57 356 A mild resto

[merbesfield]

Next up was actually welding the piece in place. This of course had to be done slowly to minimize any potential for warping. As I weld, I grind some of the welds and hammer and dolly the spots to help relieve any tension. Sometimes it works. This piece had so much curve to it that it did not seem to move much during the process. You will also notice that the sides of the opening are a little uneven. For some reason, the side I was working on was smaller than the one on the right, so I actually opened the hole up to match the right side so I was not worried about the inside opening. I guess when these cars were hand built, no one went around with a scale and compared right to left. I also had to line up the body lines in the piece. Hard to do because the lines are very subtle. There was over a 1/4" of bondo on this area and I am not sure why, it is in very good shape. I have not even hand worked the car yet. I also finished the back side so the repair is almost invisible. With some seam sealer and undercoat you will never know. Thanks for watching.

[merbesfield]

I spent last Saturday working on the exhaust cutout that a PO did. This cutout was done over 20 years ago. I am guessing that the same person that installed the 912 motor did the cutout to make room for the stock 912 exhaust. Probably did it at the same time he hacked the two rear corners of the engine bay to make room for the muffler. Somewhere along the way, he decided to change to a two out sport muffler, but never made the repairs. Just as well, it would have been hacked. It is interesting, at least to me that all the mods done to this car were done over 20 years ago. I know this to be true since the last owner, who was gracious enough to sell to me, bought the car exactly like it sat, 20 years ago. I have the original Atlanta Journal classified ad, which he circled and saved from when he first saw the car.
Anyhow, enough talk. Here are pics of the repair I did on the exhaust cut out. Next up, Beehive tail light restoration.

First step was to make a pattern and rough cut some metal.



I then took it to the English Wheel. I have a lot to learn about how this wheel works. Most important, keep your fingers out of the way. Learned that fast. This wheel is a real art. When you see guys use it, they make it look soooo easy. Not so. I got it to do what I wanted, but fortunately, my work was very simple. I have a long way to go before I will be knocking out fenders.



In this pic you can see the shape beginning to take shape. After the wheel, I used the sand bag. On and off the car a few hundred times and the shape was close.



After I got the shape close, I used some Dykem to mark out the edges in preparation for perfect fit.



Once I got the piece fitted, I then had to fold the edge over to match the original. I used some take to create the line I wanted and then hand worked it.

[merbesfield]

Now that you mention it, the flapper did bind due to some tweaked metal so you are probably dead on the they needed more pull to get the flap to move. Well it works great now after a good hour of metal working.

[JTR70]

I would agree with Roy on that being the reason for the second spring. Justin

[roy mawbey]

Mark, that was likely the case. Or maybe the flapper box was a little bent and the flapper plate was obstructed? Sometimes the hand control in the car seems to turn so easily you wonder if it closing or opening.

Nice work on tne brace. Its surprising how much that item shows up if you glance in the wheel well.

Roy

[merbesfield]

Morning Mark,
Thanks for posting an update. The battery box looks great, very nice job on that! Doing all the teadious stuff like engine sheet metal I see. I really should invest in a blasting cabnet. The flapper box would not be double springed like that. The second one without a proper mount tang is an owner add on. Thanks again! It is really looking nice! Justin

Thanks Justin, that's what I figured since it was keeping the trap door from closing all the way. Why would someone add that? Do you think the HE was not adjusted properly so they just put more spring to it rather than take the time to adjust it?

[JTR70]

Morning Mark,
Thanks for posting an update. The battery box looks great, very nice job on that! Doing all the teadious stuff like engine sheet metal I see. I really should invest in a blasting cabnet. The flapper box would not be double springed like that. The second one without a proper mount tang is an owner add on. Thanks again! It is really looking nice! Justin

[merbesfield]

Question for you guys, is this double spring correct? It looks like something that would have been added, but both sides were exactly the same. None of the other hardware had been touched.

Edit, also notice the control lever. It looks like it has been welded or rather brazed in some custom configuration. Stock? This is a 69 912 motor in my 57A, which someone installed over 30 years ago.

