TheSamba.com :: View topic - 1969 ghia project: Beginning to end progress report

Sun Nov 01, 2009 8:53 pm

Hello everyone.
A few months ago a registered and posted my first topic in general chat.
It was basically asking advice on restoring ghias. I also went on to say that I was going to purchase a ghia be the end of the year. Well the time has come!! I just bought a 69 ghia and have begun working on it. When I bought it the interior had been gutted along with engine and most of the exterior lights and mouldings.
I have NEVER worked on cars before but I believe I have a decent mechanical knowledge.
I brought the car back to my place and began working!!!
Today was day one. I tackled electrical. The idea is to purchase a wiring kit however I went and labelled about 95% of all the wires from that were attached to the car. Most of the wiring in the engine bay had been removed by the previous owner so I will have a harder time there however everything else was labelled!!
I also removed the gas tank and about everything else from the trunk!!
Below are some pics before I started working on it....and after day 1!!!
I will keep everyone updated and I will also be posting questions I may need answering on....Although I am a newb I will not be asking repetitive questions that I can already find somewhere else on the forum.....so dont worry....but if there is something i cant figure out....well....I will ask!!
Hope all you guys and gals out there are cool with helping me out with this project.......I am super stoked about it right now!!!!
Take it easy,
DC

PICS before I bought it:

This is after day one what I have done....I have since removed all the wiring from the car

If any of you guys have any tips...please share them....I am always looking to learn more!!!
This is the first time i have tried to post pics....if it didnt work let me know....because i dont know how to post them!!!
Also, you can find some more pics on photobucket....here is the website to my pics
http://s698.photobucket.com/albums/vv341/davcriv/

Moderator Edit: got the pictures to show for you. Your original picture url:
http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv341/davcriv/DSC02609.jpg?t=1257132796 ...needs the bold type removed...for pictures to show on the Samba they have to end .jpg...anything after that will not allow them to display properly. Better still upload them to The Samba Gallery and link in from there.

Sun Nov 01, 2009 9:04 pm

Wow Dav, you have a good amount of work and fun ahead of you. Reminds me of my project. A big jug of hand cleaner and alot of patience will get you through. Be sure you a metric Crescent wrench too. LOL . Good luck man and keep us posted, we are cheering for you. Are you going to restore or go Cal look? Motor looks real nice. Don't forget to draing fuel tank while you have it out and clean out your fuel lines too. If you have the car on jacks and are working under it, throw your tires under it just in case. I always keep a phone within reach just in case also. I also replaced the light bulbs in my work lights with the new energy effiecient ones and they don't get hot. Just my two cents.

Sun Nov 01, 2009 10:10 pm

I just bought a 74 that needs a lot of help. I am new to wrench turning. As soon as I finish cleaning out the garage I will start my own deconstruction. I will be doing a lot of learning on this one. I have more time than money so I will be doing mine in stages. I am shooting for daily driveer status by the first of the year. I will be watching your progress.

Sun Nov 01, 2009 10:12 pm

BadAl wrote: I just bought a 74 that needs a lot of help. I am new to wrench turning. As soon as I finish cleaning out the garage I will start my own deconstruction. I will be doing a lot of learning on this one. I have more time than money so I will be doing mine in stages. I am shooting for daily driveer status by the first of the year. I will be watching your progress.

i am also doing mine in stages and like you have more time than money, however i dont think im going to have mine on the road by the first.

Mon Nov 02, 2009 6:33 am

Some things I noticed:

Judging by the shape of that hole that was made in the underdash/trunk area, it looks like it had a DPD under dash air conditioning unit.

The car has a short shift kit - silver spacer under the shifter.

Can you post a side shot of those rims you got with the car? I am curious as to what they are. They aren't the normal American Eagle ones that people have...

Mon Nov 02, 2009 9:58 am

Hey 70 140,
You are correct on both!!! There was an A/C unit which I current have but I will not reinstall!! Thinking of selling it.....do they fetch a good price?? And there is a short shift kit installed by the previous owner....That I may keep!
Give me until tonight to post the pics of the rims....I am at work right now but will do so when I get home.....
I will probably get rid of the rims as well......not my wheel of choice......
DC
Quote: Some things I noticed:

Judging by the shape of that hole that was made in the underdash/trunk area, it looks like it had a DPD under dash air conditioning unit.

The car has a short shift kit - silver spacer under the shifter.

Can you post a side shot of those rims you got with the car? I am curious as to what they are. They aren't the normal American Eagle ones that people have...

