This is the sixth 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 .

In this post we move onto the restoration of the engine bay.  The rear section of the car can tell us much about the cars life and whether car has been ‘clipped’ (a term used when the rear end sheet metal has been replaced after an accident).  There are two tell tale signs we look for when checking out a Porsche 356.

The first one is the thickness of the the two lapped seams that join the inner sheet metal to the outer around the perimeter of the engine bay.  If they appear very thick (thicker than 2.5mm), then there has been some worked performed since the car left the factory.  Secondly, observe the overlapped sheet metal on the wall of the engine bay.  The 356C overlap factory joint will be short and close to the rear of the car.  In comparison to a 356A, the overlap joint will be higher, or further away from the rear of the car.  If either of these explanations don’t follow the model description of your car, then the car in question has had some accident repair work undertaken in its life.

With our Porsche 356, the engine bay is correct, only suffering neglect with the aid of mother nature.  Follow the photos as we restore the engine bay to its factory former glory.  Here we will use off the shelf panels to make the restoration more efficient.

Photos of the Porsche 356 engine bay before restoration

Beginning of the restoration process

This is the sixth 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 .