[merbesfield]

Got some shop time yesterday. Finished the welding of rear fender braces, applied seam sealer to front battery pan and started working on the heat exchangers. The exchangers were in excellent condition. Again, based on the condition, paint, remaining plating etc. the engine does not appear to have been used too much. I disassembled the HE and metal worked the minor bumps and bruises. Made sure all the doors sit nice and even. After that, I had time to glass bead blast one of them. I am using a new product called New Age Media. It is recycled crushed glass. I use the Fine grit. This product works great. A little dusty at first, but it leaves the metal with a beautiful finish. I am going to have these along with the engine tin E coated, followed by some form of black paint. I have never done it before, but from what I have read the Ecoating gives great results. I will have all the hardware re-plated in yellow zinc. Once the seam sealer is dry, I will apply one final coat of black paint. Thanks for watching.

Before

After



Seam sealer

[merbesfield]

How would I know if the exhaust is 912 vs 356? I am betting it is 912, bc the entire engine looks almost new. It has been with the car for over 30 years.

Saw the alumninum foil trick on some TV show. First time I have used it and it worked great. Very big time saver and great results.

Thanks guys.

[roy mawbey]

Yes Mark, Also enjoying looking at your work. Looks great.

Roy

[JTR70]

Hi Mark,
Really nice work! I like the extra attention to detail concerning the tip. Its very easy to say "to hell with it who's gonna ever see it anyway" but its these small details that really add up in the end. I've said this before about any aftermarket part regardless of who produces it; they are all only close replicas of the originals and its up to the craftsman to bring it up that last 10% they all fall short on to make it look and fit right. The channel stock being off a few MM is the perfect example. Close but no cigar! On your previous post I am absolutely convinced that shelf was trimmed out of the way for an exhaust system. Running a 912 motor would not matter unless they were trying to use a 912 exhuast system with it. I know how you feel I'd like to kick the old owners of my car square in the ass for the stupid shit they did to it but all you can do is fix it. Never used tin foil for masking but I'm gonna try it; looks really nice to work with! Your car is coming along great! Thank you for this update and look forward to the next one! Justin

[merbesfield]

Mounting point differences.

First step channel the channel.

Weld it closed.

And finish it off. Same treatment both sides.

Next step add material to the end to match the factory.




After that fit and install. This is when I ran out of gas, literally and figuratively.

[merbesfield]

Here you can see that I was able to get some paint on the freshly cleaned areas. I did not work on the inner fenders yet. I concentrated on the area around the seat pans and axles. I guess I will shoot some undercoating once I decide which way I am going to go with that. Next up will be some seam sealer and then more paint on top of the seam sealer. Unfortunately, some PO torched out the two lower corners of my engine surround that would have been used for Carrera engine install, I think. Not sure why someone would do this? Would it have anything to do with the 912 engine installation? Not sure I will deal with this now since it has little to do with anything. Just depends on my energy level.




Here in this before picture you can see the old undercoating, which I removed. You can also see the dented in PS rear seat pan. Not sure how that would happen. It is pretty tucked up in there. But I was able to get it pretty straight.




Its hard to see with all that shiny aluminum foil. I have not pulled it yet since I have to seam seal and apply some more paint. I guess I should decide about the undercoating and try to knock it out at the same time. The challenge is that I am not removing all the old undercoating. I have some black Wurth SKS stone guard that I was thinking about using, just not sure if it would blend with the old tar based stuff. Need to shoot some test samples.

[JTR70]

The back end is cleaning up nice Mark! Looks like you have been elbow deep in grease and grime. From the photos I can appreciate all the dirty grunt work you have done here. Hand sanding the axle tubes, cleaning that trans case WHEW! what a mess, been there and done that! My nails are getting dirty just looking at these photos. Nice job wrestling that bearing out! This might be helpful to someone in a similar jamb in the future. Thanks for posting and explaining it. Its always something with these cars isn't it? Thank you again Mark and please keep them coming! Justin