Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

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Martin Benade
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#121 Post by Martin Benade »

More great work. You accomplish so much- do you work on this full time, or is this all done after coming home from a job?
Cleveland Ohio
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Justin Rio
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#122 Post by Justin Rio »

Thank you Martin, on the contrary I'm slow as sh%t but I'm thorough and steady as she goes. These entries are a few years old and I'm just trying to catch this thread up to where the project stands today. I'm trying to convey as best as I can what actually goes into rebuilding a severely rusty car but these entries can still make the process seem deceptively easy. It is not and certainly nothing like assembling Ikea furniture. Nothing goes in without a fight and there are many hours of test fits, refits and frustration in between each posted progress photo. It might be too detailed for some but when the car is finished there will be a couple of detailed records on line as to what exactly is going on under all of its Shiny red paint ,new upholstery and fresh undercoating. The next custodian and its current one can have full confidence in this finished car they're looking at. As I've told friends before there is nothing I'd trust less than a freshly painted/"restored" 356 that's emerged from the shadows without a build history. Anyway, I'm rambling, thanks again Martin.


Fitting the old tube end into its new home.
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Aligning the tube. Close but the forward shoulder needs more rolling to allow the angle to drop in evenly.
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After some adjustment I finally got that tube section pretty much where it was before.
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New section is set into its final position. These two tube ends do come in at different angles which is probably why they remained separated like this.
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Tube tacked into final position.
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The tubes approach angle did put up a bit of a fight against that relief collar before I got all to align.
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Removed one last time to weld up the tube end as originally done.
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Seam welded the tube end to the opening of the shoulder as found.
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Only way to do it BTW as you'll never laydown a nice clean bead way down in here.
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Another test to check my fit and alignment after all that heat.
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Everything still in there and good to go. Time for the last detail. Heeling the bottom flange over. Getting close...
Thanks for looking.

Justin

Justin Rio
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#123 Post by Justin Rio »

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Flange added, plug weld holes in and at long last I have this final piece of this particular puzzle completed.
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Time now to get these inside surfaces treated and coated so I can close this up for good.
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Best I can do with the remaining surface rust was to treat it with converter.
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Then the inner cavities where slopped heavy with some epoxy sealer. A lot of heat still to come so I don't know how much of this will survive but it will offer at least some additional protection.
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Mounted back on... For good this time.
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Ready for the first few plug welds and tacks next.
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End of this tube at the elbow is literally within a wisp of where it was originally. As close as I could hope for.
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Commitment time. Plug welds and tacks added.
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Elbow joint tacked and set as well. Looks close though not an exact copy but it is proper 18 gauge and one piece. I can live with it. Welding it in the rest of the way next.
Thanks for looking.
Justin

Dave Erickson
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#124 Post by Dave Erickson »

Justin, it looks very cool. Too bad it will all be hidden. There was a lot of work in there.

Justin Rio
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#125 Post by Justin Rio »

Thanks a lot Dave, Yes, a ton of work to copy and layer as it was found but most importantly it had to be strong and able to perform its job under load when its all finished. True it won't be seen again but we these old photos to show exactly what's going on under its longitudinal closing panels. Justin

Tying up loose ends in prep for closure of this cavity.
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Time to finish stitching up this long run.
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All welded and dressed.
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Welded the elbow joint back up next. Gas welded as originally. Very tough and tricky getting the blind side of the tube stitched in. Having it on a rotisserie made that possible.
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All that is left on this corner is the inner closing wall. 100% solid steel down in this junction once again.
IMG_7492.JPG
By the time this final inner wall is repaired there will be 4 layers of 18 gauge in this corner. Then when the floor is added that will make this flange 5 layers thick... then a 20 gauge(should be 18) longitudinal closing panel on top of that. This area ahead of the torsion housing will be very stout once again.
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Finished out the weld joint in and around the new flanged opening.
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Looking at this completed corner made for a very pleasant session...
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Just a couple more loose ends to go and I'll be fitting the closing panel.
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Right side just about ready to accept a new floor.

Thanks for looking.

Justin

Mark Groethe
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#126 Post by Mark Groethe »

Excellent work Justin!
My 59 Silver/Red Sunroof is about 40 cars "older" than the one you are restoring (COA birthdate is 7/28/59). Maybe they came over on the same boat? ... And now they are only 20 miles away from each other. Keep up the great work.

Mark

Justin Rio
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#127 Post by Justin Rio »

Hey Mark, great to hear from you and thanks! Yes, Sister cars for sure and probably completed the same week.

