WCSTA -25- 10164Three pieces

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Trevor Gates
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Re: 10164Three pieces

#16 Post by Trevor Gates »

Ok last update for tonight, but no pics.

Today I TIG welded for the first time, actually welded for the first time ever. I've seen it done plenty of times and read about the techniques and have seen lots of pictures, however nothing compares with actually doing it yourself and learning hands on. I went over to Tom's house as he was working on the door of his 64 and we talked cars for awhile and he let me have a go and do some practice welding on some scrap that he had. It certainly is an acquired talent and I am really looking forward to doing some more with my own TIG machine. Getting the puddle started took a few times, but once it gets formed there is nice rhythm to TIG welding that I enjoyed. Not to mention no leather gloves and splatter. Thank you Tom!
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Ivan Fuller
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Re: 10164Three pieces

#17 Post by Ivan Fuller »

Best tip I can give for tig welding is spend all of your time fitting patches. If you have no gap then you will zip around the edge without the need for filler wire. Try on the bench with two perfectly straight pieces and just fuse the edge.

Tack in your patch about every inch or so. Do all the tacks before fully welding then planish flat. Once you start welding also planish flat with hammer & dolly every inch or so. I find it can be a slippery slope if you start having to fill with a lot of wire as it becomes difficult to planish. Inevitably you need to on occasion.

You will find that you will need a mig welder for doing plug welds to put floor and other bits in - its quite difficult and slow to do plug welds with the tig - not impossible tho. You cant beat the tig for patches/butt welds. I'm not sure that I would play with the gas - too much heat and distortion and too easy to get into trouble. Good luck, the more you practice the easer it gets.
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Justin Rio
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Re: 10164Three pieces

#18 Post by Justin Rio »

Hey trevor,

Great to see you getting started on it. loved the pictures. The look on your kids face was priceless. I could see the gears turning; All the cool stuff he could buy with that wad of cash! I'm sure a rusty old car body cut into pieces was not one of his plans. an aquired taste for sure! Best of luck with it! look forward to the progess pics!
Justin

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Steve Harrison
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Re: 10164Three pieces

#19 Post by Steve Harrison »

Trevor,
I'm not telling you something you don't already know, but that car will become almost like a member of the family given the amout of work you will be doing and time spent. :)

My advice is to start looking for the hard to find pieces you need right now. Some things may take years to find so the earlier you get started the better. Do you have an idea of what level you are shooting for? Original knobs and all that, or going for good driver level? The original interior parts are probably the hardest to find things in general. Do you have a kardex or COA to tell you original colors and options?

If you ever get discouraged, get the old pictures out and see how far you've come,... it helps.

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Trevor Gates
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Re: 10164Three pieces

#20 Post by Trevor Gates »

Ivan - Thanks for the welding tips, a lot of what you said jives with what Tom has told me and also what I've learned from listening to Steve Hogue.

Justin - Thanks for taking a moment to post, I have an all new appreciation for not just the work you've done on your car, but the time it takes to document it. You're thread is one of the reasons I started one.

Steve - Thanks, you are definitely right. I have another old car (67 Cadillac Coupe DeVille convertible) that I just got finished re-building the engine on). I've had it for about 7 years, I bought it just after my son was born. His first words were Mama, Dada and Cad E yak. I've tossed around the idea of selling it to help fund the Porsche, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I like both cars for very different reasons. My daughter loves "the rusty old Porsche in the garage", she wants to hear it go varoom varoom and go racing in it.

I've started to collect some parts, just grabbed an original grab handle for the dash off ebay. I'm going to try and make the car as nice as I can, but it will never be a show car, I want to drive the wheels off of it! I'm not much for original knobs as the cracking looks run down to me and wouldn't fit with new paint and interior. I do have the COA and a copy of the original Kardex.
https://www.instagram.com/trevorcgates/

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Trevor Gates
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Re: 10164Three pieces

#21 Post by Trevor Gates »

I went and visited Steve today to see the progress he made on the car last week. I'm thrilled to say and see for myself that the car is officially in one piece! Man what a feeling!!!
Attachments
054.JPG
053.JPG
057.JPG
050.JPG
051.JPG
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Trevor Gates
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Re: 10164Three pieces

#22 Post by Trevor Gates »

Here are some other random pics from hanging out at Steve's shop today...