I plan on doing mine in stages.....first thing is obviously chassis!!! Then when money allows I will paint and get the body work done......

Quote: i am also doing mine in stages and like you have more time than money, however i dont think im going to have mine on the road by the first.

Hey 61TX, I was thinking of doing a cal-looker......we will see how the restore goes.....i may change my mind in the near future.... :P
I have a pretty nice set of tools....my family owns a shop so that really helps alot!!! Thanks for the tire tip!! I never thought of that but always better to be safe rather than sorry!!!!!!
I learned the hard way with the fuel tank :S !!! I thought it was empty but nope.....spilled a bit of gas on the floor......
Is there a proper way of storing the gas tank?? Do I need to make sure no water gets inside the tank?? Should i be worried of rust issues in the tank???

Quote: Wow Dav, you have a good amount of work and fun ahead of you. Reminds me of my project. A big jug of hand cleaner and alot of patience will get you through. Be sure you a metric Crescent wrench too. LOL . Good luck man and keep us posted, we are cheering for you. Are you going to restore or go Cal look? Motor looks real nice. Don't forget to draing fuel tank while you have it out and clean out your fuel lines too. If you have the car on jacks and are working under it, throw your tires under it just in case. I always keep a phone within reach just in case also. I also replaced the light bulbs in my work lights with the new energy effiecient ones and they don't get hot. Just my two cents.

Mon Nov 02, 2009 9:14 pm

My first ghia was a 1968 Coupe and I went the Cal Look route simply for ease of finding parts and the excuse of not being able to afford original parts. If it wasn't original, my excuse was "Cal Look". LOL LOL . As for the gas tank, try and keep it somewhere in your garage. On thing I did in the past was put the cap on and then some seran wrap. The other side, I shoved a golf tee in the fuel line and tightened a hose clamp around it. Threw the whole tank in a contractor garbage bag and stored it in my dog run. No problems at all. good luck man.

Wed Nov 04, 2009 9:47 am

Hey 70 140,
Here are the pics of the rims.....
what do you suspect they are???

As for the gas tank....its all sealed up and stored away!!! Ive ran into my first bump......the filler door release cable is supposed to come out but the two end peices are too large to fit through the hole in the body....it doesnt seem like it comes apart and I dont want to cut the cable because it works just fine!!!!
I will try to figure something out within the next couple of days.....
Besides that I am ready to take to body off.....bolts are removed....and body is off the rubber.....just need a couple of guys to help me out.....

Thu Nov 05, 2009 1:32 pm

Ok I checked the forum and figured out the fuel filler release cable.....im gunna try working on it tonight....hopefully I will get it off!!!! I made a dolley yesterday to hold the body above the chassis....I used one of the solutions another member posted to make the dolley!! Works great....When it comes time to media blast the car this will definitely help too!!!!
I will put pics up tonight....

Thu Nov 05, 2009 1:44 pm

I think those are the 8 spoke wheels that Rocky Mountain Motorworks sold (before they closed up) Rocket might have been the brand.

I wouldn't invest any time or money into putting tyres on them. They won't fit your car very well in the rear.

Fri Nov 06, 2009 4:45 pm

Body is now off the pan!!! Gunna go out and buy a media blaster in the next few weeks. I am going away on a business trip so unfortantely the project is going to be put on hold for around 2 weeks. I will probably have enough time to take the chassis apart.

Here are a couple of pics of a dolley I made following instructions on another post......

Mon Nov 09, 2009 5:21 pm

New stuff done!! Well some more work has been done!!! I finished taking off the front suspension and brake assembly the other day. I still need to remove the torsion leaves beam and master cylinder but dont think that will take to long!!! The pedal assembly is pretty bad...i will post some pics of it when I have a chance....maybe some of you guys can let me know if it is worth cleaning them up or if i should buy a new assembly.....
Anyway here is a pic of the front suspension removed!!

Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:31 pm

So I have finally finished taking all the parts off the chassis!!! Beleive it or not the hardest part so far was taking the circlip (c clip, i dont really know what its called really) out of the rear axle shaft housing....
Here is a pic of everything taken off.....
Now sandblast time!!!!!!

