TheSamba.com :: View topic - February 1962 Type 34 Ghia junkyard rescue

Mon Feb 13, 2012 7:54 pm

This is the build thread for my 1962 Type 34 Karmann Ghia, # 18896 with matching engine #14504 (I have some catching up to do)

This car was originally pulled out of a junkyard in Fairfield in 1998 by Larry Edson & Richard Troy. Larry had collected a zillion parts for it over the years, a lot of them NOS, but finally decided it was time to let it go.

Here's a picture with Richard Troy following the forklift out of the yard.

Mon Feb 13, 2012 7:56 pm

Initial evaluation:

The little thermostat dealy has been nicked

Started digging out some of the bondo

Taking a good hard look at some of the damage

Mon Feb 13, 2012 7:56 pm

Doesn't look too bad; there's a little bit of rust, but I knew that when I bought the car.

Hmm. It's a little worse than I thought

Holy mother of god, that's a lot of bondo! It was over 1/2" thick in places.

What's even better is the dark grey stuff at the bottom isn't bondo. I was heating it and it wouldn't budge, and it smelled really bad, but familiar. It's JB-Weld!.

We're gonna need a bigger repair piece.

Mon Feb 13, 2012 7:57 pm

I pulled the oil sump plate. Ick. Lots of chunks, but it seems to be petrified dirt; the chunks crush easily in my fingers. I don't think I'm going to be able to just jump in and drive this one.

Mon Feb 13, 2012 7:58 pm

I swapped in the 009 from my panel, and a spare 6v coil I had laying around, new plugs and wires, and after much futzing, I finally got it running. It doesn't run well, but there's no expensive noises. If I heard a car running down the street that sounded this bad I'd pre-dial AAA for the poor guy. Compression on 3 & 4 was only ~80-90lbs, 1 & 2 ~100-15lbs. It has that kerflufflel sound like a head wants to fall off.

Mon Feb 13, 2012 7:59 pm

Here's something you don't see every day - original, solid axle boots. They've more than likely never been changed

Mon Feb 13, 2012 8:01 pm

Blasted off some of the rust and bondo

Mon Feb 13, 2012 8:02 pm

Further dismantling of my T34. Trying to get the dash pads off was trying at best. I pre-soaked the fasteners with penetrating oil, took a small brush and cleaned the threads as well as I could reach, knowing that too much torque would rip the stud right out. I'm trying to be super-surgical-careful, but all of the studs on the top pad were turning. I lifted gently upwards, and the entire thing popped off in two pieces. Judging by the oxidation of the foam, it's been in two pieces for quite a while, and it looks like the studs shuffled off this mortal coil decades ago. The dash also has a rich Corinthian leather overlay which has been fun to peel off.

Mon Feb 13, 2012 8:02 pm

Disassembled the rest of the dash over the past couple of days. When the weather clears up, I'll blast some of the problem areas.

Mon Feb 13, 2012 8:03 pm

Did some more blasting today. Looks like I'm going to need to section in a good-sized chunk of the passenger-side floor pan.

Mon Feb 13, 2012 8:03 pm

This is going to be one of my biggest challenges. Note how the door frame is pushed inward w/r/t the other side. This poor thing took a pretty good hit at some point. The door is full of bondo. I have a replacement door, but I haven't tried fitting it yet.

Mon Feb 13, 2012 8:05 pm

Pushed out my passenger-side B pillar a little. I need to straighten out the inner structure so the fender can go back where it is supposed to be. I could really use a new section, as this one is pretty hammered. I have one of the repro sections, but that won't begin to cover it.

Mon Feb 13, 2012 8:05 pm

Got my engine torn most of the way down.

Mon Feb 13, 2012 8:06 pm

This is exactly how it looked when I pulled the valve cover off.

One of these things is not like the other.

Mon Feb 13, 2012 8:07 pm

I've cleaned the heads up a little bit, and found some trauma from a previous life. My guess is they either sucked a valve or some other FOD.

Mon Feb 13, 2012 9:30 pm

Glad to see it all here Thom =D>

Now I need some

Mon Feb 13, 2012 9:45 pm

I'll be keeping an eye on this one! Great progress so far!

Mon Feb 13, 2012 10:52 pm

Great save Thom I am glad to see you saved the car it deserves you
Keep up the good work.

Mon Feb 13, 2012 10:56 pm

Now we can see the real progress. :twisted: Nice to see it all in 1 place. 8) You're going to find you'll get more comments on the car this way. :wink:

Tue Feb 14, 2012 7:06 am

Rare car and even rarer guy doing it best of luck.