Time to restore my 356 notchback

[David Aronson]

Well now I am well into this project. Metal work is done and waiting for Paint. Engine is in the process of the build. Walt from Competition Engineering worked all the kinks out of the engine. Crank case rebuild with a ton of work. Welding cracks, straightening out the crank bore, shaving the halves and line boring. Crank magnafluxed, ground, hardened, heads reworked with new and larger intake valves, new seats, new guides, etc. New cam, new followers, new rods, balanced throughout, re-surfaced flywheel, and more. Have finished the lower end, following all the Harry Pellow advice I never did when the engine was last rebuilt in the 70s. I may not end up with a broken crank this time...........

[David Aronson]

Continuing the engine build

[David Aronson]

My metal man, John Holden, in Shingles Springs, advised me that he has had a stroke. He is OK, kind of...It did cause him some damage and he is not "back to 100%". He wanted me to know that all of his projects, concerning Porsche restorations, are now on hold for the foreseeable future. I am concerned but plan on sticking with John until more time for healing is allowed and a direction for his restoration side is known. In the meantime, do any of you have any suggestions for quality body work. Actually, the body work is done, now paint prep, painting and undersealing.
Any suggestions. I am not planning a move just now but need to get my alternative plan together.

[Neil Merrilees]

David

Before you move forward, talk to Brandon at Altissimo in Napa (close to American Canyon) Just a hop skip and a jump from you. I know he is busy right now, but he is a great guy, and just did a great job on my roadster. My roadster was also originally Condor Yellow, but after buying a quart and spraying it out (in 1988) I decided I didn't like it. I have some old single stage PPG condor yellow that may still be alive if you want to do a test (only one quart). If you have any overspray on your door hinge covers, that the place for a match.

I did the body prep and priming myself. I was about to paint the car myself in my garage, but fortunately, I ran into a post on this forum recommending his shop, and am I very thankful. If I did it again, I would have him do the prep and priming, as his shop turns out really beautiful cars, and he is really honest and efficient in his work. This year he had a couple 356's on the grass at the rennsport reunion, and he usually has a 356 or two in his shop. He sprayed on two part Spies Hecker, and it turned out great. I can't recommend him highly enough.
My car is now Signal red, which is what I have always wanted. Its not going to be for sale, it's going to be driven. Putting the charcoal carpeting in now.

Neil

[David Aronson]

HELP! My body guy, John Holden, has completely tooled down since a stroke a few months ago. He has asked me to pick-up my car. The car is about 90% done in the metal stage. Does anyone know of a high quality body/paint shop in the Northern California area. I dread carting it down to the south......
Thanks for any ideas.

[David Aronson]

HELP...I heard there is a metal man in Placerville, first name Lance. Anyone know of such a person?

[David Aronson]

OK, I found a fellow that is willing to take on the notch. Moving it next week. Should be ready for assembly by November. Finishing up the engine. Sheet metal back from powder coating. Waiting for one piece, lost in the years since engine was disassembled. Have made a tool to remove the steering arm from the steering box. Will include pictures soon.

[David Aronson]

Engine complete ready for first run

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About ready to start notch normal engine on run up stand. The engine is 1720cc, lightened S90 flywheel, 40mm intake valves, ported and matched, 912 rods, 83.5 JE pistons in bored cast iron cylinders, All balanced, new cam with street grind, new oil pump gears, timing gears. Just a nicely updated normal engine. Should work well. All machine work by Walt at Competition Engineering. Waiting for a new exhaust system to arrive.

[David Aronson]

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OK, back with updates. Engine finished, car back from paint shop. I have made a bit of progress in the past 90 days. After the car arrived from Lance Lighthall's I got right to work. I have included a few catch up photos of the end of metal work and paint.

[David Aronson]

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More photos of car in paint and delivery

[David Aronson]

Now the car is home, painted and ready for assembly. Where did I put all the stuff I took off of her 6 years ago...........Hmmm.

[David Aronson]

First thing is to pull the wiring harness into all the tunnels. I used a new harness and kept the old, totally intact with switches and controls in their original configurations. It really helped me figure where the wires went.

[David Aronson]

Once the harness was installed, I began on the sound proofing and under-layment restoration. I found some very early rug padding from a mom and pop flooring store in town. After visiting Ted Blake's restoration center in Sacramento, stealing with my eyes as I am known to do, I came back with some great tips. One, use Wurth stoneguard black as your media. it is water soluble so easy to clean up and is the correct black color. It is expensive though. Then find a good adhesive. The 3M Super 77 is a great adhesive. On sale at Stoddard for over 25 bucks. What a rip. Lowes has it for 8 bucks and change. Also, Weldwood contact cement is great for large surfaces that you can get to with a brush. Much cheaper. I then experimented and found that the rug padding and 50lb roofing paper worked perfect. I ordered the Stoddard kit and found it inappropriate as it did not match the standard material in thickness or texture. I did use some of it as templates for sizing initially. I gave up on that and made my own from pictures and the old materials removed from the car. I maintained that in storage. What a mess.....

the three chemicals needed.

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The two hard materials. Rug padding and roofing felt

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The finished product. A close reproduction of the original sound proofing materials found in my car.

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[David Aronson]

Now to work, sound proofing the notchback like it was originally.

[David Aronson]

More pictures on the soundproofing on the notchback. I tried to fit the panels prior to saturating with Wurth. Then I would apply the roofing felt and paint with the wurth, form the panel with heat and pressure, then apply to car with adhesive. I originally used the 3M 77 as it was easy but required masking. I used Weldwood on most of the work as it was easy to apply and did not require masking in most areas.