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In Part 1 of this a 1972 Porsche 914 conversion to a 914/6 GT race car, we show the car after media blasting and outlined all the work that we will be completing. Part 2 covers the restoration starting with the rear quarter replacement and alignment.
Now that our rear quarter panel has been replaced on the Porsche, we can advance to positioning our new 914/6 GT arches. The important part is getting the arches set into the ‘car line’ so they look as they were a part of the body when it left the factory.
The procedure below involves no high tech, expensive tooling to achieve this task, yet provides very satisfying results.
Photos of Porsche 914 fender flare removal
Remove original arch from body, remembering not to remove too much material.
Original fender panel removed.
New GT fender flare from Porsche to replace original.
It’s important to align the GT fenders in the ‘car line.’ Sharpie lines were drawn across from the doors and a gauge made to continue the line into the arch opening.
The ‘arch opening’ line is perfectly lined up with the body line template. This detail is critical to the quality of the end product.
Another view of the body line markings.
Once the GT arch is positioned in line with the template, the arch is held into position with clecos. It’s always a good idea to stand back and check from various angles that the positioning looks good before marking and cutting the remaining materiel on the body.
New Porsche 914/6 fenders in position
We repeated the above sequence for the remaining GT arches.
For more on this Porsche 914 to 914/6 GT conversion, see Part 1 where we show the car after media blasting and outlined all the work that we will be completing. Part 2 covers the restoration starting with the rear quarter replacement and alignment.
This is the 14th in a series of posts on the automotive restoration of this 1964 Porsche 356C. Part One described condition of the Porsche after media blasting and the rebuild of the B-post, Part Two explains the fender reconstruction process, Part Three covered the front end reconstruction, Part Four described the rebuild of the right-hand front fender and wheel arch, and Part Five covers the difficult restoration of the right-hand rear quarter . Part Six demonstrated how off-the-shelf panels were used to make quick work of the restoration of the engine bay. Part Seven jumped ahead and showed the leading work completed to perfect the gapping at the doors, trunk, and hood. Part Eight describes the rear-quarter restoration of a panel, that you cannot buy replacements for. Part Nine shows how the rocker panel and hood channel were replaced. Part Ten covers the tire well repair and rebuild following a front end accident. Part Eleven explains how the heavily decayed B-post was restored. Part Twelve describes how we completed the restoration of this 356C floor and structural components. Part Thirteen showed a couple of photos of the final metal work of this Porsche 356C restoration.
The first stage of the paint process has the body in polyester, in preparation for the two stages of primer, dry blocking, and final wet sand before we apply color. The next post will show the Porsche in the stunning ‘sky blue’ color.
End of body restoration, ready for primer: Porsche 356C
Front left hand corner shot of Porsche.
Nice, even, defined door gaps.
Panels set and gapped seamlessly.
Ready for the next stage: primer.
This is the 14th in a series of posts on the automotive restoration of this 1964 Porsche 356C. Part One described condition of the Porsche after media blasting and the rebuild of the B-post, Part Two explains the fender reconstruction process, Part Three covered the front end reconstruction, Part Four described the rebuild of the right-hand front fender and wheel arch, and Part Five covers the difficult restoration of the right-hand rear quarter . Part Six demonstrated how off-the-shelf panels were used to make quick work of the restoration of the engine bay. Part Seven jumped ahead and showed the leading work completed to perfect the gapping at the doors, trunk, and hood. Part Eight describes the rear-quarter restoration of a panel, that you cannot buy replacements for. Part Nine shows how the rocker panel and hood channel were replaced. Part Ten covers the tire well repair and rebuild following a front end accident. Part Eleven explains how the heavily decayed B-post was restored. Part Twelve describes how we completed the restoration of this 356C floor and structural components. Part Thirteen showed a couple of photos of the final metal work of this Porsche 356C restoration.
Dropped spindles are simply spindle castings where the axle (or hub center) is moved up away from the lower ball joint. This lowers your car/truck/van by moving your wheel up in the fender well. There is a limit to how far you can move the axle up (you run out of casting), which is why you see most spindle applications drop about 2 inches. Precision and maintaining the correct factory alignment specifications are important when it comes to making spindles.
One part of this project is remove the original 1958 split screen beam and replace it with a 6-inch narrowed and adjustable beam accompanied with 2.5-inch dropped disc break spindles from a 1971 Volkswagen bay window bus.
For this post, we will concentrate on converting the original bay spindles to 2.5-inch dropped spindles. The result of this modification will drop the front of the bus down 2.5 inches, creating better road handling since the vehicle is at a lower center of gravity. The beam can be also adjusted to even further lower the bus.
