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Restoration Journal of a 1958 Porsche 356A Cabriolet
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Body by Hamilton Classics
Weekend before last we met with Bill and Mick of Hamilton Classics in Martindale, TX - about 200 miles from us in Pearland and half way between Austin and San Antonio. As you may have read before, Bill Hamilton has been a big help and assisted me in breaking in and tuning the engine several months back.
After speaking to Bill and feedback from others, we have decided to not use the Gas Tank Renu process and instead use Eastwood gas tank repair kit. The cost of the Renu process is about $350 vs the Eastwood kit at $50. The Renu process is a thick coating on both the outside and the inside of the tank and does not allow for an original look. It's probably overkill for what I need as well. My tank will hold water and does not leak. The only concern is that the rust is thick. Several of you have assured me that the Eastwood kit would take care of this.
We have also committed to sending the body to Bill and Mick to finish it out. I know, some of you are screaming and really want me to do more on my own. I'm at a point of burn-out and am willing to pay someone to get it done right. I've seen Bill's work and trust that he will do a good job. I think the hardest part will be letting someone else work on Annie. So far, Theresa and I have done all of the work.
The big bonus in working with Bill and Mick is that they can repair the front nose of the car without buying a replacement front clip. They currently have a 356A Cabriolet in their shop that can be used as a template.
Our primary reason for visiting Bill last week was to check out a used hard top that he has. We bought it but as luck would have it we could not get it home in Theresa's SUV. Once we deliver the Annie this next weekend we will bring home the hardtop to clean up and prep for paint.
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Saturday, September 23, 2006
One of these things is not like the others....
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Saturday, September 23, 2006
Tribute to the Original Bubba Dog
 A few weeks back we lost our friend Ricky to unexpected cancer. Ricky first appeared on our doorstep as a stray in October of 1999 and has been our trusted loyal friend since that time. Ricky was also known as "Bubba" and was the namesake for our website.
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Friday, September 22, 2006
A Tribute to PORSCHE
Found a pretty cool tribute to Porsche on Youtube. In honor of Ferry Porsche's birthday I thought it would be appropriate to post. Ferry's birthday is Sept 19 and is also known as "Drive Your 356 Day." The weekend before or following this date is generally celebrated by 356 and PCA clubs with a drive or a concourse. The Lone Star Region PCA and 356 Club will be celebrating with a concourse on Sat Sept 24.
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Sunday, September 17, 2006
356A Front Clip or Nose Needed
I am getting to the point where this is really going to slow me down. I am looking for either a complete front clip or just the nose section of a 356A. All I really need is the skin between the headlights but I am willing to buy a complete front clip.
This is my last request before I spend the big coin for a new replacement panel. If you know where I can find one, please tell me. If I don't find one soon I'll have to spend the big $$ with Trevor's Hammer Works.
1 Comments:
I just did this on my 57 coupe - the part from Trevors is excellent.
Good luck.
Mark
Dubai
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Friday, September 15, 2006
Body Work and Little Things
I get burned out easily on the body work. Everyone keeps telling me to keep at it and I'll get the hang of it. All I can tell so far is that I have gone through a bunch of filler and sand paper and have little to show for it.
In the mean time I keep busy on little things. I had to fabricate backing plates for the front bumper brackets and made repairs to the heater boxes and heat exchangers. I have a good pile of parts now that have been sand blasted and need to be primed and painted such as bumper brackets, deck lid hinges, and the like.
Now that the engine is in, I am finding the little pieces that are missing. All the little connectors and cables for heaters, accelerators, clutch line, etc.
New exhaust has been ordered from Zim's, I've installed a new Optima battery, and should get the gas tank back in a week or so. After that, we might make some noise and smoke for the neighbors.
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Friday, September 15, 2006
Vacation in Maui
 Just thought I would rub it in!
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Friday, September 15, 2006
Now the Leaks Are Really Fixed
Just when I thought I had all of the transmission leaks fixed....
So I removed the left rear brake drum and out came a pretty good stream of transmission fluid. I found that when I installed the wheel seal the last time, the spring on the inside of the seal got pinched and prevented a good seal. I made a trip to Bap Geon and bought a cheap VW seal and used the spring as a replacement.
Two weeks later now and not a drip. Do I have them all? Time will only tell. If nothing else, the transmission has received one good flushing.
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Friday, September 15, 2006
Engine Installed
 Last weekend we installed the engine into the car. It was not nearly the job that I had expected it to be. It's been a few years since I installed a Bug engine but it all came back to me pretty fast. It was not nearly as difficult as installing the engine into my '72 VW Bus.
As you can see, I used an ATV jack that I bought from Harbor Freight. This was much easier than using the old jack and worth the money spent. In all, it took about 3 hours from the time we jacked up the car to the time we let it down and called it good.
We only had to go in and back out once when we found that the outer transmission hoop bolts we in backwards. I had the nut sides facing in and the bolt was too long. As a result it was making contact with the flywheel. Once we turned those around, the engine slid right in.
At one point we got a ratchet stuck on the starter bolt that cost us about 1/2 hour. Later we found that the ratchet broke while we were working behind the fan shroud.
I installed a temporary starter stitch but mistakenly shorted it out after the engine was installed. I'll need to replace it and install a fuse in the line for this to work right. I installed this to assist with starting the engine before we connect the entire wiring harness. I'll need to install all the switches and lights for that and don't plan this task until after paint.
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