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These become endless money pits quickly! Check this one on SAMBA. Bad case of the tin worm.
TheSamba.com :: Porsche - 356 - View topic - 1964 356C Restoration
When I think about what it takes to restore a real 356 driver, it reminds me that I love fiberglass. What a pain!
@Michael Pickett posted:When I think about what it takes to restore a real 356 driver, it reminds me that I love fiberglass. What a pain!
Amen to that.
I started here when a decent-enough original 356A coupe could be had for less than $10k, and a new Speedster replica was $25k- $40k. I still wanted the replica and not the original.
I feel like I made a good call.
@Stan Galat posted:Amen to that.
I started here when a decent-enough original 356A coupe could be had for less than $10k, and a new Speedster replica was $25k- $40k. I still wanted the replica and not the original.
I feel like I made a good call.
Your not wrong chasing the rust worm is no fun at all and glass is so superior in that area.
Wilhoit was costing $150k to rebuild at the time 2006-9 when I got into the IM
One of my lifelong friends has his cabriolet at Wilhoit's now. A ding in the fender resulted in a bare metal strip down that found several significant areas of rust in the body.
Not cheap to fix, but the car will be perfect when finished. It has the first of Wilhoit's storied 2.2 liter engines in it.
I bought a new Lincoln mig welder and a rusted out 1949 Ford Club Coupe the same day, and thus my welding education began. I rebuilt that entire car, replacing and patching steel, dicing and splicing, learning through trial and error. I eventually added Tig welder to the stable and continue to learn as I go. I must say I’ve restored many cars over the years and it’s saved me a fortune. I did the same thing with a paint sprayer, and taught myself bodywork as well, resulting in full paint jobs. It took many years of practice and lots of mistakes, but it was worth it in the end. My wallet agrees. I would attempt that rough of a 356 if I had the reasonable opportunity to do so. I bet Emory will buy this one, he snatches up the rough ones and totally rebuilds them into outlaws. He has a bunch of them waiting on his racks.
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Mistakes are always costly but yes, discovering rust is always something that happens in an older car.
Everytime I look at an older car that seems to be in good shape the thought of finding a nest of hidden rust is always in the back of my mind and has caused me to pause and appreciate my plastic fantastic.
They say 60% of your budget will be spent on metal restoration…. That is a lot of time that will be spent if you can do it yourself that is a great skill and hobby to have .
I just can't do it. I'm the weird guy who wants things to be perfect where nobody can see it, and "OK" where everybody is looking.
Rust never sleeps*.
*apologies to Neil Young
How bad can it be? It's been a long road and I am over 1/2 decade older. Was it worth the wait? Probably, but we will see. 
@Stan Galat posted:Rust never sleeps*.
*apologies to Neil Young
No apologies needed. I hate rust too, and it's a GREAT album. My my, hey hey. Hey hey, my my.
"Powderfinger" though, that one is the best of the whole album.
I like Harvest and anything with Crazy Horse better though. "Down by The River" yeah!
Marty, looking good. I need to drive that!
@Marty Grzynkowicz posted:How bad can it be? It's been a long road and I am over 1/2 decade older. Was it worth the wait? Probably, but we will see.
Ack! I can't see the pictures for some reason.
Probably just as well as I would get insanely jealous.
Here you go Lane. Just a before and after pic.
This was a few months ago. We are further along with the interior.
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There it is the rust worm 
…. glad you killed it.
On the 356C Samba project, the remaining metal resembles lace so it all has to be carefully cut out and replaced! Gets to be big issue when there are multiple adjoining panels that need to be replaced.
Why do I want this car? I would never be able to finish it. I let the rational part of my brain tell the stupid part that it’s not a good idea!
My first thought was to strip it for parts, particularly the front end, and adopt the VIN. These are silly notions though. I like my car, especially now that it is basically all sorted out.
I went and sat in my ‘94 in the garage, and it smelled so good. Something about old Porsche smell… I need to get the clutch slave repaired so that I can go drive it! It’s already paid for so that is rather positive….
@Teammccalla posted:Why do I want this car? I would never be able to finish it.
I’m guessing that’s what the seller finally realized. After collecting bits and pieces to get it done for 25 years.