'60 Cab project

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Peter Boettcher
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Re: '60 Cab project

#61 Post by Peter Boettcher »

Hi Jim,
Thanks for this wonderful thread.
Would you please supply additional info on the tumbling used for the engine pieces, i.e. type of media used, tumbling speed, etc. The shop info would be great as well. This looks so much nicer that my efforts with brushes and chemicals. I will be sending Walt at CE my case for machining and this could be nice addition to the process.

356 Regards,

Peter Opa Boettcher
Cincinnati, OH
Peter Boettcher

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Jim Nelson
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Re: '60 Cab project

#62 Post by Jim Nelson »

PM sent.
Moving on to the 600 grit:
IMG_1550.jpg
and then to reassembly:
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In place but not affixed:
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All in but not attached; will still dress curvature and how straight the fins are:
IMG_1557.jpg
Quite a few hours in this. Notably, the factory replacement has the late set-up (round spacers) and is quite a bit brighter than this, even though this is pretty good. We think they've gone to a bright-dip type of treatment for their aluminum, and we talked about doing this for about 30 seconds ( uh, no... ) . You won't find any of this type that have been bright-dipped unless the owner did it.

Starting the other key assemblies, though we're close to shut-down until we get the car back, everything is pretty much ready to assemble.

A little thread-chasing before we start:
IMG_1552.jpg
IMG_1554.jpg

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Jim Nelson
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Re: '60 Cab project

#63 Post by Jim Nelson »

It doesn't really stop when everything is apart. Zero bolted to the car. So moving right along, the steering column has to go back together. Start by aligning the lower of the top pieces, then put the rubber piece back in by the bracket, and install the turn signal switch:
IMG_1558.jpg
Then route the turn signal switch wiring harness through the right spots:
IMG_1559.jpg
Affix the clamp that tightens the lower piece (recheck alignment):
IMG_1560.jpg
Note that the early B columns had studs, and later columns had through-bolts:
IMG_1561.jpg
Clean up the grease on the horn connection with thinner and steel wool, and put the top on. Good to go:
IMG_1562.jpg
IMG_1563.jpg

Now we wait for the primer to cure....
IMG_1569.jpg
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IMG_1574.jpg

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Jim Nelson
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Re: '60 Cab project

#64 Post by Jim Nelson »

On to the next set of subassemblies. First check the heads. We don't know how long the heads have been sitting, so we want to make sure the valve stems are lubed and check valve spring height at the least.
IMG_1594.jpg
The little tool used to measure valve spring height:
IMG_1595.jpg
As it turned out, Harry had set the spring height a wee bit short for a fairly stock SC/912. These are the shims that go under the springs to set the height; the thick ones go on the top of the stack:
IMG_1597.jpg
Next up is the rocker assembly.
IMG_1599.jpg
...and we're ready for the next steps.
IMG_1600.jpg
IMG_1601.jpg

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Jim Nelson
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Re: '60 Cab project

#65 Post by Jim Nelson »

Busy day today. Started with cleaning the studs and installing them.
IMG_1603.jpg
Flat side towards the case:
IMG_1607.jpg
Mike using the stud installer, these things are pretty cool:
IMG_1608.jpg
Cleaning up the assorted other bits we hadn't gotten to yet:
IMG_1610.jpg
Another load from the powder coater came in today, and we got our brake drums back:
IMG_1621.jpg
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Off to the tumbler to put the finish we want on these (new splines and linings):
IMG_1628.jpg

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Jim Nelson
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Re: '60 Cab project

#66 Post by Jim Nelson »

And then we started assembling things.
Starting with thread-chasing. The powder-coaters use the little plastic plugs for nut plates, but they aren't quite long enough to cover everything, and powder-coated threads are harsh to try to screw something into. You'll end up chasing the threads at some point.
IMG_1623.jpg
The fan/generator marriage:
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Rear tray assembly:
IMG_1626.jpg
The fan shroud assembly starts to look like a real fan shroud:
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Setting the end play for the tach drive:
IMG_1631.jpg
We also finished up the rubber seals for the engine compartment on the four panels that take the seals. Phew ! Still in line at the balancer.