Original 1971 Volkswagen disc brake spindles.
1971 VW complete front beam used as donor. Ready for tear down.
VW bay window spindles after media blasting.
Another angle of original spindle before surgery.
Jig made to aid building the 2.5-inch dropped spindle. Built to keep and maintain the original geometry during modification.
Up close detail of the jig.
View from the side.
Cutting top shaft housing horizontally. This lobe is then cut vertically to be able to slide 2.5 inches down the jig tube.
The arm is cut and the jig structure is unbolted and moved down 2.5 inches creating a gap which will be filled. All original factory geometry is maintained.
Here is the gap after the arm is dropped 2.5 inches.
A piece of steel is cut to fill the 2.5-inch void. Steel is also beveled for maximum weld penetration. Steel is then heated to cherry red in preparation for TIG welding.
Continuing heat concentration throughout laying beads. Stainless filler rod 302 is used.
For added strength and peace of mind, we added a gusset for a backbone.
Welding is complete, now ready for paint, cosmetics, and assembly.
This is not a tutorial – please don’t try this at home!
Just like the 1929 Ford Roadster dashboard redesign, the same principles were applied to tweaking the original 1932 Ford Roadster dashboard design to house an Auburn instrument panel. After the layout drawings were finalized and we were happy with the flow and lines, we set about building the hammer form / press tool jig from stock steel. Again, the objective was to part press the body of the dashboard with a 50-ton press, then complete it by jig chasing and defining to the hammer form. The nice part about this dashboard is that we were able to make the dash out of one piece of material.
Checkout the photos below of this custom designed roadster dashboard panel. The dash bolts right into an original roadster body or any quality reproduction body in a simple 15 minute installation using only a screwdriver to aid installation.
This is an original style Ford roadster dashboard.
My custom designed Ford dash (bottom) versus the original (top).
Custom 1932 dashboard fitted into a Ford Roadster
My handmade custom Auburn dashboard panel fitted into a 1932 Ford Roadster.
Bolts in just like the original.
End detail of the custom 1932 dashboard.
At the Grand National Roadster Show at the SoCal Speedshop LA booth. This is the Auburn instrument panel fitted in.
Overall view of the custom 1932 roadster dashboard with the instrument panel.
For more information on how this was created, check out the series of posts on the making of a custom aluminum dashboard to fit into any 1929 Ford Roadster. Click here for part one on the concept, part two on the jig and fixtures, and part three on the installation.
Other custom Ford work includes an aluminum 1932 radiator shell and Bonneville-style grille insert. To compliment the classic style of the radiator shell, we decided to build some custom panel work.
This is the 13th in a series of posts on the automotive restoration of this 1964 Porsche 356C. Part One described condition of the Porsche after media blasting and the rebuild of the B-post, Part Two explains the fender reconstruction process, Part Three covered the front end reconstruction, Part Four described the rebuild of the right-hand front fender and wheel arch, and Part Five covers the difficult restoration of the right-hand rear quarter . Part Six demonstrated how off-the-shelf panels were used to make quick work of the restoration of the engine bay. Part Seven jumped ahead and showed the leading work completed to perfect the gapping at the doors, trunk, and hood. Part Eight describes the rear-quarter restoration of a panel, that you cannot buy replacements for. Part Nine shows how the rocker panel and hood channel were replaced. Part Ten covers the tire well repair and rebuild following a front end accident. Part Eleven explains how the heavily decayed B-post was restored. Part Twelve describes how we completed the restoration of this 356C floor and structural components.
This post shows final shots of our 356C, before we get into the leading process to round out the metal work, and hand the Porsche over to our paint department. Checkout the lead work in Post Seven (which actually followed this stage). For an idea of effort spent to get the Porsche to this stage, total metal work hours spent were 286 hours, followed by 41 hours of lead work.
Stay tuned for the next couple posts which will show this baby in paint!
Final metal work photos of Porsche 356C restoration
View of the rear bumper to complete the final overall check of the body.
Front bumper fitted and checked against the body/fender contours.
Convertible top fitted.
Gapping is all set and ready for complete definition with lead.
View from the front showing a much smoother look then how we started.
