This is part four of a series of posts covering the restoration of this 1953 Porsche 356 Cabriolet, taking us through the final paint and mechanical assembly of the body. The introduction post on this Porsche 356 Pre-A restoration shows pictures of how the Porsche came to us, then after dismantle was complete, and then after the body was media blasted. Post two covered the beginning of the nose rebuild, leaving the new section TIG welded into position. Part three looked at how the rest of the front end of the Porsche was repaired. Part four described how the restoration of the floors and inside cab was accomplished. Part five showed the results of metal finishing all over, where the 356 Pre-A was ready for paint. Part six shows the (almost) final results, with the Pre-A mechanical assembly complete and in paint!
In this post, we take care of restoration of the floors and inside cab.
We were able to buy reproduction rear floors and jacking points for this 1953 Porsche, but unfortunately the front battery tray panel is not available. Therefore, we had to fabricate a new one using the decayed original tray as a pattern. We always look for reproduction panels first, before making any new sections, even if the repro panels need a little tweaking, it still saves the customer on labor costs.
Porsche Floor Before Restoration
Overview of the damage to the front floor and battery tray of the 356.
Rough damage.
Damaged/decayed battery panels which will be used as a pattern.
Braced sections will be straightened out and grafted back in.
Porsche Floor Repairs
The hand fabrication of the new battery tray panel.
Lower section here completely removed for rebuild.
Shot of the bracing (put in place before anything was cut away).
Using clecos to hold new panels in position.
Battery bracket detail: Removing the battery spring attachment from the original decayed bracket and grafting it into the new.
Original spring detail, now grafted into the new metal panel.
Fabricating a new floor section for the 356.
Newly made floor sections, now tacked into position.
Welding in a new ‘off the shelf’ jacking point.
Photos of Porsche Floor Restoration Completed
The new floor panels are now welded in and metal finished.
Finished off with seam sealer.
Cleaned up and ready for the next stage.
Final shot of the completely restored floor of this 1953 Porsche 356.
This is part four of a series of posts covering the restoration of this 1953 Porsche 356 Cabriolet, taking us through the final paint and mechanical assembly of the body. The introduction post on this Porsche 356 Pre-A restoration shows pictures of how the Porsche came to us, then after dismantle was complete, and then after the body was media blasted. Post two covered the beginning of the nose rebuild, leaving the new section TIG welded into position. Part three looked at how the rest of the front end of the Porsche was repaired. Part four described how the restoration of the floors and inside cab was accomplished. Part five showed the results of metal finishing all over, where the 356 Pre-A was ready for paint. Part six shows the (almost) final results, with the Pre-A mechanical assembly complete and in paint!