Trying to finish Carrera coupe 58367 before I die!

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Justin Rio
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Re: Trying to finish Carrera coupe 58367 before I die!

#841 Post by Justin Rio »

Thanks Martin, I get plenty of sleep as this work is several months old.
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The cover is not necessarily a carrera thing but any car fitting with the big tank. That small service window allows some limited access to the steering box without disturbing the tank.
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The main access cover is an original GT tank version; my contraption just provides a perch for the reservoir and the same limited access to the top of the steering box without modification to this original panel or the car.
Thanks again.

Justin

Justin Rio
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Re: Trying to finish Carrera coupe 58367 before I die!

#842 Post by Justin Rio »

New LED Light kit from Vintage Trader.

I'd always planned on running at least a partial LED system to preserve more amps for the eventual EFI and electronic ignition going on the motor. I contacted Jules Dielen about his 356 LED light package.
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I went ahead and took delivery of the entire LED kit that he offers for 356. All in 12volt of course.
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All marker and dash related lights including an electronic flasher unit.
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Headlamp units are new Hella H4 housings with their LED light units.
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Really impressed with the quality. All metal jacket housings with a high quality quick disconnect lead and plug. Note the impeller fan at the top, really cool.
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As advertised, the light units plugged directly into my original shine down light base.
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White LED reverse light unit
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The tall beehive lenses look terrible (IMHO) so one of my main concerns before buying the entire kit was that the marker light unit's ability to fit under the short version lenses.
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Jules said they would and they do. The plan was to always go to a 12V system and I remember the danger for the guys back in the day of melting their OG lenses with the heat of an incandescent 12bulb. Have it all covered here; more brightness without the amperage draw and the heat that goes with it. Definitely the way to go.
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Same "bean" shaped unit that powers the license lights also goes into the courtesy light.
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Switching out the gauge lights was of course just as straight forward.

Justin Rio
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Re: Trying to finish Carrera coupe 58367 before I die!

#843 Post by Justin Rio »

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As advised in the directions the new bulbs were only inserted half way for the combination gauge. This gauge's housing isn't as thick or deep as the other two so inserting them only partially here is supposed to help with illumination dispersion. We'll see how that looks when I finally get a battery in this car.
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The colored LED's will be another plus for my purposes in that my gauges won't be restored and the half-century plus of UV light has faded the dye in these old lenses terribly. So they should be looking pretty nice at night once again when backlit with new bulbs.
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Head light switching was of course just as easy. Switching out my vintage H4's from the 80's.
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Same exact Hella housing though the logos and inscriptions are a little different being 40 years or so apart.
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It will be a very compact fit inside the bucket but an initial mock-up proved that it will all fit in there. I'll have to wrap and isolate that small metal box so it doesn't chafe of bounce around in here. More on that later.
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New LED's installed up here with no issues , again even with my short front turn signal lenses. Very nice products and I'm now all set as far a lighting goes.

Thanks for stopping by.
Justin

Puygranier Antoine
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Re: Trying to finish Carrera coupe 58367 before I die!

#844 Post by Puygranier Antoine »

Looks like a quality kit, well done !

Antoine

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Re: Trying to finish Carrera coupe 58367 before I die!

#845 Post by Puygranier Antoine »

Any news here? Love this project !

Antoine

Justin Rio
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Re: Trying to finish Carrera coupe 58367 before I die!

#846 Post by Justin Rio »

Hello Antione, Thank you for asking. I've had a lot of other irons in the fire so unfortunately its sort of gone on the back burner again. I've rounded up and also restored a few piddly parts here and there but didn't feel it was worth reporting on line but I'll go ahead and post them. If its too boring and tedious this thread is easy enough to click out of. Thanks once again. Justin
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Finally pulled the trigger and bought this reproduction RSK wheel from K K. I've wanted one for years and took delivery. Fit, finish and quality is excellent and I could not be happier with it.
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I'll usually step up and buy original parts when I can find them but 20K for the real deal is a bridge too far just a steering wheel unless of course you've got a real RSK that is in need of one. The burgundy rim is nice but it doesn't match anything as my interior is black/tan. I may repaint it black or color match it grey like the original wheel would have been but I can do that at any point.
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Remains of the original wheel to this car serves as the mounting hub for this old 60's hot rod wheel that came on the car in '68. They kept the deluxe horn ring cup mounted to the front side so I was able to confirm it was fitted with a horn ring originally. I did get an accurate paint match from this small section of hub for the column and turn signal switch housing.
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I later rounded up a replacement 400MM wheel in original grey. The paint on its hub was bubbly and shot but I left the rim alone. Its hub and this horn ring donated from my '56 coupe where repainted with my custom matched paint. As you can see it all matches the original rim as closely as I could have hoped for. Its now rat-holed away with the rest of my bone-stock correct parts for this car that won't be mounted this time around.
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As long as I can remember guys where always on the hunt for pickle fork wiper arms. I never cared as I assumed it was a T2 change from the set screw type however after reading the Brett Johnsons new book I realized that I needed them. :shock:
Now I was the guy on the hunt for Pickle fork wipers. I bought a mis-matched pair as a package deal with one being very short with a small base; probably speedster. The larger base and longer version mate I was still in need of I was able to find through Adam Wright.
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Only missing an original blade. I've seen the really nice repops and will buy those if I can't locate another stray original.
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I'll get around to cleaning them eventually but just glad to have them on hand at this point.
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Sanded and prepped the original knobs for clear coat.
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I'd normally just polish them and leave raw but these are all very dry and scaley from all those years of UV damage that they all needed a top coat for preservation.

A few more small component restorations next.

Thanks for stopping by.

Justin

Justin Rio
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Re: Trying to finish Carrera coupe 58367 before I die!