This is the 13th in a series of posts on the automotive restoration of this 1964 Porsche 356C. Part One described condition of the Porsche after media blasting and the rebuild of the B-post, Part Two explains the fender reconstruction process, Part Three covered the front end reconstruction, Part Four described the rebuild of the right-hand front fender and wheel arch, and Part Five covers the difficult restoration of the right-hand rear quarter . Part Six demonstrated how off-the-shelf panels were used to make quick work of the restoration of the engine bay. Part Seven jumped ahead and showed the leading work completed to perfect the gapping at the doors, trunk, and hood. Part Eight describes the rear-quarter restoration of a panel, that you cannot buy replacements for. Part Nine shows how the rocker panel and hood channel were replaced. Part Ten covers the tire well repair and rebuild following a front end accident. Part Eleven explains how the heavily decayed B-post was restored. Part Twelve describes how we completed the restoration of this 356C floor and structural components.
This is part eleven of a series of posts on the automotive restoration of this 1931 American Austin. Part One describes the history of the Austin and presents photos of the car before any restoration work. Part Two shows the condition of the Austin after return from media blasting and describes the donor chassis. Part Three covers the restoration of the chassis and mechanical parts. Part Four begins covering the metal work part of the restoration and talks about starting the new floor construction. Part Five follows on the floor rebuild and presents photos of the tunnel damage and restoration. Part Six shows how we made the left-hand floor from scratch using a pattern from the right. Part Seven continues the description of the floor rebuild, covering the upper end of the floor. Part Eight continues showing how the left floor half was made from scratch and grafted into the tunnel to complete the floor. Part Nine describes how the rear end of the American Austin was cut apart to make structural repairs to the tail panel. Part Ten presents the repair of the tail end of the spare wheel housing panel flange.
We round out the rear end restoration in this post with a freshly made upper floor panel and inner wheel arch restoration.
The flanges on the both lower areas of the inner arches were both decayed and misshaped due to the area being overstretched. We removed these affected areas from the American Austin and replaced them with new metal as shown in the photos below on both inner arches.
The upper floor panel was totally rotted away on the lower right hand corner, we did contemplate repairing this area on the original panel, but decided the resulting panel would be structurally borderline at best. A new panel was therefore made from scratch, which completed the rear end rebuild and restoration.
Photos of rear end American Austin restoration
Weakened inner arch metal was removed.
New metal piece made and offered up to the wheel well.
Newly made section grafted in.
New metal in the right hand wheel arch.
…and metal finished.
Interior view of inner wheel housing and new repairs.
The upper floor panel needed a great deal of help. After careful assessment, we decided to make a new back panel.
Back panel created, now need to weld in to the rear end.
Completed rear end restoration – ready to join the rest of the American Austin
New panel positioned into place on the Austin.
Rear end completely ready for the rest of the body.
This is part eleven of a series of posts on the automotive restoration of this 1931 American Austin. Part One describes the history of the Austin and presents photos of the car before any restoration work. Part Two shows the condition of the Austin after return from media blasting and describes the donor chassis. Part Three covers the restoration of the chassis and mechanical parts. Part Four begins covering the metal work part of the restoration and talks about starting the new floor construction. Part Five follows on the floor rebuild and presents photos of the tunnel damage and restoration. Part Six shows how we made the left-hand floor from scratch using a pattern from the right. Part Seven continues the description of the floor rebuild, covering the upper end of the floor. Part Eight continues showing how the left floor half was made from scratch and grafted into the tunnel to complete the floor. Part Nine describes how the rear end of the American Austin was cut apart to make structural repairs to the tail panel. Part Ten presents the repair of the tail end of the spare wheel housing panel flange.
This is the 12th in a series of posts on the automotive restoration of this 1964 Porsche 356C. Part One described condition of the Porsche after media blasting and the rebuild of the B-post, Part Two explains the fender reconstruction process, Part Three covered the front end reconstruction, Part Four described the rebuild of the right-hand front fender and wheel arch, and Part Five covers the difficult restoration of the right-hand rear quarter . Part Six demonstrated how off-the-shelf panels were used to make quick work of the restoration of the engine bay. Part Seven jumped ahead and showed the leading work completed to perfect the gapping at the doors, trunk, and hood. Part Eight describes the rear-quarter restoration of a panel, that you cannot buy replacements for. Part Nine shows how the rocker panel and hood channel were replaced. Part Ten covers the tire well repair and rebuild following a front end accident. Part Eleven explains how the heavily decayed B-post was restored.
Here we describe how we completed the restoration of this 356C floor and structural components that had seen a great deal of neglect and exposure to the outside elements. To save time and money, we combined fabricating sheet metal and applying new parts off the shelf, after cutting out the under carriage damage.
Restoration of the floor and structural components of Porsche 356C
Photo shows not only the outer layer of metal deterioration, but also the inner bracket structure to that needs to be reconstructed.
