Order of Operations

[mr white]

Hello Everyone,
Seems to be a debate here locally about building a roached 356 into a solid car again. The situation is hypothetical. Any 356 that needs full metal repair: floors,longs,pedal area,roof,front and rear fenders,front and rear bulkheads etc. I have a thought that rockers were dead last after everything. What is the correct order and some reasoning?

[MMW]

If you look through here

http://www.abcgt.com/forum/14-356-Restoration-Projects.html

in the restoration section there are a few being brought back from the dead with great pics & explanations. I believe every car is different & must be assessed on it's own.
_________________
Mic
1959 356 coupe
Missing the original engine 72488
Update - third pc. found!
Now just need the case halves.
1965 fenderless beetle

[roy mawbey]

Yes ABCGT is the place to look. I live in Southern England so from birth used to rain. I was first attracted to the 356 in the middle 50's when still a boy living in London.
When the time came to eventually buy one in the 60's, It became apparent very quickly the ones I could afford the pre-A's and the ' A' s were normally much cheaper if they had not been looked after. I looked at about 5 cars in 1968 and they varied in price from £100- to £500.

I saw then battery boxes rusted out, Longitudinals rusted through with non operational jacking points , Front diagonal very thin, the torsion bar area at the back in holes, the front flooring in holes, the top suspension area at the back holed. Even saw complete flat sheet floors covering the original. And that was the underneath!!

The rockers often had the cover plates for access to the torsion bars covered over with filler. The door bottoms were usually rusted through in 10 years. The only area safe more or less, was the roof and the engine lid. The rest usually had rust in all the normal places.

And remember if you can see rust in those places be assured its under the carpets in the back and on the interior sides.

ABCGT will show you if the long's have gone then the interior of these will have suffered as well.

Remember I saw that rust over 40 years ago! Be careful.

I am amazed how guys are now taking cars apart on spits and doing so much all these years later.

Is it any wonder I can count the fingers on one hand the number of times my car has been out in rain since 1971 when I stopped using it as a daily driver. It was 10 years old when purchased and for at least 5 years led a very looked after life. I still have original battery box longitudinals and jacking points that work and original floors. I did 35 years ago patch weld some places and also on the body.

Roy
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Roy
RHD356A super75 106954

[mr white]

The input here is appreciated gentlemen! Looking at abc gt,nice site. However does not really answer the question. Agreed each car is going to be a different batch of needed repairs. Lets pick any year of 356. The car in question needs: floors,longs,rockers,roof gutter,rear firewall,battery box,and fenders. Lets ad A pillar areas as well for giggles. Order of metal repair and why such order?

[dsrtfox]

Just my opinion of course. Speedsters, D's, roadsters and cabs will always be the most valuable and worth spending more to restore if you hope to recoup all or most of your money. Than come A coupes, C coupes and lastly B's. This not just my opinion, it's following the trends at the various auctions. I personally like the B's but for a driver not an investment.
At one of the high end west coast shops a full restoration starts at $150,000 and you get your car back better than new. Than you keep it in a climate controlled garage and show it to all your friends. This may be what you want and if I was in that financial position I would like nothing better but I'm not.
There's a big spread between a nice driver and a concourse speedster. Where do you fit in? what is it you want? Putting over $100,000 in a B would not be a wise investment but an open car would be another story.
Good luck in your quest...

[dawerks]

mr white; Quit teasing them and tell them what you have
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"There is only one sin; disconnection from self."

[James Davies]

Ron Roland wrote an entire book on this subject. I would recommend buying it if you are planning on doing any restoration work yourself for the first time.

http://www.amazon.com/Restored-Hand-Bolts-Porsche-Restoration/dp/1426907184

In some cases, order of operations matters. In others, it doesn't. It depends where the rust and accident damage is.