Under cover Resto

[hashman]

After a number of years, I now have some funds to solidify the underside of my car whilst leaving the outside alone.
It has been the plan for a while now, but I feel beaten to the mark by decapman and his wonderful de ratte which bares a striking resemblance to mine.



Out came the interior and stripped back to bare metal.







HOLY FLOOR BATMAN!



Why do some wax crayon numbers, drawn in a car, mean happiness to some?





Picture quality now less due to phone pics by my metal man.



Work begins.

[decapman]

Oh my that is beautiful
Lovely looking car, good luck with the refurbishment and do keep the photos coming

[sladey]

I looked t the pictures before reading your text and my first though was 'I do hope he doesn't touch the outside' - looks super cool

Then I read the text - looking forward to seeing this one develop

Cool car


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[vwretrosteve]

Looks like it fared pretty well - so i guess the Hedingham fire service will be missing a crew vehicle this year?

[decapman]

Yes quite a bit better than mine was

I shall be bringing die Ratte to Hedingham if you want to compare notes

[Nick Moss]

What is the attraction of the rusty look?

[Mr Pharmacist]

I love this car - I saw it at Hedingham a couple of years ago - my favourite 356.

And whats the attraction Nick? It shows years of use and history and has aged naturally - a bit like us all as we grow older

[roy mawbey]

Front hood gaps look very nice. I wonder why the front area under the petrol tank has rusted right through? With the hood gap so good would have thought the seal was okay. With the rest of the body looking so original regarding the rust points that has me trying to work that out.

I am possibly with Nick on the patina on the outside. When you put all the effort in on the floors and I guess the logitudinals etc, etc, won't you really want to polish the outside at some time or other? Those curves need reflection, its looks a good car to spend time and money on. Are you keeping the old headliner the old carpets and probably old seats to match the outside? Are you going to paint the nice dash? The wheel looks very nice.

If thats the case, won't the outside look sort of strange when people look inside?

If the car was 100 years old fully understand but I was going to work when they made that new.

Now you get the old man perspective and one actually, that still has his original vacuumed 54 year old carpets in his 'A'.

What about a nice blue or green??? Got you thinking?

Its such a nice car always take the word of the devils advocate

Or do what you really prefer Keep the photos coming nice thread.

Roy ( The older I get the more I like smiley's ) Hey maybe a yellow would look nice?

[decapman]

What is the attraction of the rusty look?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

But for me the patina car will always stand out in a field full of shiny cars

I like that the car has nearly 60 years of history and wears it for all to see

Doesnt matter if you knock or scrape it
Not everything in life is improved by restoration

If it really is original paint (mine isnt) then once its gone its gone forever, Preserved cars are gaining traction in collectors circles as there are fewer of them each year

Dont get me wrong I like shiny restored cars too

What I dont like are perfectly good cars getting the patina treatment by enducing rust, thats just silly.

Hashman your car is great, preserve all the nice features you can, even if the interior is a bit ratty (mine was unsalvageable)

Spend money on the chassis and drive train and anything to do with safety and reliability

The main issue will be preserving the look
we went with lots of wax on the paint where intact and tectyl on the bare metal

Just my opinion .

[40 scout]

Its only original once !

Steve

[simon james]

What is the attraction of the rusty look?

If you have to ask you wouldn't understand.

Park a car with a Barn Fresh look amongst "it must be sound it's shiny" looking cars and guess where the crowds will be???

As a Vintage car (pre 1930) nut, you must check out this movement.

www.oily-rag.net

Well worth a read.

I have to say this before someone else does, but taking the reg no at face value, did your car start out as another Porsche........

Sorry.

[cubist]

Oily-rag... Thank you for that.

[hashman]

Thanks guys.

Steve,The fire extinguisher mount will be welded in soon!

Nick, you would say that, owning a company that does luurvely restorations

One of my reasons for leaving the outside as is, is cost.
Also, when i got my first 356, I was very young and dived head first into a bare metal resto, which took time and too much money and then had to be sold to cover costs.
With this car, my philosophy has been to get it legal and use as much as possible,which I did do because it was my only mode of transport.
Driving to work down the M40 with no heater and scraping ice off the inside of the screen is keeping the faith I think.
It may well get to the stage where the bodywork must be done,and if it does get to that point, I will not hesitate to do so, finances permitting. For now I shall enjoy it as it is.
At least with chassis up to strength, the body should last a bit longer.

Roy, I do have a plan for the interior but that is another future project, for now I shall continue to enjoy the bench seat I have for it.

I can't wait to see your car in the flesh decapman.

Simon, the car was imported from the united States and when I took it to the local DVLA to get it registered, the inspector kept asking me if it was a speedster, which confused the hell out of me. After explaining that it was just a coupe but not a replica and waiting for him to come back with a plate, I think he appreciated my honesty and gave me this number, woohoo

Here's some new metal going in. Of course the work is being done in Essex!
















Karl.

[jamie]

What is the attraction of the rusty look?

Story

[vwgillybilly]

This is the car that made me want a 356 when it was featured in either Ultra VW or Volksworld a while ago. I still have the mag somewhere!

Black patina cars are my favourite! It's amazing that you've kept it. I almost tried to get in touch a while ago to make an offer but reasoned you'd never sell such a lovely car (not within my budget anyway)!

Cheers.

Gill