This is the second 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 Three covered the front end reconstruction, Part Four described the rebuild of the right-hand front fender and wheel arch, Part Five covers the difficult restoration of the right-hand rear quarter, and Part Six explains the engine bay rebuild.
The first four photos below show work carried out on the right hand fender. As shown in the previous post after blasting, we saw how the fender was poorly repaired. Besides the rust decay, the front end looked as though it had been in an accident at some point in its life. Looking around the car there is a lot of rust decay in general, luckily for owners and restorers of Porsche 356Cs, there is a huge inventory of panels available to reconstruct and rebuild these beautiful cars. In this particular build I have used Stoddard reproduction panels.
This takes me to the first point of rebuild, at the right hand front fender. Stoddard produces the Porsche 356C fender replacement panels in 3 pressings plus the front half panel. To cover the right hand fender repair, I need the front half panel and the panel directly behind. In reality, I begin with the panel (black) behind the front half panel and work forward as shown in the photos below. The black panel is initially put in proper position, along with the front panel, and tacked followed by TIG welding into place. A large patch repair is also undertaken prior to the welds being metal finished.
Photos of a Porsche 356C fender restoration
The next stage takes us around to the left hand fender, where the first photo below shows a mismatch in angle transformation from the door to fender. The angle should be 180 degrees and this is probably a result of the the 1964 Porsche 356C being hit and twisted, this needs to be corrected. The incriminating area in front of the door on the fender is marked and cut out. A replacement panel is then made and grafted into place on the Porsche 356C, followed by metal finishing. In the last photo of the group below (with a ruler laying across the two panels), you can see that the door shape is way too full along with the fender angle turning outwards.
Photos of a Porsche 356C fender restoration
The remaining photos show the inner wheel well construction welded in and completed. The wheel well side wall was also planished back to factory smoothness, this is an area often checked by judges, if this Porsche 356C were entered in a car show.
132.5 hrs in metal work to date.
This is the second 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 Three covered the front end reconstruction, Part Four described the rebuild of the right-hand front fender and wheel arch, Part Five covers the difficult restoration of the right-hand rear quarter, and Part Six explains the engine bay rebuild.
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