The Up-Fixin' a 1956 Porsche Speedster thread

[wdfifteen]

Still working with Dorian Vidaurri at Autos International on getting the tonneau right. He is pretty damn dedicated to perfection - which is refreshing after some of the other experiences I've had restoring cars (Kudos also to Shaun for getting the VW radio face plate rechromed. He's another one who won't tolerate mediocre work).

Anyhow, after the 2nd attempt came up short, he sent these pieces of vinyl cut to fit around the windshield on the driver's and passenger's sides so I could mark the locations of the Tenax fasteners. I put them in place, tapped the Tenax through the vinyl with a hammer to mark the location, and punched holes for the Tenax pins. Hoping the third time is the charm.

[speeder]

Did someone move the location of the pin over the years or was it just owner or dealer installed, so it wound up wherever they put it?

[wdfifteen]

I think they were all owner or dealer installed. It ended up wherever they put it if the tonneau was custom-made and not from a common supplier like MG Mitten.

[911 Rod]

I'd be super pissed about the gauge.
Sent a VW friend to them. Now I regret it.

[wdfifteen]

Well, it’s been a while. I’ve been busy on the Speedster and a lot of other things, the Speedster project has taken so many twists and turns that, looking back, I’m surprised I’ve made as much progress as I have.
I got the gauges back from Palo Alto Speedometer and they are gorgeous. In addition to them being cosmetically perfect, Hartmut replaced worn bushings that the other place ignored and discovered that the oil temperature gauge couldn’t be calibrated (the other place didn’t even try). He is fantastic to work with, even texted me on a Sunday to make a progress report.
If you ever need gauge work on a German car, Hartmut Mees at Palo Alto Speedometer is the place to go.



Getting up and down and in and out of the car is a chore with my back still stiff, so I took my time tiding up the wiring under the dash and installing the switches and gauges (3 weeks). This little LED light with a magnetic base turned out to be a real Godsend. You can position it about anywhere.



There is a little barrel clamp that adjusts the hand throttle wire, which is located down in the bowels of the front bulkhead support. Installing the clamp and adjusting the wire took a couple of days, most of the time was used trying new strategies to get my hands, or tools or something, to the area where the clamp is located.



So, I had to use these two meat hook hands, working blind, to place that tiny little barrel clamp on a piece of wire in a location way down under the dashboard that was barely wider than my two hands and hidden by wires and structural members.





After hours of struggling, I glued the 4mm nut to a piece of card stock with wood glue and stuck the bolt into a 5mm socket with RTV. This gave me pieces big enough to manipulate with my fingers. I scraped the top layer of skin off of my left arm from wrist to elbow before finally getting the clamp in place.



Installing the throttle wire clamp was a piece of cake!

The seat vinyl needed some repair, and the carpet that covers the back of the seats wasn’t cut right. Fortunately, it was too big rather than too small, so “all” I had to do was remove the binding, cut the carpet down, and sew the binding back on. Oh Boy, another learning experience!
I got a workstation set up with a tool box within reach, a couple of seedpickers, and a computer playing oldies. After a few false starts I got a leather stitching awl and made myself a vise to hold the work pieces. Yeah, I know you can buy leather stitching vises, but I threw this one together in a few minutes and it worked perfectly. Hand stitching several feet of binding every 1/8 inch was tedious work, but with good tunes on the radio and a song in my heart (yeah, right) I eventually got it done.

[wdfifteen]

Some vinyl on the seats needed repair and I had to make the vinyl trim piece for the back of the cockpit, both of which which required sewing the vinyl. My loving wife declared, “Hell NO, you’re not sewing vinyl with either of my Berninas and you're damn sure not using my Featherweight!”



So, (or sew). A few years ago we had picked up an Elna sewing machine from the early ‘50s because, according to my wife, they are built like tanks and the price was only $25. It’s been sitting on a shelf waiting to be restored for years and would be perfect if I could get it running. So, I took a few weeks off of work on the Speedster and restored this Elna sewing machine. It needed a good cleaning and a new friction drive wheel, which, amazingly enough, you can still buy. It really is an amazing piece of machinery, and it hammered right through the layers of vinyl. AND - the best part - I got to buy new tools! Tiny, tiny tools.



Word got out among Vicki’s friends that I could fix a sewing machine, so I got sidetracked even further while I fixed the timing on her Featherweight and repaired a friend’s newer Singer. And another friend’s Singer.







Getting back to car work, I rebuilt the seat frames and glued the repaired carpet to the seats. It was nice to work on something that didn't require a magnifying glass to see. The seats are ready to go back in the car!





Looking at the pictures I see that some time along the way I installed the steering shaft tube and the steering wheel. I think I did it right after installing the gauges, Next up is finishing the interior vinyl. It’s coming on spring and the car will soon go out to the lift to have the bumpers and wiring installed. I don’t know if I’ll finish the interior before that or not.

[herr_oberst]

Wow.

[thingmon]

Looking great!

[Bill Douglas]

Nice work! I love the attention to detail.

[astrochex]

Great work and I love how no issue seems beyond your reach. Impressive skills.

[Evans, Marv]

Yes, very impressive. I love threads like this.

[wdfifteen]

I forgot to mention a quandary that arose while I was putting the gauges in. Before I started, I looked through Bret Johnson's 356 authenticity guide and saw a picture of a car with the speedometer to the right of the tachometer and assumed this was the correct position. But the pictures I had taken of my car showed it on the left. I started looking for pictures of Speedsters, and some showed it on the right and some on the left. I wasn't sure what was correct, or if it mattered. Once I got under the dashboard, the answer was clear. The wires for the speedometer wouldn't reach it in the right hand position, but the wires for the combo guare were the right length to put the combo gauge on the right.

[Deschodt]

I have a love/hate with this thread.. It's great, but reminds me what I bozo I was to sell my 57 A, and I just cannot stomach current prices for something that I paid $10K for at the time... Keep rubbing it in, I deserve it, lovely car, great work !

[DonDavis]

Looking great. Can’t wait to see it on the road.

Side note, I do not sew, at all. But for some reason old sewing machines interest me. I retired in November and have some time on my hands. I’m going to be spending most of the year in East Tennessee and my sister has our Mom’s old foot-driven singer. I might look it over and tinker a bit.

Keep working on the 356 and keep the updates coming.