floor repair quality?

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Dave Waddell
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floor repair quality?

#1 Post by Dave Waddell »

As I continue to search for the right 356 for me, I came across this car that looked good on the top, but this floor repair caught my attention....

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Jim Breazeale
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#2 Post by Jim Breazeale »

Looks like something that would have been done in 1972 when a good B Coupe was worth $2100.00.

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Greg Spreeman
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#3 Post by Greg Spreeman »

I think I just heard the screams of a few dozen concours judges.

There was just a thread on floor repair prices. People don't want to ballpark the cost becuase there are so many variables. If just the floor needs replacing and the longitudinals and all the other surrounding metal is sound you might get the job done for as little as $4K. That's a price I got from a local porsche shop. Of course, depending on the quality you are looking for the sky is the limit.
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#4 Post by Rainer Cooney »

Up here in the rust belt we call this the "Plow Frame" look. Very common with cars whose previous owners worked at the ship yard or an other iron work job. Usually VERY strong some times quite heavy but never very pretty.

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Adam Wright
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#5 Post by Adam Wright »

There are some advantages to a floor like this. Rust will take a long time to get through this. If you had a choice between this and a rusty car, I would pick this one. It might not be pretty but you will be able to enjoy your car, unlike a rusty car that you will jump on right away.

My roadster has floors that were artfully done out of roofing metal, all the way to the hand crafted jack spurs. Would I rather have correct floors, yes, but do I enjoy driving my car while a lot of my friends will spend another year looking at their car on a rotisserie, that would be a big yes!

Correct cars are great, and something to strive for, but you can have a lot of fun in a car that isn't going to win any awards, some guys lose sight of that.
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Bruce Baker
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Re: floor repair quality?

#6 Post by Bruce Baker »

Dave Waddell wrote:As I continue to search for the right 356 for me, I came across this car that looked good on the top, but this floor repair caught my attention....

Image
That is the rare uniframe style underside. Those who scoff need only to be reminded that another automotive icon, the Cord, had the underside that was a traditional frame with the upper body welded to that...a primitive "unibody" with the power and drivetrain attached independently at one end (albeit the front). Ahead of it's time!

The question with the pictured underbody is whether it's a Coupe or Cab. Each requires a different approach. If a Cab, another square rail may be needed down the middle to prevent a collapse! ;-)

(BTW, here is the answer to whether or not anyone ever produced a "one piece floor.") :D
 

David Gensler
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#7 Post by David Gensler »

Always amazing to see the indignities these poor cars have suffered. Or maybe a testimony to human determination and creativity. But I can't agree with those who say this may be OK for a while. If someone cut out the cancer, and replaced it with a sold home made fabrication, fine. Looks weird but will work. But the odds are extremely high that whoever did this just covered over a rusting mass. The longer it stays uncorrected, the farther and faster rust will creep. It may take many years to rust through the new heavy metal, but in the meantime it will be steadily eroding the old German metal, so that there will be little left to affix a proper repair to in the future.
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Bruce Baker
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#8 Post by Bruce Baker »

David Gensler wrote:Always amazing to see the indignities these poor cars have suffered. Or maybe a testimony to human determination and creativity. But I can't agree with those who say this may be OK for a while. If someone cut out the cancer, and replaced it with a sold home made fabrication, fine. Looks weird but will work. But the odds are extremely high that whoever did this just covered over a rusting mass. The longer it stays uncorrected, the farther and faster rust will creep. It may take many years to rust through the new heavy metal, but in the meantime it will be steadily eroding the old German metal, so that there will be little left to affix a proper repair to in the future.
DG
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Adam Johnson
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#9 Post by Adam Johnson »

Here's a photo of the floorpan I uncovered in my first 356, a '64 Bali Blue SC coupe that I found and 'won' on eBay, after what the seller said was a "full, bare metal restoration."

This 'floor' was riveted in place to the perimeter pieces, while aluminum sheet metal was curved into shape and riveted into place as outer longitudinals!

I ended parting out the car as it was too far gone for my budget to restore it, but the shell did go to a 356 Registry member who knows how to put things right.
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Bruno Vercelli
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#10 Post by Bruno Vercelli »

This one is excellent! ;-) Thaught it was a photoshop thing....

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Alain Buchert
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#11 Post by Alain Buchert »

bruno VERCELLI wrote:This one is excellent! ;-) Thaught it was a photoshop thing....

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I'm not sure Bruno, they are likely to have the foot on the tarmac! :?

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roy mawbey
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#12 Post by roy mawbey »

Over here in the wet country we had flat floor 356's in the 1960's saw several myself when looking to buy. Recently another one came to light and the current owner is doing a very nice job in returning it to life. How correct the comment was though above that what condition is the original floor in when it's covered by the flat sheeting.

Here is a picture of what the current guy found when he removed the flat floor. He said it reminded him of the Titanic!

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Tom Manson
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#13 Post by Tom Manson »

I saw a Kelmark GT advertised on craigslist when I did a search for 'Porsche'. It had a Porsche 6 in it, but what ties it to this thread is that it had a 1/8" steel floor. My goodness that is one thick floor! Maybe it was installed to lower the Center of Gravity?
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David Baugh
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#14 Post by David Baugh »

In addition to the other mentioned caveats, Dave, if you decide that you're interested in it, I'd at least have it checked out on a frame jig to make sure the car didn't get "twisted" during the process.
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Bruce Baker
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#15 Post by Bruce Baker »

David Baugh wrote:In addition to the other mentioned caveats, Dave, if you decide that you're interested in it, I'd at least have it checked out on a frame jig to make sure the car didn't get "twisted" during the process.
Good point Dave....I reworked a B Coupe many, many years ago that had been done by it's owner first, with flat plates of steel. He had started at one corner and proceeded to braze the perimeter all the way around. It was a twisted mess! I did not have the chassis jig as yet, so I had to use a flat floor and continuously measure, tack welding with a mig as the new stampings were attached to new perimeter pieces, lacing it together to be much more true than the previous attempt....and it was a sneering Coupe! Imagine the trouble (if you haven't been face-to-face with one) a person can get into with an OPEN 356!
 

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