Saving Emiko: 68 RHD Restoration in New Zealand

[kiwighia68]

Excerpt from the novel, Saving Emiko-

Phone me, the message said. It was on De Villiers’s secret operations cell-phone. Only three people had the number: His wife, his brother-in-law and Vaishna Veerasinghe.
It was Vaishna, and she had sent the message from the operations cell-phone De Villiers had given her for communications with him and him alone when he had to leave the office on the sick leave the police commissioner had forced on him.
He phoned her immediately. ‘It’s me,’ he said.
‘I know,’ she said. ‘Who else could it be?’
De Villiers ignored the rhetorical question. Of all his subordinates she was the one who wasn’t cowed by his authority and she showed it by subtly teasing him at every opportunity.
‘What’s happening?’ De Villiers said.
‘We have a 3-year old Maori child in a New Plymouth kindergarten who speaks only Japanese.’
‘And you know this how?’
‘It’s on the police surveillance notes in the encrypted system.’
‘And you have access how?’ De Villiers asked. ‘The last I saw was that no one could access the encrypted system except from an encrypted office computer. And there are only a handful of those.’
There was a moment’s hesitation before Vaishna spoke again. ‘I can get into any system I want from anywhere I like. You know it and that’s why you’ve asked me to help with this. Now do you want to know what I’ve found out or not?’
De Villiers could hear a child crying in the background. ‘Be quick,’ he said. ‘Your baby’s crying.’
‘My mother-in-law is looking after him,’ Vaishna said. She spoke softly but clearly in the lilt that De Villiers associated with Indian people speaking perfectly good English but with the softness of Tamil or Hindi built into their enunciation and tone.

‘Okay,’ he said when she had finished. ‘Here’s what we are going to do. But first, can your mother-in-law look after your baby tomorrow, just for the day?’
‘I’ll ask her.’
‘Please ask now.’
A minute passed. De Villiers could hear their voices over the child’s crying.
‘Yes, she can and she will,’ Vaishna said. There was a note of excitement in her voice. ‘What are we going to do?’
‘We’re going to New Plymouth tomorrow morning. We leave at 04:00. No need for an overnight bag or anything. Leave your office and personal cell-phones at home. Bring the one I gave you. Wear jeans, boots and a thick jacket, sunglasses and a scarf.’
She interrupted him. 'Are we not flying?’
‘No, we’re going on my bike.’
She hesitated before she spoke again. ‘I’ve never been on a motorbike.’
‘It’s not a problem. You won’t have a problem,’ De Villiers said. ‘It’s as easy as falling off a log.’
‘That’s not the kind of thing I wanted to hear,’ she said. ‘Falling off.’
De Villiers couldn’t determine where she was excited by the prospect of an operation or teasing him. ‘That’s not what I meant,’ he said. ‘I’ll pick you up at 04:00, okay?’
‘Yes, sir,’ she said. When she called him sir he knew that she was teasing.
---
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Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015

[kiwighia68]

I've received a lot of parts this week from Cip1, KGP&R and House of Ghia.

Nice steering wheel and mirrors from Cip1.
Absolutely beautiful clock from Mike at HoG.
Wrong parts from KGP&R.

A luta continua. The struggle continues.

My wife and I will go to Ngatea on Monday to prepare the inside panels of the car for painting. We are doing this to save costs and for me to learn a bit about the preparations that everyone says are essential for a professional paint job. I'll post my notes later to share the learning.
_________________
Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015

[TheFop]

[kiwighia68]

Sometimes I have to wonder. I studied the windscreen fitting threads (+ 2 stickies) for an hour, then drove to TheFop's house to help him fit his new windscreen with new rubber to his '69 coupé - another half hour and half an hour to get back home.

Then for the difficult part, fitting the screen. I had gloves, pure alcohol, extra string, a plastic tool to help slide the rubber over the metal, some silicone lubricant and a number of other things the stickies suggested would be useful. Plus a budget for a two-hour operation. And I almost forgot, I had a small towel to wipe the sweat from my hands and face.

TheFop already had the rubber and trim on the windshield and the string seated in the groove when I arrived. There was a small container with a mix of water and kitchen washing up detergent (shorter word = soap?) He dipped his finger in it and wiped the inside channel of the rubber all round and did the same with the metal on the car.

I pushed on the rubber and trim - carefully and wearing leather gloves - from the outside while he pulled the string out from the inside.

What a disappointment! It took all of 10 minutes and the screen was in with all the rubber seated properly.

Well, now I've seen it done, at least, and the next one will be mine when the car has paint and the headliner in.

On that subject: I'm off to Ngatea today to look at paint swatches. The metal work has been completed and the car is going back to media blasting before the primer coats can go on. They want the car in primer before the Christmas break. We have summer here; no white and snowed-in Christmas for us. Sunny skies, barbeques and Karmann Ghia.
_________________
Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015

[TheFop]

Thanks for your help on this though, many hands make light work.

