64C 356 Hotrod build

For those who couldn't care less how their 356 left the factory!
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Jonathan Bradbury Bigelow
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Re: 64C 356 Hotrod build

#76 Post by Jonathan Bradbury Bigelow »

hey Michael, I am considering a 901 rear suspension swap on my 64C. How difficult was your conversion and what parts will I need to source?

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Michael Moss
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Re: 64C 356 Hotrod build

#77 Post by Michael Moss »

Jonathan You’ll need the transaxle, 1965 thru 68 911 or 65-66 912 front transaxle mount, shift tower, rear suspension trailing arms, spring plates, axles, and rear brakes. I modified the rear 356 transaxle hanger and made aluminum blocks bolted to the bell housing to accept the 356 mounts. I used the center section of the early 911/912 torsion tube and cut the center 356 torsion tube section out machined sleeves to fit inside the torsion tube to aline the tube for welding. The rear seat pans were cut out to facilitate welding of the torsion tube and rewelded back in. Once the transaxle is in place the suspension components bolt in place. The shift tube needed shortening, clutch cable modified. I’m sure there are other things but those are the big ones I remember. You can see the blocks and rear hanger in some of the pictures I posted.

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Martin Benade
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Re: 64C 356 Hotrod build

#78 Post by Martin Benade »

The 911 and 912 stock fifth gear is about the same as a 356 fourth gear. You need to get the correct 5th gearset from a 914 if you want quieter freeway driving. So one more expense.
Last edited by Martin Benade on Wed Jan 26, 2022 5:38 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Jonathan Bradbury Bigelow
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Re: 64C 356 Hotrod build

#79 Post by Jonathan Bradbury Bigelow »

thanks guys I will start making a list.

David A Thomas
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Re: 64C 356 Hotrod build

#80 Post by David A Thomas »

Hi Michael,

Really nice build! Where did you find the louvered quarter windows? Thx!

Nathan Miller
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Re: 64C 356 Hotrod build

#81 Post by Nathan Miller »

"Rear fenders were split to accomodate Coddington 7" alloys."

Do you know anywhere I can read about this process, especially where and what shape cut? Thanks.

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Martin Benade
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Re: 64C 356 Hotrod build

#82 Post by Martin Benade »

The first post of this thread shows a picture of the splits. I think there may be some information posted if you look through the thread, but the picture tells the story.
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Michael Moss
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Re: 64C 356 Hotrod build

#83 Post by Michael Moss »

This is how I did mine, I’m sure there are other approaches to the job. First cut I the fender, and put the wheel & tire on. Then the fender was pulled to clear the tire. I then tack welded 1/8 steel bars across the fender opening. Then I put tape across the opening 6” long or so, and used a razor blade to carefully cut the tape along the edge of the opening. I then transferred the tape to sheetmetal as a template for cutting the filler sheetmetal. Filed to fit each piece to make a good butt joint and tig welded them in. Prior to cutting each fender I made a tape template of the tail light opening. After the fender was welded I transferred the tape template of the tail light opening and cut my tail light openings. Each fender took about two days. Mike
Attachments
IMG_1689.jpeg
IMG_1661.jpeg
IMG_1662 - Copy.jpeg
Tape template for cutting tail light opening
Tape template for cutting tail light opening
Wide body 356 vs Narrow body
Wide body 356 vs Narrow body
Last edited by Michael Moss on Fri Oct 20, 2023 12:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Nathan Miller
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Re: 64C 356 Hotrod build

#84 Post by Nathan Miller »

Michael Moss wrote: Wed Mar 06, 2019 1:41 pm Conrad
Its a Sharpbuilt fan shroud out of Australia, and yes it uses a 911 fan. Mike
Any reason why you chose the Sharpbuilt rather than Raby's DTM Cooling System? In my eyes, the Sharpbuilt is better looking, but I have no idea which cools better.

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Michael Moss
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Re: 64C 356 Hotrod build

#85 Post by Michael Moss »

I chose the sharpbuilt shroud because it uses the stock cooler no ugly hoses running around in the engine compartment. I have a Mazda RX7 cooler with a fan thermostatically controlled mounted remotely in the left rear fender. My engine is dry sumped so the return is run thru the remote cooler before it gets back to the oil tank. I’ve read the DTM (Butt ugly just my opinion) cools more evenly, but on a 95* day my engine is running about 205 oil temp. Mike

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Re: 64C 356 Hotrod build

#86 Post by Nathan Miller »

There appears to be a 1/2" wide x 8" long sliver from the rear light into the quarter panel. Is this for a repair or for alignment?
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Martin Benade
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Re: 64C 356 Hotrod build

#87 Post by Martin Benade »

That was done on both sides to widen the space for wider rims and tires.
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Greg Bryan
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Re: 64C 356 Hotrod build

#88 Post by Greg Bryan »

Is the Sharpbuilt shroud still available? I thought I heard the builder was having health problems, or ...
I like the look of the Sharpbuilt.
I imagine the Raby shroud works well as Jake is very anal about his stuff, but I don't like the look very much.
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Nathan Miller
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Re: 64C 356 Hotrod build

#89 Post by Nathan Miller »

Martin Benade wrote: Mon Nov 06, 2023 4:54 pm That was done on both sides to widen the space for wider rims and tires.
I was asking about the 1/2" horizontal sliver, not the pie shape to widen the fenders. I imagine the sliver was cut to realign the bottom the rear portion, but am unsure.

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Michael Moss
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Re: 64C 356 Hotrod build

#90 Post by Michael Moss »

Nathan, yes the piece was cut for alignment of the fenders at the bottom. Mike

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