As you can imagine, a pile of rusted, almost powdered, metal lay on the floor from just poking around.
We started with removal of the front strut reinforcement bracket.
The original Porsche weakened floor. This will be replaced with an off the shelf brand new floor.
Factory spot welds were drilled out, then front floor was removed, leaving access to the inside of the tunnel.
Rust removal of the tunnel is underway.
New sheet metal was fabricated to create the toe board bulkhead for the Porsche.
A side view of the toe board bulkhead panel in position.
Tacked into position and ready to be grafted in.
New metal grafted in prior to adding the front strut reinforcement panel.
Front strut reinforcement now welded into position.
Another view of the 356C.
Final restoration photos of the Porsche floor and structure
View of restoration work.
Toe board hand made replacement welded to the ‘off the shelf’ front floor replacement panel.
Diagonal member fitted and welded in. View of completed Porsche 356C undercarriage restoration.
View from inside – a 356C floor now ready to go.
This is the 12th in a series of posts on the automotive restoration of this 1964 Porsche 356C. Part One described condition of the Porsche after media blasting and the rebuild of the B-post, Part Two explains the fender reconstruction process, Part Three covered the front end reconstruction, Part Four described the rebuild of the right-hand front fender and wheel arch, and Part Five covers the difficult restoration of the right-hand rear quarter . Part Six demonstrated how off-the-shelf panels were used to make quick work of the restoration of the engine bay. Part Seven jumped ahead and showed the leading work completed to perfect the gapping at the doors, trunk, and hood. Part Eight describes the rear-quarter restoration of a panel, that you cannot buy replacements for. Part Nine shows how the rocker panel and hood channel were replaced. Part Ten covers the tire well repair and rebuild following a front end accident. Part Eleven explains how the heavily decayed B-post was restored.
This is part ten of a series of posts on the automotive restoration of this 1931 American Austin. Part One describes the history of the Austin and presents photos of the car before any restoration work. Part Two shows the condition of the Austin after return from media blasting and describes the donor chassis. Part Three covers the restoration of the chassis and mechanical parts. Part Four begins covering the metal work part of the restoration and talks about starting the new floor construction. Part Five follows on the floor rebuild and presents photos of the tunnel damage and restoration. Part Six shows how we made the left-hand floor from scratch using a pattern from the right. Part Seven continues the description of the floor rebuild, covering the upper end of the floor. Part Eight continues showing how the left floor half was made from scratch and grafted into the tunnel to complete the floor. Part Nine describes how the rear end of the American Austin was cut apart to make structural repairs to the tail panel.
This post looks at repairing the tail end of the spare wheel housing panel flange to take our newly restored tail panel in Post Nine. Patterns and measurements are taken before the original metal is removed to aid profiling new material.
Photos of American Austin rear structural restoration
A new flange will be made and grafted in to replace the weakened original showed here.
New flange created and offered up the the rear body of the Austin.
Profile set and clecos used to hold in position.
Restored tail panel set in position to aid setting of new sheet metal.
TIG welding takes place after being tacked into position.
Completed flange restoration – ready for next stage
Metal finished.
Tail panel is now ready to be spot welded to the new flange.
This is part ten of a series of posts on the automotive restoration of this 1931 American Austin. Part One describes the history of the Austin and presents photos of the car before any restoration work. Part Two shows the condition of the Austin after return from media blasting and describes the donor chassis. Part Three covers the restoration of the chassis and mechanical parts. Part Four begins covering the metal work part of the restoration and talks about starting the new floor construction. Part Five follows on the floor rebuild and presents photos of the tunnel damage and restoration. Part Six shows how we made the left-hand floor from scratch using a pattern from the right. Part Seven continues the description of the floor rebuild, covering the upper end of the floor. Part Eight continues showing how the left floor half was made from scratch and grafted into the tunnel to complete the floor. Part Nine describes how the rear end was cut apart to make structural repairs to the tail panel.
This is part ten of the automotive restoration series on this 1960 Ferrari 250GT Cabriolet. Part One describes the creation of a ‘measuring box’ to check the car body symmetry. Part Two explains the creation of a new tail light housing. Part Three illustrates patterning up the rocker panels. Part Four looks at how the original rocker panels were dismantled. Part Five covers the rocker panel build. Part Six describes the rocker panel graft in and some of the damaged floor rebuild. Part Seven covers the extensive rebuild and restoration of the Ferrari floor. Part Eight illustrates the engine bay restoration. Part Nine explains the steps taken to restore the distinctive mouth area.
