1951 Karmann Restoration - L71/L72 Chassis # 1-300420

[oldsplitvw]

I thought it was time I started a thread to document the restoration and enjoyment of my November 1951 Karmann Convertible. I purchased this car a little over 3 years ago from an east coast collector, if he wishes to make himself known I’m sure he’ll chime in on this thread. It was very rough to start with, but overall was a nearly complete super-early convertible with pretty much every “impossible to find” part.

The Good:
-Long documented history of ownership. Clear title, now in my name
-Body and pan match, perfect VIN plate and body number.
-Original front end and transaxle
-All window regulators, windows, seats, top frame, original interior including bolster pillows
-Incredibly solid pan for a New England car
-NOS heater channel bottom plates & vert support rails included in the deal
-Cool history: it has a commuter sticker in the driver window for the Mystic River Bridge in Massachusetts, came with a bunch of handwritten letters from 30 years ago, including some from the legendary Steve Wood, and some other major collectors who are active on this forum today.
-As far as I can tell this car was stripped and in pieces for at least the past 30 years.
-Car was originally delivered to Hahn GMBH in Stuttgart. I was on the Barndoor forum and found a local enthusiast who has a 52 standard delivered to the same dealership. Possible the 2 cars were there at the same time? Either way, it looks like the dealership is still in business http://www.hahn-gruppe.de/

TheBad:
-Missing the original engine, but I sourced out a complete 1951 from the same month of production
-Some Rust, but way better than the 1952 11G I restored previously.
-Came with an oval lid modified to look like a split. A HUGE thanks to another local enthusiast who hooked me up with an original lid.
-Collision damage. The car had been hit front & rear, and it looks like more than once. The rear apron was replaced (probably very early on) with a pre-55 crank style apron. That replacement apron was garbage by the time I got the car. The front clip had serious, serious issues. More on this later.

Here are a few starting pictures. This is how the car looked before sending out for the heavy welding. These pics are probably from springtime, 2012. A lot has happened since these pictures were taken. More soon.

Will

Original paint on pan bottoms. Factory overspray

[oldsplitvw]

More Pics. Lots of good, lots of bad.

Will

[Rich's 50]

Congrats Will, Looking forward to the story and pictures

[56TIMOTEO]

Looks like the good aspects outweigh the bad stuff! Exciting project!!!

[oldsplitvw]

More cool stuff: The car came with a "time capsule" folder, cool insight into enthusiasts buying and selling pre-internet. The first letter is from Steve Wood, responding to the owner of the 1951 Karmann.

The second letter is from a major collector and hobby figurehead in Germany. I tried to focus on some of the items he has for sale. I'd be happy to flash back to late 70s, early 80s prices. Grooved semaphore set for $90? Awesome.

Will

I think I need some stationary with a split window logo also.

[oldsplitvw]

I found a few more pics I snapped before everything was taken apart. A few of the interior.

Will

[[email protected]]

oops i think you forgot to hide the past owners name in one of steve Woods letters, I saw this car in the VT I think back in the 90's when a freind bought his other split vert a 52. I havent seen the past owner in years,dont think he goes to shows anymore.

[oldsplitvw]

The name in the letter is a previous-previous owner. He had a LOT of cool old stuff, including some other cars on this forum. It's no huge secret where this car came from, I just didn't want to start throwing out names without their owner's permission. Most people in the split vert world know the family tree of the 51.

Will

[DDub]

I have a few letters from Steve that I cherish. He was a good ambasssador for the hobby. AND you have a fine project, have fun.

[eurodub]

please tell me you're going to just restore that interior. it looks amazing just like that, but with modern cleaning solutions it could be even better.

good luck with the vert, i wanted one so bad but could only find a vert decklid. i don't know where the rest ended up ... most likely to scrapyard.
_________________
1960 1200 model 117 deluxe ragtop
1974 T2 Westfalia Campmobile
1976 MK1 Golf

[D. Haviland]

Will,
I think I still have the seatback material if you want it.

[aa390392]

envious..keep it real
_________________
.
getting grumpy & less tolerant!


55 ragtop
56 delux sedan
56 Kabriolet

[oldsplitvw]

So, the body had been acid dipped years ago. By the time I picked it up it has a layer of dust-rust over most of it. It sanded right off, leaving (mostly) clean smooth metal. I thought, incorrectly, that most of the "hidden rust" would have been eliminated by this process. Especially all the tight areas that sandblasting doesn't reach. Next couple of pics really shows some of the challenges of split windows. The rear body mounts are a terrible place for trapping moisture and rusting from the inside out.

Before sandblasting, looks great!

After sandblasting, still looks not so bad. Why'd you cut it off anyway?!?!?!?!

oh...

New outer section

New inner section

Welding begins

Done.

I need to give credit to the man behind all the welding, bodywork, and (soon to be) paint. Bryan Nunes has been the driving force behind the restoration of this car, and I have no doubt that this car would not have come along this quickly, or this cleanly without his patience and expertise. If you need work done on your VW, whether small project or large, I absolutely cannot speak highly enough of his work.

PM me if you want contact info.

Will

[peter schepens]

I must say I folow this resto and others over his site on FB. It is a true work of art what this man is doing. I am sure this karmann will be one of the best in his kind.

Looking forward to the finished product.
Best regards from Belgium.
_________________
Zelensis, glassfibre body made in Belgium , disigned and built on a VW platform About 25 body's built.
Hebmuller info wanted for http://www.hebmueller-registry.com/home.html

[52brezelfenster]

Glad to hear another early Kab is being saved, and the letters from Steve are awesome. Please keep us up to date on progress Will.

Dustin

[oldsplitvw]

I know a lot of you have seen hundreds of these pictures already, and a fair number have also seen the car in person. I wanted to use this thread to give a highlight of the best and worst of the car, and to really show the work that was done to bring it back.

I didn't imagine the front clip was this bad when I bought the car. It certainly needed the standard "gas tank forward" job, but there had been several different accidents, and without a complete reconstruction the car never would have been straight again, and everything lining up like the doors, top frame, windows, etc, would have never happened. Basically the car was taken down to individual panels, then brought back piece by piece. The front quarters were from a donor 54. The only "funky green" metal on the entire car is the heater channel tops. The bottom plates & support rails are NOS.

Will

The acid dipping didn't quite strip everything. Some of the factory red primer is still present

The car was hit so hard in the front quarter that it cracked the vert-support on the driver side. See the ugly gas weld repair in the pic

Same piece after sandblasting

Fixed.

Sorry for the tiny picture, it is from my phone and the only one I had. This is the driver side A pillar, No joke. Without a complete reconstruction the doors would have fit like crap no matter what.

Rebuilding begins...

Just welded

Split-era cars had a different radius in the quarter panels. Another local enthusiast performed this surgery for his split vert, and Bryan did the same for my car.

Re-spot welded in the factory spots.

[oldsplitvw]

And thank you everyone for the kind words and motivation. It is really great to have a group like this to share a common interest with
Thank you all
Will

[Grant Reiling]

[vwhelmot]

Beautiful work mate. Fantastic. :D

[sunroof]

Thank you for posting this stuff, these are my favourite kinds of threads on thesamba. Very Inspirational!

Don