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Why do we start these things?
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kgj
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 2:49 pm    Post subject: Why do we start these things? Reply with quote

Introducing my 1970 Karmann Ghia Coupe thread.
My motives for this thread are to record major work, gain assistance from the most helpful and knowledgeable samba enthusiasts and motivate myself to keep this vehicle on the road.

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Interesting fact. I have owned a few ghias over the last 25 years. I sort of keep coming back to them. They are my favourite car and have been since I saw one in a really early edition of VolksWorld in the late 80's. I found this one by accident in London 3 years ago. It looks much better in photos than it really is. It was Green but the colour was changed in 1996. Sills need work on both side. Floor is a bit crusty in places. Imported to the UK from L A in 1991 by ..... My brother! And this is why I just had to buy it. My brother died a few years ago, and now I find myself with one of his old cars. Well what can I do? I just have to keep it going.
Completely inspired by the average Joe replacing his heater channels, J1 I think, I am now going to do the same.
Here she is on her last drive out last week.
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And here she is now, replacement panels procured and awaiting the angle grinder.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


I am also going to keep track of the work hours I put in. How long will it take another average Joe to complete a heater channel replacement?
More to follow.
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c21darrel
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 3:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Completely inspired by the average Joe replacing his heater channels, J1 I think, I am now going to do the same.
Shocked Shocked
WAIT til he finishes...we dont know if an average joe can yet!!
And cinder blocks to support...you really are following his lead. Wink

Stay safe, car looks really nice in the pics!
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J1
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 4:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

c21darrel wrote:
Quote:
Completely inspired by the average Joe replacing his heater channels, J1 I think, I am now going to do the same.
Shocked Shocked
WAIT til he finishes...we dont know if an average joe can yet!!


Ha ha. I'm glad someone is inspired but yes, you should've waited to see if I could finish Laughing I too am tracking my hours in detail and have put in 45 of them so far (granted I'm slow) and have yet to do anything with the new channel itself. But you are already ahead of me, having taken the front wheel off!

Anyway, this might be fun to compare notes in real time and it may even be an incentive to try staying ahead of you! How much welding/fab experience do you have? How many hours/week do you have available for this project? Just wanna see whether I have excuses when you pass me up Laughing
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J1
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 05, 2015 4:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Might I offer the first suggestion... mine is raised up so the sill is about 2 feet off the ground. Looks like yours is a little lower. I'm really glad I did because I've spent a lot of time at that level, as well as peeking under the car. My back and neck appreciate it. I would've actually gone higher, but ran out of blocks and pavers Shocked
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kgj
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 2:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

C21darrel- point taken about the blocks. In my defence they are 6" concrete with wood blocks on the point load, but in the interest of not looking completely hopeless I will replace them before I go much further.
J1, I'll try to get it higher tomorrow, maybe some axle stands on top of the concrete blocks Wink
I can however report that my car has been worked on quite a bit before.
Here you can see the rear quarter cut open and two patches.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


And here on the front quarter a replacement part lap welded, and no drain hole in the lower part behind the splash plate.
How many drain holes should be here?

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And really bad news, the lower part of the "hockey stick" has rusted through. I was hoping that was still in one piece.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.


I'm up to 8.5 hours of actual work. Let's not count the hours day and night I'm thinking about it.
I'm doing this work so far in the hour or so I have before work and maybe the odd half hour in an evening.
I have a little practice mig welding over the years but I am no expert. I do have access to a good Lincoln welding machine from work which I have put .6mm wire in.
It's not a race J1 but a bit of shared interest might get us both finished quicker, maybe.
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 5:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Them solid blocks will hold your ghia up fine, same thing my house is sitting on Laughing Laughing
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 9:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

kgj wrote:
And here on the front quarter a replacement part lap welded, and no drain hole in the lower part behind the splash plate.
How many drain holes should be here?


Three it seems, plus one further back in the sill.
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Viewed with the car upside down in the southern hemisphere.
The first hole is spaced 50mm from front lip. then 55mm to the second, 60mm to the third and 65mm to the fourth and the holes are 5mm.