After all the work on the front end of this rare Ferrari, we move to the rear of the body, to the trunk area, where the right hand side was lightly damaged sometime ago. This damage also caused a little structural damage on the interior trunk. After removing the internal trunk panels piece by piece and replicating them to make new panels, we welded them back in just as they looked from the factory. To finalize this area, a new trunk sill was made with a rear hole light detail added for the housing, and then metal finished to completion. Bumper was then fitted and away we go.
The last area of restoration is the oil sump pan, cracked and chipped from road contact or just careless driving. Being cast weld presented more of a challenge, but our restoration came out as good as new!
Ferrari 250GT structural trunk area restoration
Inside of the Ferrari trunk, we see the right hand panel is totally decayed.
Freshly made panel grafted in.
Simple tooling aided the making of this panel, helping to achieve the correct depth on the depressions.
Damaged and decayed area marked for removal.
Material removed and damaged internal structure revealed.
Internal structure now removed and ready for inspection.
Close up inspection reveals damage to the structure of the panels from a rear end light shunt many years ago.
Newly made panel, patterned up from the original.
Internal structure assembled and new metal made on the exterior.
Fresh sheet metal held into position with clecos. The rear bumper also fitted to check profiles before welding.
Panels are now TIG welded in and the metal finishing process begins.
…and metal finished.
Number plate hole detail: new material also grafted in here.
Ferrari oil pan restoration
Oil pan damaged after years of road scrapes. Walls to be built up with TIG weld. This is a little more difficult since the pan is cast.
TIG welding in process after thoroughly cleaning the surface.
Welded, cleaned up, and ready for service.
This is part ten of the automotive restoration series on this 1960 Ferrari 250GT Cabriolet. Part One describes the creation of a ‘measuring box’ to check the car body symmetry. Part Two explains the creation of a new tail light housing. Part Three illustrates patterning up the rocker panels. Part Four looks at how the original rocker panels were dismantled. Part Five covers the rocker panel build. Part Six describes the rocker panel graft in and some of the damaged floor rebuild. Part Seven covers the extensive rebuild and restoration of the Ferrari floor. Part Eight illustrates the engine bay restoration. Part Nine explains the steps taken to restore the distinctive mouth area.
This is part nine of a series of posts on the automotive restoration of this 1931 American Austin. Part One describes the history of the Austin and presents photos of the car before any restoration work. Part Two shows the condition of the Austin after return from media blasting and describes the donor chassis. Part Three covers the restoration of the chassis and mechanical parts. Part Four begins covering the metal work part of the restoration and talks about starting the new floor construction. Part Five follows on the floor rebuild and presents photos of the tunnel damage and restoration. Part Six shows how we made the left-hand floor from scratch using a pattern from the right. Part Seven continues the description of the floor rebuild, covering the upper end of the floor. Part Eight continues showing how the left floor half was made from scratch and grafted into the tunnel to complete the floor.
The following three posts cover the rear end of the American Austin rebuild and restoration.
In this post, we separate the entire rear half from the rest of the body and then turn the body upside down for ease of restoring. Again we discover decayed original sheet metal in the tail panel that we replace with new metal after patterning. Aged splits and stress cracks in the body are TIG welded and repaired.
Rear end American Austin restoration photos
Work begins on the rear end of the body. This is the inside of the rear panel that holds the spare tire.
Rear tail panel now removed and ready for restoration.
Tail panel flange badly decayed and in need of new metal.
Stress cracks around the rear bumper brackets.
Bumper bracket now removed and showing evidence of damage.
Decayed, stressed, and cracked metal now cut away and removed from the rest of the body.
New metal piece grafted in.
Restoration in progress. Decayed metal on the bottom also removed and replaced with new metal.
Metal finishing the newly grafted in section.
Bumper bracket location pilot holes drilled.
New bottom section created and ready to graft in.
New bottom section TIG welded into position.
Various splits and tears throughout repaired.
Final restoration photo
Tail panel now restored and ready to put back together with the Austin body.
This is part nine of a series of posts on the automotive restoration of this 1931 American Austin. Part One describes the history of the Austin and presents photos of the car before any restoration work. Part Two shows the condition of the Austin after return from media blasting and describes the donor chassis. Part Three covers the restoration of the chassis and mechanical parts. Part Four begins covering the metal work part of the restoration and talks about starting the new floor construction. Part Five follows on the floor rebuild and presents photos of the tunnel damage and restoration. Part Six shows how we made the left-hand floor from scratch using a pattern from the right. Part Seven continues the description of the floor rebuild, covering the upper end of the floor. Part Eight continues showing how the left floor half was made from scratch and grafted into the tunnel to complete the floor.
