The Official 356Talk Forum

John B - The heater tube up front is already triangulated with the A pillar and where it enters the cabin.

Harlan - “Not a structural element”, that could be up for debate, however it is now. I used 16 gauge tube, not the factory 1mm. The weight of the Cherry Bomb is 3 lbs.

Greg - I’m 99% 356 only, but there is a 912 sneaking in later this year for a floor replacement.

Mike - Some

Jon S - Pete designs the SoCal 356 Club t-shirts for the St Patrick’s day drive; he always has the coolest ideas for the shirts!

Had a 64 Cab come in the shop to return the rear fenders back to stock. Thought I’s share the steps process as a small how-to for those doing repairs on their own.

Step 1. Sand down paint and filler to expose the weld seam.
Step 2. Cut off fender flare just above weld/brazing seam.
Step 3. Make template, sometimes called a flexible shape pattern from new replacement metal or in this case an original donor fender I got from Jack Staggs secret stash.
Step 4. Place template on the car’s fender and mark initial cut line.
Step 5. Transfer template back to donor fender/replacement metal and mark 1 inch higher and cut.
Step 6. Clamp donor fender piece to car’s fender and mark real/actual cut line.
Step 7. Cut *Important* Make the fit as absolutely perfect as possible!!!
Step 8. Clamp in place
Step 9. Tack weld
Step 10. Fully weld

Forgot to add the before pic of the whole car.

Looks much better again.
The picture with all the welding clamps looks like shots of people making super wide-body flares for their drift cars. For a moment I thought you’d lost your way.

Trevor,
What method did you use to weld? TIG? MIG? GAS? Are all those dots the tacks? Did you skip around or tack/weld from one end? I assume you let the panels cool frequently.

TIG.
Yes all the dots are tack welds.
I tack weld from one end to the other.
Yes. I did 3 sessions of tack welds and then very small TIG weld beads to connect them all together.

Trevor, what is the cloth used to make the template? It looks adhesive and has lots of fibers like strapping tape.

The template/flexible shape pattern is made by using masking tape then overlayed in 2 cross sections with fiberglass filament tape. All are 1” width.

Here’s a link to how it’s done:

https://youtu.be/y-JQgPm4_7s

Trevor Gates wrote: ↑Sun Nov 13, 2022 1:36 pm The template/flexible shape pattern is made by using masking tape then overlayed in 2 cross sections with fiberglass filament tape. All are 1” width.

Here’s a link to how it’s done:

https://youtu.be/y-JQgPm4_7s

I'll be at Wray's most of next week, I'll mention you like his style. The fenders remind me of a Pre-A ice racer I de-flared a few years ago.

Nice work, Trev.

Thanks Vic.

Enjoy the flare thread,,, body man Bob sliced and leaded the fenders to make room for the seven inch chromes. also convert to cat eyes, GS Carrera 82833 circa 1974

That’s cool. I like the subtle widening of the rear to accept larger wheels.

I noticed that the seat belt anchors were a a not too thick washer. There is a bracket shaped like the 356C bracket that will hold the belt on the 90 degree fold of the floor to vertical sheet metal. It is an easy very strong bolt in bracket. Also available are brackets that attach to the bottom bolts on the rear shocks to easily tie your car to the trailer. These remain permanently attached and provide a larger surface against the rubber insert in the bottom of the shock. zim