More prep for right longitudinal.
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Grinding down the remains of the OG longitudinal flange so I can peel it off.
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Trick is to get it thin so its weak enough to peel like a Sardine can but not too far where you're thinning out the host layer.
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Dots of OG spot welds are the last to go with just a quick pass of the grinder. Beats drilling them out.
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Boxed the twin bulkheads for additional support and stability.
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Not original but completely unseen once its all closed up. I want a more solid base for the jack spur to work off of.
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Begin rear closing wall repairs. I had thought of maybe reinstalling the original but I had too see how far the rust had gone under that flange.
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This section of closing wall is rusted out a bit more than I thought so its going to be a cleaner job to just build it new from a single piece.
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Again, once I had more of the flange peeled it was more confirmation that I wasn't saving this old closing wall.
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Last bit of the wall removed save for the upper attachment flange which I'll get later.
IMG_7538.JPG
So very relieved to find the rest of it solid way down in this blind corner.

Justin Rio
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#128 Post by Justin Rio »

Rear cap wall:
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Thought I might be fabricating this piece but a quick check of the parts stash turned up a pair of new closing walls. So glad I checked first.
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Now onto fitting all closing walls.
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Fitting the bottom panel first.
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After just a quick clip here and there this panel went most of the way in.
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Hugs the contour of the bulkheads snugly.
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with a nice fit against the new flange run. Almost too easy...
IMG_7546.JPG
Trimming and set screwing into final position coming up next.

Thanks for looking.
Justin

Justin Rio
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#129 Post by Justin Rio »

Longitudinal panel fitment
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Carefully flattening out some of that flange then trimming back for the eventual seam weld.
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Had to rebend this flange a little higher and angled for a tight fit here.
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Began set screwing from the center out utilizing the original tack strip holes.
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Synched up nicely so far.
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Quick mock up with the Original rocker assembly which will be reinstalled.
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OG tack strip holes will also come in handy to locate the rocker exactly where it was.
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Door well tray resting against the new longitudinal panel nice tight fit so far.
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Lots of panel prep before this goes on for good but it should work out fine in the end.
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All the needed confirmation to move onto the next step of set screwing the new closing panel into final position.
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Synched down into final adjusted position working from the center outward.

Justin Rio
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#130 Post by Justin Rio »

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Will cut and lay the flanges over just as the factory example on the other side shows.
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Rolled the body upright to trace the final cut lines. Huge psychological boost seeing this all closed up.
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Entire run synched up nice and tight.
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Tracing my cut lines next but will leave the excess in the corner until I have to new flanged closing section built and in. Speaking of flanges, that new reinforcement plate for the bulkheads was flanged at both ends. Have to plug weld the three holes that secure them there next.
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Dismounted for final trimming.
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Small details of replicating flap overlay on the forward corner.
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Remains just enough of it to copy.
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Replicating it little by little as it goes.
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Plug weld holes added to attach this panel to the bulkheads for additional reinforcement.
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The main closing run is just about ready to go on for good so it was time to begin fitting its rear cap but the plan of using this part would change as prep-work progressed.
That next... Thanks for looking.
Justin

Puygranier Antoine
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#131 Post by Puygranier Antoine »

That is great to follow, what a nice reconstruction !

Antoine

Justin Rio
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#132 Post by Justin Rio »

Thanks again Antione.

Rear cap prep continued:
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Began by cleaning the upper mounting flange for it.
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Two layers of remains to grind down to get to the base flange. Not fun...
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Getting these layers thin enough to peel and tear without getting into the base flange.
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Took some grinding but getting it down to brass tacks.
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Base run cleaned of old flanges and wire wheeled of rust.
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Didn't get it all. Remains of both of those old flanges continue on under the striker and seal channel to the other side.
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Debated on whether to chase it or end the repair here. After some looking I found more rust in and around this junction so I decided to clean it out the rest of the way.
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Old junction point removed.
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Entire run now clean so I can do a complete repair.
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Now the new section will wrap around in behind the striker as originally found.

Justin Rio
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#133 Post by Justin Rio »

rear cap continued:
IMG_7622.JPG
Time to begin fitting the new cap. However the more I played with it the more it just didn't seem quite right. While the embossed upper section detail is intricate its not correct...
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A refresher look to the other side shows it as a simple sweeping panel with no embossed corner details.
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Not sure what car this piece was copied from; maybe a Karmann panel? One thing for sure its not correct for this car.
More later...

Thanks for looking!

Justin

Puygranier Antoine
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#134 Post by Puygranier Antoine »

Always a pleasure to follow your project and I am learning much along the way, Thanks!

Antoine

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Vic Skirmants
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Re: Late 1959 S/R coupe project # 108625

#135 Post by Vic Skirmants »

Karmann did not make panels for 356A.

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