TheSamba.com :: View topic - 1955 Hardtop Resto

Tue Dec 02, 2025 3:55 pm

Some quick updates;

One of the things I am doing with this car, is confirming that ideas work so when I assemble the 54, it goes together as expected. I have been worried about door alignment for a while given I was not sure how they would land when the car is bolted to the pan.

I decided to mount the body to the pan. On doing so, I figured out that the pads at the bulkhead and the beam have the biggest impact on door alignment. Think of the spacing at the bulkhead as a lever to raise and lower the doors.

When I initially bolted it down, I could quickly see that because the front pads were so thick, it caused the doors to be pulled down when tightening the bulkhead bolts. In this case, by a considerable amount. So I proceeded to trim the pads on the top of the front beam by about one-third. It got closer.

The biggest issue is that the pan gaskets for sale currently are made of very flimsy rubber. It compresses almost flat. I needed to get some lift at the bulkhead in order to support the doors. My aim was to get them 1-2mm high in order to give them room to settle.

I needed a rubber strip dense enough to hold the weight and not compress. So I phoned a friend. He suggested I search McMaster Carr, which I did. I ended up finding a 1" strip 3 feet long with varying thicknesses. I ordered three different thicknesses to experiment with.

I ended up with a 1/4" working pretty well. The driver's door is 1mm high, and the passenger is now dead level.

So, to recap. 1/4" rubber strip to replace the front pan gasket. I also trimmed the beam pads to 3/16". It is dense enough that it should last over time. Likely better than what is currently being sold.

Second order of business: test fit the engine. This is a really nice engine that I spent a fair amount of time getting correct.

Fri Dec 12, 2025 11:10 am

Updating this thread with the latest. This has officially been posted up for sale here: For sale listing

I have a website with many pictures as well as a parts list. Please hit me up if I missed anything. It may seem like a lot of cash for a project... unless you have done one before.

As stated earlier, if anyone is interested here in SoCal and needs a painter, I can introduce you to the gentleman painting my 54. He is top tier but is willing to work within a budget as well.

Thx!

Sat Dec 13, 2025 9:26 am

Nice website! Looks great!