Also if you are on Facebook, Steve is posting up pics there of the various projects he's working on.
Attachments
IMG_1704.jpg
IMG_1690.jpg
Working on the center section of the rear body panel.
Working on the center section of the rear body panel.
Jig for the rear section of a speedster.
Jig for the rear section of a speedster.
https://www.instagram.com/trevorcgates/

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Rusty Willey
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Re: 10164Three pieces

#23 Post by Rusty Willey »

Nice save Trevor!!! What are your plans for the build???
Don't hate me for driving Volkswagens.

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Trevor Gates
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Re: 10164Three pieces

#24 Post by Trevor Gates »

Rusty - Thanks, I'm really happy about getting it in one piece. Happy is probably an understatement! As far as plans, that is half the fun for me. I have a few ideas running through my head, but the only one I'm for sure on is the color of the interior. The car was delivered with red leathertte, and I want to do red leather with speedster seats. Other than that, who knows... :D

I look forward to an update on your thread when you have a chance.
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Bill Sargent
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Re: 10164Three pieces

#25 Post by Bill Sargent »

Hi Trevor,

Here photos of my Fibersteel seats done in wine red leather and oatmeal carpet by Autobahn interiors - Tony Garcia. Call Russ at Fibersteel and he can set you up. They also sell the GT seat bases to fit in your car that allow front/rear adjustment. Wires hanging out the bottom are for the seat heaters ( :D ). Although they are speedster seats I had Tony wrap the trim over the top onto the back like a GT seat.
Speedster Seats 2.JPG
Speedster Seats 4.JPG
Regards,

Bill Sargent
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904 clone in the works

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Trevor Gates
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Re: 10164Three pieces

#26 Post by Trevor Gates »

Bill -Yep, I love em!
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Trevor Gates
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Re: 10164Three pieces

#27 Post by Trevor Gates »

I picked up the car on Monday and we mounted it in the rotisserie I made so I could transport it easier. Steve also made me a bunch of panels for me to weld in, so now I know what I'll be doing for the next year of nights and weekends in my free time :D
Something I want to say... anyone that is thinking of having metal work done and needs those pieces of metal that seem to be NLA, Steve is the guy to go to. His communication was excellent and his work totally exceeded my expectations. I believe that when someone is passionate about what they do the end result is that much better. Clearly he loves what he does and it shows! Thank you Steve, you helped make a dream come true for me!!!

Thanks also to Jack for letting me borrow an original bolt so I could run and buy two new bolts to connect the rotisserie to the trans mount.
Attachments
Steve and I
Steve and I
My patch panel repair kit.
My patch panel repair kit.
Peter doing a little rolling.
Peter doing a little rolling.
I have to finish making the brackets at the bottom of the rotisserie so I can spin it in my single car garage.
I have to finish making the brackets at the bottom of the rotisserie so I can spin it in my single car garage.
https://www.instagram.com/trevorcgates/

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Steve Harrison
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Re: 10164Three pieces

#28 Post by Steve Harrison »

That rotisserie is "totally tubular".
So you're going to make a bracket so you can spin it in the garage? Will it be like a low cradle with some rollers in it so the cradle can stay staionary and the "hoop" of the rotisserie spin? At least that's how I picture it.

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Trevor Gates
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Re: 10164Three pieces

#29 Post by Trevor Gates »

Steve - Exactly. The two hoops are 1.5" square tubing that is 11 gauge.
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Steve Hogue
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Re: 10164Three pieces

#30 Post by Steve Hogue »

Hey Trevor ,
The car looks great in your garage .......... See ya at Dana Point in Aug. 20??

Enjoy Steve

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