What Have I done?

912uk · Post by **912uk** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 2:59 pm

boy not followed this .. not having too much joy but it does look like you are on top of it well done..

you will get there for sure...

Mark

that area in front of the door on the front wing did you weld yours up there onlybecause I am about to do this job on my car..

Hendrik Moulds · Post by **Hendrik Moulds** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 5:14 pm

We put a new piece in all the way down to part of the wheel arch. The old metal was not original so I wasn't bothered about saving any of it and it didn't properly match the line of the door.
This is what it looked like after we had cut out all the bad metal.

The way I see it now is that if I am going to do it I may as well do it right this time, especially as I intend to keep the car for a looooong time.

912uk · Post by **912uk** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 5:54 pm

sure I am about to do this bit right now.. Graham said to go with caution but Roger said it's easy

Iwill go with Graham on this one..

wait till I ge tback from oz

Hendrik Moulds · Post by **Hendrik Moulds** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 7:51 am

I would go with Graham as well.
We didn't find this bit easy, however it was really easy to warp the new panel!

912uk · Post by **912uk** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 10:01 am

I have a argon/co2 bottle now and it looks like it's best to do a run of spot welds eg top then bottom , middle ,top bottom middle and so on..

now in the 356 restoration book of Bills. he uses a fan to cool the area down as he welds tricky bits like this..

I woundered.. how do I discbribe this..now

if I was to joggle one of the edges so that the new panel has an area ( flat to sit on ) and then I can get a better weld. this would mean a edge on the inside of the wing but with modern sealant and then the stone chip it will almost be gone..

so I take it you but welded it on..?

Hendrik Moulds · Post by **Hendrik Moulds** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 8:41 am

I may have misled you into thinking that I am doing ALL the work.

Unfortunately I just don't have the time/patience/skill to do the welding. However I will ask my friend who did do the welding for me how he managed to weld the new wing section in and let you know by tomorrow.
I am going up to work on the car with him tonight.

Hendrik Moulds · Post by **Hendrik Moulds** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 10:51 am

Have now spoken to my welder friend.
He says he joggled the old part of the wing inwards so that the new panel would fit flush on the outside just as you suggested. But welding is very difficult to get right and would make that part of the panel weaker.
Of course you have the edge on the inside but like you say this would almost be invisible after it has been sealed etc.
I prefer the car to be strong and drivable rather than absolutely correct and perfect to the last detail.

swapped · Post by **swapped** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 11:01 am

356ist wrote:I prefer the car to be strong and drivable rather than absolutely correct and perfect to the last detail.

Amen to that!

Carl

912uk · Post by **912uk** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 11:58 am

Thanks that's 100% where I am coming from I see so many cars where the joint it butt is welded and as much as it;s a join it's not strong..

but with a joggle join you get to weld both sides and as long as you do a spot here and then here with an argon mix you can keep the heat down..

I am going to buy a joggle tool now..

Plus I can move this panel about as the door gap is so critical.. with a but weld your stuff if you cut it wrong and you would have to starting patches and horrid stuff.. I can then move it about and still have cover with the new metal and old..

Hendrik Moulds · Post by **Hendrik Moulds** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 4:01 pm

Let's face it, although it's not correct no one will know unless they look really closely at the inside of the panel.
What they will see and look at closely is the gap between the wing and the door and of course it's a lot easier to adjust for the right gap when the new piece has been joggle welded.

912uk · Post by **912uk** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 4:39 pm

100% my thoughts.. with modern sealant and it sholtz afterwards it's sealed and hiden and the huge advantage of it being adjusted right to the door...

Hendrik Moulds · Post by **Hendrik Moulds** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 8:46 am

That's the passenger side done and in primer.
Have bought another door, just gotta pay for it! (Thanks Paul)
Was stripping the drivers side back last night and guess what......
It's at least as bad.....

.........
but at least I have all the panels ready this time.
Photos to follow.

Hendrik Moulds · Post by **Hendrik Moulds** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 9:02 am

Before I post some pictures of the drivers side thought you might want to see the passenger side before it was primered.
New longitudinal behind the new sill.

The rear wing rebuilt and looking good!

An example of the previous owners handiwork. Anyone know why you would put filler in between two pieces of metal? Maybe to stop them rattling against each other?

Hendrik Moulds · Post by **Hendrik Moulds** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 3:15 pm

New photos for your delight. I am happy to say that progress is being made and I have now bought the new paint.

Repair on the front inner wheel arch.

The front wing had to be cut out as the non original metal was bad.

Metalwork is ready.

The finished product being prepared for the top coat (at last)!

And now for the driver's side. Photos to follow.

912uk · Post by **912uk** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 1:47 pm

looking good...

Well in Oz I found 3 356's and one more I just didn't get around to seeing.. the best was the 356 race car which is featured in GT Porsche this month or is it purely GT I forget which it's the black beast.. and it is as stunning as the pictures so much so that the car is too good to race..