Sun Mar 14, 2010 12:24 am

So its been awhile but i have done alot of work!!!
Sandblasting done....
POR-15 the chassis
rebuilt about 95% of the chassis....now waiting for tranny and a few other small things.....
Please, if you see something incorrect here let me know....this is my first ever rebuild and any suggestions will really help.....did I do anything wrong????
A couple things I have done or i dont know if i should or shouldnt do:
I reused the metal bolt locks (i dont know the actual term) that locks the front calipers in place
I reused the bolt locks (again I dont know the term someone correct me please) for the steer box
There is about an 1" to 1.5" play in the steering box.....is that ok???
I placed the residual pressure valve directly onto the M/C is that the right place for it??
I bought a 2" narrowed beam, installed it with the proper leaves and tie rods but the tie rods didnt come with the steering dampener tie rod end.....Do i need the tie rod end with the dampener connection??
I am going to put a volvo 240d reservoir on the M/C soon, can a bleed the brakes now or do i need to wait until the car is almost finished??? I would like to try bleeding the brakes/test the brakes now since it would be easier to fix something if i installed incorrectly without the body back on it......can and should this be done??

Thats about it for now.....I will be heading down to SoCal this week to get a prostreet tranny from rancho......really excited for that.....
I have read around other posts about adding a 0.82 fourth gear.....i really want to do this but i am worried about overheating issues.....is this really a problem or is it a bunch of shit....
Reason i want the 0.82 fourth is because i plan on some long highway driving in the future........
Ok thats about it now.....
thanx
DC

Sun Mar 14, 2010 6:52 pm

great work i have my ghia on a dolly similar to that one and I have the chassis under a tarp outside, I want to get it sandblasted but it has been super windy here in florida. Then I plan to POR 15 and replace all the bushings with all urethane bushings and some new shocks. Looks like you ran all new brake lines. I was thinking since I had the body off it would be worth it, brake lines are very inexpensive and VERY IMPORTANT. You make me want to go outside and work on it, lol. Tomorrow I will start a thread and post all the pics on photobucket so you guys can see where I am at.

Goodnight.

Sun Mar 14, 2010 10:23 pm

i'm really impressed by the thoroughness of your restore. i'm wondering, though, what need you will have for an upgrade on 4th gear when the engine i see is a single port that probably will struggle to maintain 65mph with an up graded 4th gear. so i'm thinking the pictured engine is not the "final answer" nicht war? but if you run that one, it would be good to take the fuel filter out of the high pressure side of the fuel pump. ain't it fun???

Sun Mar 14, 2010 10:46 pm

Quote: i'm really impressed by the thoroughness of your restore. i'm wondering, though, what need you will have for an upgrade on 4th gear when the engine i see is a single port that probably will struggle to maintain 65mph with an up graded 4th gear. so i'm thinking the pictured engine is not the "final answer" nicht war? but if you run that one, it would be good to take the fuel filter out of the high pressure side of the fuel pump. ain't it fun???

Thanks for the compliment. Sometimes I just sit and stare at what I have done up to now....i cant beleive I have come this far already!!!

In regards to the tranny question:For now until my money tree is at full capacity I will be using the stock 1600. But since I envision something with a little more power I thought preparing the car now wasnt such a bad idea.......

Can anyone here help with the reservoir question please. I just installed a volvo 240d reservoir and I want to bleed the brakes now before I put the body back on.....should this be done?? Or do I have to wait until I am about to drive the car???

Sun Mar 14, 2010 10:50 pm

FRNKNSTNGHIA wrote: great work i have my ghia on a dolly similar to that one and I have the chassis under a tarp outside, I want to get it sandblasted but it has been super windy here in florida. Then I plan to POR 15 and replace all the bushings with all urethane bushings and some new shocks. Looks like you ran all new brake lines. I was thinking since I had the body off it would be worth it, brake lines are very inexpensive and VERY IMPORTANT. You make me want to go outside and work on it, lol. Tomorrow I will start a thread and post all the pics on photobucket so you guys can see where I am at.

Goodnight.

I bought s/s brake lines but all the hard lines were just cleaned with a scotch pad with ALOT of elbow grease and spray painted with silver metallic rust paint.
Thats why they look new...ssshhhh..dont tell anyone though.....

Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:39 am

Beautiful! I can't get enough of the site of a freshly restored and rebuild pan. :D

One thing worth thinking about though is that dropped spindles will rust (not structurally, at least not for many many years) if not painted. I found that out the hard way. :lol:

Tue Mar 16, 2010 10:06 pm

Just dropped off my tranny to get rebuilt by Rancho....going with a Prostreet trans with a 3.88 pinion.....gunna take 2-3 weeks which sucks since they are backed up!!!

On a side note......i know this may be a really easy question but i dont know it.....can i bleed my brakes now or should I wait????
Anyone want to answer this seemingly simple question??????