Front End: 1953 Porsche 356 Pre-A Cabriolet Part Three

The first few pictures in this post show the front end completion process to the way it looked when leaving the factory.

This is part three of a series of posts covering the Porsche 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 of Porsche Restoration covered the beginning of the nose rebuild, leaving the new section TIG welded into position.  Part three of Porsche Restoration 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!

We next head around the corner to the right hand fender where the panel just like the rest of the body has seen a reasonable amount of filler work, not deep by any means, just enough to create its fair share of ‘lows,’ which we’ll bring up by hand, with our standard metal finishing process, in preparation for the high build primer process.

The great thing about this Porsche 356 is there is almost zero rust around the exterior, that’s compliments to the owner for taking care of the car for the last 50 years!

Continue to enjoy future posts as we complete the exterior metal work.

Porsche Restoration: Completion of 356 Pre-A Porsche nose rebuild

Porsche Restoration: Metal Work On 1953 Porsche 356 at The Metal Surgeon

Hood damage highlighted here.
Porsche Restoration: Metal Work On 1953 Porsche 356 at The Metal Surgeon

Smooth….
Porsche Restoration: Metal Work On 1953 Porsche 356 at The Metal Surgeon

Another angle of the nose.

Porsche Restoration: Front fender restoration of Porsche 356 Pre-A

Porsche Restoration: Metal Work On 1953 Porsche 356 at The Metal Surgeon

Beginning stage of the left hand fender repair, showing signs of damage.
Porsche Restoration: Metal Work On 1953 Porsche 356 at The Metal Surgeon

View from the opposite angle before restoration work.
Porsche Restoration: Metal Work On 1953 Porsche 356 at The Metal Surgeon

Typical damage from ‘grounding.’
Porsche Restoration: Metal Work On 1953 Porsche 356 at The Metal Surgeon

Area smoothed out and skimmed with lead immediately in front of the fender support bracket.
Porsche Restoration: Metal Work On 1953 Porsche 356 at The Metal Surgeon

Hammer,dolly and file work in progress.
Porsche Restoration: Metal Work On 1953 Porsche 356 at The Metal Surgeon

Repairing the original lead area around the door aperture.
Porsche Restoration: Metal Work On 1953 Porsche 356 at The Metal Surgeon

Nose, left hand fender, and hood are now restored.
Porsche Restoration: Metal Work On 1953 Porsche 356 at The Metal Surgeon

We are now ready for primer.

This is part three of a series of posts covering the Porsche Restoration of this classic 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!