I will add a couple of points to this and improvements I would make to the process, it had been at least 15 years since I fitted my last windscreen of this type.

#1 - Buy the molded rubber seal with the correct shaped corners, the cheaper seals don't fit well around the glass or into the body and crease on the corners, a few more $s will save time and improve the result.

# 2 - Use a spray bottle to spray the soapy water into the rubber seal slots and also around the cars window frame, more is better and eventually it dries up anyway, I didn't use enough when I put it in by hand.

# 3 - Get a 2nd pair of hands to help when putting the rubber around the glass, its frustrating when you are doing a section and another bit slips off.

The best tip I can give is to make it easy to get your pull string into the slot get a silicon gun nozzle and cut the end of it off to the size of your cord, pull one end of the cord through the nozzle and then tie a knot in each end.
You can use this to simply feed the cord into the rubber, it will save a lot of time and frustration.

Also leave plenty of cord hanging out so you can wrap it around your hand if it starts off tight.

Also have a bondo spreader handy as you can use this to tease any doubled over rubber out.
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Rusty 61 RHD Karmann Ghia Coupe - Resto in progress....slowly
Stock 69 LHD Karmann Ghia Coupe - Driver
67 New Zealand Spec Beetle - Being rebuilt
63 New Zealand Spec Beetle - Going Baja!
86 T25 Westfalia - Family Fun car

[John Moxon]

[kiwighia68]

I'm fishing for reasons why others had so much trouble with this because, pessimist that I am, I expect all the Gremlins to come out and ruin my day when I have to put my own glass back in.

If anyone should be smug, it's Dean. He made it look so easy.

PS. Maybe it's that Louis Pasteur theory: "Luck favours those who are well prepared."
_________________
Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015

[sputnick60]

This is just what happens when a problem is studied, understood and then an solution executed. I think a lot of trouble comes when a task isn't correctly planned out.

That's just one more reason why New Zealand is a great nation.

Nicholas
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'66 Karmann Ghia Cabriolet...
'65 Porsche 356C Coupe...
2005 Mecedes Benz C180 Kompressor Estate
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[kiwighia68]

Slow progress but progress nevertheless. I'm stuck in a book with a deadline and the workshop is stuck in the rush to get all the work out before the Christmas break. I was able to fit the door handles and the trunk and rear deck-lid catches were already in when I arrived. The welding has been tidied up in various areas and the body is just-about ready for a second round of media blasting. No big deal, as the plan is to blast only those areas where the metal has been disturbed by the welding thus far.

Since my friend in Belgium says that if there's no photo it didn't happen, here are some photos of the catches and handles in place (provisionally, of course).

I also sorted out the paint colours. Two-tone of course. The colours will have to remain a mystery for now.
_________________
Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015

[jpjohns]

[jpjohns]

I actually got the new Hot VW mag today and saw an awesome Orange ghia in there. I really like that color better than the Strato Silver that I planned on.
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-Jared

"Scrapyards are for quitters" - Beetlenut (a Samba member)

[CiderGuy]

[kiwighia68]

[TheFop]

[jpjohns]

Aw c'mon..the VW Amber Orange isn't that bad. Actually I am still staying with the Strato Silver with tan interior but I do like that orange.

You need to post that color there soon kiwi
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-Jared

"Scrapyards are for quitters" - Beetlenut (a Samba member)

[kiwighia68]

[c21darrel]

[kiwighia68]

[kiwighia68]

We're having a quiet time on the car. She's at the media blasters for them to clean up the weld areas. Some delays here: We are experiencing some wet weather and it's not a good idea to move the car in the wet. Next the chassis and motor will come back to me to put the brakes and drivetrain together during the holidays - the workshop will be closed - and in January (fingers crossed) the paint will go on.

Am I going to have this car running by the end of February? I can dream, can't I?

Waiting for: chrome pieces from Germany (very good service), mirror escutcheons from USA (slow to arrive) and carpet binding and wind laces from NZ upholsterer (excuses, excuses, excuses). Only 2 chrome pieces don't look good: those darn quarter window latches.
_________________
Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015

[kiwighia68]

Not much happening this month. My wife and I have been guests of the medical profession, and I don't mean my son and his wife. Emiko - the car - is back from the blasters and the epoxy coat is on. I'll take photos tomorrow. My carpets are just about ready. I promised templates to a couple of guys - Bob Norman and others - and will post those after the weekend. Send a pm with your address for posting please.

I found an original glove box with the front hood release lever intact and complete. Waiting for USPS. Also 2 trim pieces. Does anyone have a switch and relay for the rear window de-mister?

Time to look after (or for) the other Emiko.
_________________
Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015