#847 Post by Justin Rio »

Original Lense salvage and restoration.
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I've one original clear lense the front and have been passively looking for another to make a pair. Its pictured here along side of a repop.
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Its close with only subtle differences in detail that most would never catch, but..
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In keeping with my late friends philosophy about building this car with original parts where possible I was always on the hunt for another.
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My buddy had one in is collection and was nice enough to drop it off to me on his way through. I thought I was set until I removed the rubber ring seal and found the mounting flange almost completely shattered. Since these have lived such a hard life on the front of the car I wasn't sure when I'd find another so I decided to try and salvage this one. Refitted each shard and super glued it back together. Some of it was of course missing. After the glue set it was sanded level in prep for the next step.
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Next was a layer of JB weld to both reinforce and back fill the missing pieces. Putty spreader made for the perfect jig while the epoxy set up; incompatible so it peeled right off once it was set.
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After one more round of epoxy it was a usable part again.
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Didn't crank on it too hard but it was integral enough.
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Test mounted and synched down snuggly with its ring seal. No breakage found after rechecking. Front pair of original turn signal lenses for this car complete. A couple more trivial component restorations for this project next.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

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Greg Scallon
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Re: Trying to finish Carrera coupe 58367 before I die!

#848 Post by Greg Scallon »

I love the creative thinking that goes beyond just placing an order for a new part. Nice work Justin!

-Greg
'58 Speedster
'56 VW Deluxe Microbus 

robert moglia
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Re: Trying to finish Carrera coupe 58367 before I die!

#849 Post by robert moglia »

Great job! since you had the super glue out have you heard of the trick to use baking soda as a filler with the glue. It makes a very strong durable plastic repair. Tons of videos on YouTube. Great for hard plastics and can hold a screw.
Check out my progress! “Bob’s 356A project”
KTF
Bob

Puygranier Antoine
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Re: Trying to finish Carrera coupe 58367 before I die!

#850 Post by Puygranier Antoine »

Thanks for the update, love this project and you are doing well 👍
Antoine

Justin Rio
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Re: Trying to finish Carrera coupe 58367 before I die!

#851 Post by Justin Rio »

Thanks a lot Greg; trying to save and reuse as many of the original parts where its possible.

I hadn't heard about mixing baking soda in with the super glue. That's a great tip Robert and thank you for letting me know about it. Always something new to learn.

Thank you once again Antione.

Another small restoration project to the original courtesy light lense.
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The inside of the lense was coated in a translucent white for dispersion. I assume it started out as white and has just taken on a slightly yellow hue over the decades. Anyway the remains of it can be seen along the edge.
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Trickiest part was making the paint thin enough to allow the light pass through. This was the second attempt as the first try was too thick.
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All set. The light itself is in pretty nice condition with an intact chrome trim ring and most of the original knob still there. Surely worth saving.
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One more original component saved and in the done column.
Thanks for looking.
Justin

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Jim Goetz
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Re: Trying to finish Carrera coupe 58367 before I die!

#852 Post by Jim Goetz »

Justin, it's been awhile since I last asked you a question about sealing the rivets on my bi-alloy wheels. I used the marine sealant, perfect. As it urns out, Coker Tires sell the rubber band that will cover the spokes inside a 15" rim. I'm sure that somewhere you posted photos of the assembled GT brake system mounted to the front axle, showing the brake system fully installed before putting on the drum. Could you share a couple of photos of that assembly, or point me to when you posted those photos on the "before I die" Registry saga? Thanks Justin.

Jim

Justin Rio
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Re: Trying to finish Carrera coupe 58367 before I die!

#853 Post by Justin Rio »

Hi Jim, Thanks for the confirmation on that Marine sealant as I haven't tested it myself just yet; it turned the trick huh? The rubber bands you mentioned I think are used more for protecting the innertube from the heads of the spokes rather than for sealing purposes. I didn't take too many shots of the front backing plate assembly but here are the only two I could find. If these don't provide the details your looking for I could take a specific one later on. Just let me know. Justin
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Bill Sargent
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Re: Trying to finish Carrera coupe 58367 before I die!

#854 Post by Bill Sargent »

There are more GT Brake photos on page 4 of this thread. viewtopic.php?t=27292&hilit=Faux+cam&start=45
Regards,

Bill Sargent
#151489 59A Cab - Faux Cam
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#460603 67 912
904 clone in the works

Justin Rio
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Re: Trying to finish Carrera coupe 58367 before I die!

#855 Post by Justin Rio »

New 904/ 911R retro fit oil filter bowl from Bill Sargent arrives.
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A really nicely made and finished kit. Comes with all the O-rings, adapter hardware and illustrated instruction sheet. All that is lacking is the oil filter top and the actual filter element itself. I can certainly appreciate all the time, research and development that went into everything here. Really impressive work Bill.
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Now onto test fitting it to my Original filter top.
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The plan was always to replace the original "gravel strainer" element as my late friend Craig Steven referred to it as with something a bit more effective. I was looking into that WIX adapter for the top but after reading what Bill was developing I wanted one immediately.
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Direct comparison with the much smaller 356 version.
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The Specialized bolt is Stainless steel so like the rest of the kit first class. I will run this bolt up to my machinist for the safety wire holes as the original shows.
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Fits right into the original top perfectly with no issues. Now onto trial fitment to the car. Due to the extra length I was wondering if there might some slight clearance problems....
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But no issues.
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Even with the inward approach angle the bottom of the bowl does not touch the wall.
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And plenty of room away from the lower perimeter shelf.
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Looks right at home in here; One more piece of my puzzle in place. My thanks and appreciation to Bill Sargent for building such high quality components. 
Thanks for looking.

Justin

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