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Jim Nelson
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Re: '60 Cab project

#67 Post by Jim Nelson »

A little cleanup before final paint. 3/60 matching....
IMG_1669.jpg
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IMG_1671.jpg
A little sanding to make sure they are smooth, then primer, then off they go to a real painter.
IMG_1690.jpg

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Jim Nelson
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Re: '60 Cab project

#68 Post by Jim Nelson »

Back in the saddle after the Eugene to SoCal "college is over" trip (driving the kid and his stuff back after he graduated). We got our drums back from getting tumbled:
IMG_1705.jpg
Put the machined lip back on (brake drum refinisher and a few grades of sandpaper, then Blue Magic):
IMG_1706.jpg
Pressing the studs back after refinishing those:
IMG_1710.jpg
Refinished on the left vs new (but old) on the right:
IMG_1711.jpg
And we made sure our top frame was ready to go to the interior guys, who'll fit the front bow as well:
IMG_1707.jpg
Last edited by Jim Nelson on Sat Jul 09, 2016 4:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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C J Murray
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Re: '60 Cab project

#69 Post by C J Murray »

Very nice detailing!
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William Block
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Re: '60 Cab project

#70 Post by William Block »

Is there a source for PRE-CUT cabriolet window seals. Unfortunately the cuts are not at right angle and my free hand efforts leave unacceptablr gaps.

bill block
1953/1952 1500N coupe #11994
1957 Super tractor #133/7622
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1965/1964 356C Porsche cabriolet #161564
1966/1965 911 coupe #303269
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Jay Broemmel
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Re: '60 Cab project

#71 Post by Jay Broemmel »

Cutting them a little long and then dialing the ends in on a belt sander is what worked for me. Not too aggressive on the grit. Think I used 120. Having the old ones to copy helps. Hopefully you can turn the longer ones into shorter ones and not have to buy a whole new set. J

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Jim Nelson
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Re: '60 Cab project

#72 Post by Jim Nelson »

We are getting down to the last strokes before either our bits get back from the engine balancer or the car itself comes back. Don't know if that is this week or next, but soon. So what we did was arc the brake shoes to match the drums:
IMG_1722.jpg
Then we replaced the bearing races. Here's the little tool the factory uses, it's a little spring-loaded jobbie that fits right into the spot you would have a hard time getting to:
IMG_1725.jpg
In place for pressing it out:
IMG_1724.jpg
Replacing the inner race on the spindle where the Turkey had put it in a vice:
IMG_1728.jpg
So new races all around, and we're good to go when the car comes back:
IMG_1730.jpg
Re-attaching the chicken wings and the rear bow:
IMG_1723.jpg
And deciding what tires will go on our wheels:
IMG_1732.jpg

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C J Murray
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Re: '60 Cab project

#73 Post by C J Murray »

Jim, first off the car is now officially too nice to drive so does it come with a trailer? Second, the bearing race removal tool is great. Where did you get that? Am I the only guy that doesn't have one? Why didn't somebody tell me before? That tool is a great example of how illogical German engineers can be. Why don't they notch or undercut the hub like 99% of all designs? They have an unhealthy love for special tools.
'57 Speedster
'59 Sunroof
'60 Devin D Porsche Race Car
'63 Cabriolet "Norm"
'67 911 S Original Owner
'03 Ferrari 575M
'09 Smart Passion

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Jim Nelson
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Re: '60 Cab project

#74 Post by Jim Nelson »

Hah, too funny. We aren't exactly declaring victory yet. Nothing on the car, we don't even have the painted shell yet. One thing about working with Larry, is that he is a true tool junkie, and I thought I was bad, but he's leading me down the path of knowing just how few really good tools I have. I don't know where he got that bearing race removal tool, but it is pretty cool. We have a down day tomorrow, I'll ask him next time I see him.

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Jim Nelson
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Re: '60 Cab project

#75 Post by Jim Nelson »

You can tell we are starting to get crazed waiting for the car to return from the painter. Looking at every little thing. We started prep for the engine build, since that's likely to come back from the balancer pretty quickly.

Seals, for the head bolts and the pushrods.
IMG_1750.jpg
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And we thought we'd show the old-school process of arcing the brake shoes. They actually needed it, as they touched at the ends but not uniformly:
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We got the wiring loom out and made sure the resistance of the runs and the connectors were right. We got lucky here, as the PO was an auto mechanic and really did a nice job of organizing things when he took it apart, including not making a mess of the harness; it's in great shape:
IMG_1756.jpg
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And we even took a close look at the turnbuckles that held the top on. We noticed that the reproduction shafts are aluminum, and though they have a metric thread cut on them, they are 1/4" ATF vs 6mm for the original steel ones, so we're going to take a shot at restoring the originals:
IMG_1759.jpg
So if anyone was scratching their head at why their metric wrench wouldn't fit....now you know. The ends are a bit different as well, a slightly different finish from what we can gather, so they'll spend the weekend in the tumbler to see how that works.
IMG_1761.jpg

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