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Fri Mar 05, 2010 9:45 am

Hey everyone. Just picked up this thing last weekend. Pretty excited about it. Although I really can't even touch it for a couple of weeks till tax season is over (I'm a CPA), the anticipation is killing me. I think my main battle is going to be with rust. I am not in any kind of rush, but I am hoping to strip it down somewhat this weekend to get a better idea of what I'm dealing with. I will post progress...whenever it may happen.

Here are some pics:

Fri Mar 05, 2010 9:52 am

Welcome to The Samba. On a positive note there seems to be a lot of solid metal in view on you 'vert...we'll just pretend the rust isn't there for the time being. :wink:

You seem to be approaching it as someone who's already done this kind of thing before... :D

Fri Mar 05, 2010 9:59 am

Welcome to the Ghia Forum! I like that project and yes you have rust issues but sounds like you have what it takes. :) Look forward to seeing it progress 8)

Fri Mar 05, 2010 9:12 pm

Nice looking project :D
Rodger

Mon Mar 08, 2010 8:17 am

Well I did a little bit of work this past Sunday. Vac'd all the dirt and crap out, pulled up all the carpets...etc to get a better idea of how the metal is. As I expected, there will need to be a lot of metal work done. As I originally planned, I want to begin welding. I'm looking to pick up a welder this weekend and start just messing around. Hopefully after some hours of practice, I'll be ready to weld floor pans, etc. by May or so. Any suggestions on a welder. I've read decent things about Lincoln Weldpaks. I want it to plug into a regular outlet, but I'm not sure if that will be powerful enough to do the work I want to. Any advice on this is appreciated.

Mon Mar 08, 2010 2:43 pm

Looks like typical stuff for a northeast car. Pans, rockers and rear lower panels appear to have some significant rust.

On the plus side the headlight area looks pretty decent.

Good Luck!

Mon Mar 08, 2010 5:04 pm

Congratulations! I hope you stay with it on your repairs to get the car running and driveable.

Are you aware of the VW meet at Englishtown NJ on April 11- http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=402483

Even though there are usually only a handful of Ghias in the car show, this might be a boost for your enthusiasm, as well as some swapmeet parts finds.

Mon Mar 08, 2010 5:11 pm

Looks good!! The verts are getting very hard to find. My wife wants one bad!! Keep up the good work an take lots of pics for us...

Mon Mar 08, 2010 5:26 pm

I wish I could make it there, this time of year is a killer for me. Like zero free time. I figure once I get my welding skills moving, I'll be in good shape.

Unfortunately the headlight area is not as good as it looks in the picture. I didn't take any close ups, but it looks like it was previously restored and a replacement peice was poorly welded in. There is also some filler here and there.

Can't wait to pick up a MIG welder and start practicing.

Mon Mar 08, 2010 6:29 pm

I have a Migpak2 from Lincoln I bought at Costco of all places. Wire feed and uses a shielding gas which really helps on welding light gauge sheetmetal with control and decent welds.
Stick welding sheetmetal is tough to do so get a wirefeed that uses gas too.

I have welded up lots of stuff on my 914's, Westy and sometime I'll get to the Ghia.

Mon Mar 08, 2010 7:57 pm

so you think a lincoln MIG welder that can plug into a regular outlet would be good enough to start out with floor pans and such, then eventually maybe do some body work?

Mon Mar 08, 2010 8:02 pm

That will work well for the sheet metal. But get one that uses shielding gas.

Mon Mar 08, 2010 8:14 pm

A 110 lincon with sheilded gas will be fine.Economy is bad check Craigslist?

Mon Mar 08, 2010 8:42 pm

Ive been using the Lincoln Weldpak with standard houshold current & it works great. Just as someone mentioned it was purchased off of Craigslist. I've heard of cheaper welders being defective right out of the box. Also not as forgiving to newbies as the more expensive models. Id recommend a good used Lincoln or Hobart vs. a new cheaper welder. Have fun !

Mon Mar 08, 2010 10:53 pm

As stated above a 110 welder will be fine for pans and body work, and I agree 100% about using the shielding gas. When welding panels get them to fit as tight as you can, the less wire you use the better. MIG welders are easy to use, you just have to get the feel of adjusting the wire speed and current controll to get a weld with good penetration. The less wire you use the less grinding you will have to do and the less heat you will create. You will want to wear cotton clothes, a welding jacket is nice, good welding gloves, a cotton hat and boots. I would also get an electronic welding mask that automatically goes dark when you weld. This alone will improve your welding 100%. Get a hammer and dolly set to help align the metal as you weld. Take your time and weld small tack welds about every 1" and move around the panel as much as possible to reduce heat. I also keep a bucket of water and a rag near by to cool the panel if necessary.

If I were you I would strip the car and get it media blasted and have the rusty areas glass bead blasted to remove as much rust as possible so you can see what you are dealing with. Be sure to take it to a reputable blasting shop that won't warp the body panels. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Thu Mar 11, 2010 6:42 am

I know this isn't a welding forum, but since you guys seem to know more about it then I do, I was curious about a deal I can get. A Hobart Handler 135 MIG welder 110v, with the gas attachment and bottle for 350. very slightly used. Does this seem like a good price and a good place to start.

Thu Mar 11, 2010 7:02 am

^ That sounds exactly like the welding equipment we
have been using for the Ghia restorations. It will
work well, but perhaps that used price is a bit high.

Thu Mar 11, 2010 7:10 am

thats what I was worried about. Maybe I'll hold out a little bit. He had it listed for 375 with out the bottle, 50 extra for bottle of argon. I told him 300 for the whole thing. He came back with 375, I was going to offer him 350 as a final, but I can just hold out. I'm sure it wont be the only one for sale. Really appreciate the input though.

As far as my plans with the car, step one is to strip everything down, then have it sand or media blasted (ihave to look into this more, I know very little about it). By the time I get to this point, have the pans and rockers, hopefully I will have enough practice with a MIG wleder to go at it. Still not sure about the body though, I don't know if I will have enough skill to weld body panels. We will see.

Anyone know if there is a Karmann Ghia Club or group on Long Island?

Thu Mar 11, 2010 8:25 am

Body panels are fairly easy to weld too, just go really slow by stitch welding. That means a 1" long weld then move somewhere else on the panel. keep it cold be jumping around welding so the panel doesn't soak in heat. Take a break then restart...
On the other welds, use the puddle welding technique so its like the factory spot welds.
Do you have a spot weld cutter yet? Use that tool to take apart factory welds.

Thu Mar 11, 2010 8:30 am

I have absolutley nothing relating to this portion of the work. I have never done it before. Have only done the mechanical end of working on cars.