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Old 01-29-2024, 10:28 AM
gashammer gashammer is offline
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Default Porsche headlight bucket installation/modification

Hello friends,

I have a 56 Porsche in my shop which has had significant repairs. I hung a replacement nose on the car from a supplier by the name of Restoration Design. A very nice piece, but the opening for the headlight buckets is a bit on the large size. The buckets fit in very loose and there would be a gap from the bucket to the flange if I were to weld it as it. I verified the problem lies in the opening being too big and not the bucket being too small

I dreaded the thought of re-dressing the flange on the nose until I came up with this idea. Hope it helps to those doing something similar on Porsche or other marques.

The loose opening:

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Old 01-29-2024, 10:33 AM
gashammer gashammer is offline
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It's critical that the rim of the bucket remains the same size or the trim ring won't fit. I traced the shape so I have a reference.



Then I stretched just inside of the bucket flange. It took a few rounds, but I managed to get a mm or two on the circumference.





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Old 01-29-2024, 10:38 AM
gashammer gashammer is offline
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I could have just finished planishing it on the anvil, but I remembered that I had a tiny wheeling machine that I got from HF for about $10 on close-out some years back. It's a sloppy as can be, but it actually worked pretty well for smoothing things out. Of course the adjuster was maxed out and the frame was bending like a noodle.





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Old 01-29-2024, 10:42 AM
gashammer gashammer is offline
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I checked the shape of the rim and with a little hand bending, it fit as it should. I also checked for flatness and all was well.



A nice, snug, custom fit.






Hope this helps out some of you who may be in the same predicament.
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Old 01-29-2024, 12:31 PM
foamcar foamcar is offline
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Nice modification Mike. If you have not yet welded it in, lay a long straight edge across middle of both buckets. The buckets should be splayed slightly outboard. Then put masking tape around opening to simulate paint thickness and add rubber seal. Install headlight assembly and adjust bucket protrusion for good fit.
Learned this from a 356 restoration expert. By
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Old 01-29-2024, 01:43 PM
crystallographic crystallographic is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by foamcar View Post
Nice modification Mike. If you have not yet welded it in, lay a long straight edge across middle of both buckets. The buckets should be splayed slightly outboard. Then put masking tape around opening to simulate paint thickness and add rubber seal. Install headlight assembly and adjust bucket protrusion for good fit.
Learned this from a 356 restoration expert. By
Agreed - check the line across the bucket faces, and the amount they protrude, for sure. Done this on a few nice restos - make those new buckets FIT.
(and the lid...)

Hand fit bodies. Have the old B&W German factory film ...
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Old 01-29-2024, 09:45 PM
gashammer gashammer is offline
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Thanks for the advice. I'll double check things to make sure they go on straight.
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Old 01-30-2024, 09:03 AM
toreadorxlt toreadorxlt is offline
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any advice on temporarily holding the buckets while you check and adjust fit? I need to go through similar soon.
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Old 01-30-2024, 10:15 AM
gashammer gashammer is offline
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My plan was to use Cleco's. It would be nice to lay a straight edge across and get everything just perfect, but your limited to how much you can move the bucket around in the nose because the headlight rim has to lay flat against the body. There's quite a bit of adjustability in the headlight housing.

Like anything else on these hand-built cars, it's a compromise.
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Old 01-30-2024, 12:04 PM
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Nice solution!
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