the trick as I ended up with taught and wrinkle free corners on both sides.


Onto the center section I referenced off of your car. Thanks again Roy!

Justin

[JTR70]

Onto rewrapping the A-pillars


Then onto the B-pillars and punching the holes for the jewelry.


Visors and mirror after that...

[John Pierce]

Looking very nice, Justin. Is the Corvette the next project?

[JTR70]

Thanks a lot John! One day soon hopefully. Its my American dream car that I've wanted since I was 10. I messed with it a little when I first bought it but I've since restricted myself from touching it until this car is finished otherwise nothing of mine will ever get completed if I don't stay focused.

[roy mawbey]

That headliner job has come out so well Justin! Helpful photos for anyone having to do that job!
Roy

[JTR70]

Thanks again Roy! As much as I resisted doing it again I was so happy with the new result. I guess you never regret doing things right no matter how many attempts it takes.

[JTR70]

A few more of the completed liner install.



Wanted to make sure my roll-bar still cleared okay.



Onto the next deal. Thanks for looking!
Justin

[JTR70]

Mocking up a few of the chrome goodies was addicting and I found myself digging in my boxes for more.

Dug out my loose hinges for the GT windows that are going in and punched the holes in the new B-pillar wrapping to mount them.



Went ahead and mocked up the handles with seals to give everything a chance to settle in together. I also never refitted them since their restoration from Victor. A mistake as they did fight a little bringing my stress level way up wrestling with these in new chrome and up against a final paint finish.


The lock tumblers and plungers are original to this car but the old handles where too far corroded to save. This pair of handles was one the nicer pair of originals that I had accumulated through the years. Pitting and the typical pot metal corrosion was held to a minimum and one of their great preservatives was a good coat of overspray paint to the inside of these cavities. I decided to keep that going by adding a heavy coat of epoxy primer to these reliefs. Overkill and unnecessary I know but once mounted on the car its nearly impossible to see and it helps me sleep better at night.

[roy mawbey]

What a good place to engrave your initials Justin !! Always good to have a spot like that to convince others its your car!

Roy

[JTR70]

Hi Roy, Actually it was Victor Miles who engraved that. Every part I've sent him has "JR" engraved on the back. Good way to ensure my parts don't get mixed in with someone else's once they come back from plate.

[JTR70]

From 10/18


Ran across the Marker lights and mocked them up as well.



Not mounted for good but it was a fun distraction and gave me the chance to round up all those tiny screws that hold them on.

From there I moved onto mocking up the original threshold strips.

[JTR70]

If I was using new I would have obsessed over a nicely finished end but as you can see here the factory didn't make a big fuss and just snipped in the needed clearance.

Will need some love but definitely savable; most importantly (to me) more authentic components being reused.

Right side mocked up next with a few adjustments needed. Traces of overspray from that old British Racing green paint job from the '60's remain...

Thanks for looking!
Justin

[Don C]

Headliner looks fantastic Justin! What glue did you use? If I remember correctly a friend of yours gave you some proper headliner glue for the 1st install?
Thanks!
DC

[John Pierce]

Justin, is the new headliner correct only for 356 A's or for the B/C's also?

[JTR70]

Thanks a lot Don! My buddy did give me another small jar of glue from his 5 Gallon can to install this one as well.


Here is the brand we use. This by far is the best gorilla snot you can buy as it simply won't give up if applied properly. Not cheap but well worth the money. You can buy it by the quart too.

Hey John, The material is correct for an A car as all the original B&C liners I've seen had a much heavier grain pattern to them.

Justin

[Don C]

Thanks Justin!

[JTR70]

Anytime Don.

[JTR70]

Installing the fail safe steering coupler from Precision Matters.


I had already installed my OG coupler some time ago and while I had no issues or worries about its integrity


I really liked the idea of an encapsulated fail safe housing so I went ahead and purchased the kit offered by P.M.


Fortunately I had a few spare couplers so I didn't have to break down my OG coupler to build this new one. The old coupler will go into my "stock" storage box next to the old OG VW Type 1 steering box originally fitted to this car. New coupler fully assembled and ready to install.
Thanks for looking!
Justin

[JOP]

Looks just lovely Justin,
Precision Matters has always had good enginering and products as loong as I can remember.
Our 356 would not pass todays NCAP test anyway
Thanks 4 sharing