Possibly the holes have been filled over, so you might first just poke in there and see what is hidden.

There are similar drain holes in the sill at the front of the rear wheels and one in the rear guard. There are also some slots in the sill itself. All function to let the water out but get clogged and that's the start of the problem.

Nicholas
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 07, 2015 1:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good info. Nice photo.
Thanks.
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2015 11:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
maybe some axle stands on top of the concrete blocks Wink


Only 11 posts and you are already fitting in nicely. Very Happy
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2015 11:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Its not a good idea to use concrete blocks to support a car. While they are used as a foundation for a house the load on an individual block in a foundation is much different than when supporting a car, which is much more concentrated. Also in a foundation a single block that cracks is not an issue - when supporting a car the result will be damage to property and or injury. People are killed and injured every year supporting a car with concrete blocks. Do yourself a favor and buy a good set of approved jack stands. They are easy to adjust and when used properly are safe. You will have them for the rest of your life. Even with jack stands be sure to have redundant system such as a floor jack - just in case the jack stand fails.

Stay safe and have fun! Looking forward to seeing more about your project.
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 08, 2015 1:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I just checked a "Tabco" replacement panel, they do not have the drains pre drilled in them. Concur w/ Nicholas, there are 3 drains in front of the A pillar.
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kgj
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2015 2:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok, how about this?

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Question. Is there no way of replacing the heater channel without disturbing the heater pipe feeding into it?
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2015 3:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Back end is starting to take shape.

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B pillar is free I'm just left with this bit connected to the heater pipe.

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2015 10:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You have to give us some "before" shots and share some channel ugliness! Nice progress.

kgj wrote:
Question. Is there no way of replacing the heater channel without disturbing the heater pipe feeding into it?

With body-on, I couldn't see a way and there is at least one other person here that has stated that too. I think the challenge is cleaning out the old metal and welds, not necessarily the installation.

Would love to hear how you remove that heater pipe. I had to cut mine in half and then weld it back together. When (if) I get around to doing the other channel, maybe I can do it more elegantly. I assume my 71 and your 70 will have the same heater pipe, whereas earlier models seem slightly different and have been removed in one piece.
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2015 2:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Evidently not. But I didn't need to cut the tube to get it out.
Cut away as much heater channel as possible with a small grinder. I'm using a really thin slitting disc.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Drill the 4 spot welds under the rear seat.
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3 spot welds near where the tube goes into the heater channel.
And 1 to drill out on the footwell kick panel.
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It's a bit of a wiggle but I flexed the floor pan down a little and extracted the whole assembly out of the side of the car. (Unscrewed the heater outlet control cable earlier)

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2015 2:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The y tube out.
And a pile of carnage
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 10, 2015 1:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for sharing about the y tube. Maybe I was being too tender! Now I want to work on my other channel if for no other reason than to see for myself how to get the y tube out in one piece.

I also realized from your post that I either did not have the flap for the heater outlet or it came off while I was taking out the y tube. Now I'm gonna have to look for it in my pile o' metal.
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 11, 2015 1:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok, so my motives for the thread are mostly to keep me focused on this job and get the ghia back on the road.
Stuff does get in the way as we often read on here.
For me there will be a break for 5 days to allow for the annual trip to Le Mans for the 24hr.
Me and my mate Tom go every year. I First went in 1998 when Porsche last won.
So, I need to prep the daily driver for the camping trip.
Here she is. (Ghia in the garage in the background)

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And here she is stickered up and loaded with enough gear for me and my mate tom to survive the camping experience.
And I've even got 2 folding bikes in there!


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Back soon.
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 11, 2015 2:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
For me there will be a break for 5 days to allow for the annual trip to Le Mans for the 24hr.


Why do you need to kill 5 days if its only 24 hours? Wink

Looks good...A number decal on the door the same shape as the gas door would look cool. Smile
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 11, 2015 10:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

2 hr drive to ferry.
Overnight ferry.
200 miles to Le Mans.
Attend the driver parade Friday night.
Race Saturday from 3pm
Drive back and wait for ferry etc.
It all take time.
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