TheSamba.com :: View topic - 72 Vert Project-Continued

Wed Aug 11, 2010 7:22 pm

Slow and steady is the key brother... Be sure to only hit the parts that are already damaged. DON'T whack on the smooth parts in between the ridges and valleys.

Sun Aug 29, 2010 10:04 am

Slowly but steadily getting things back together. So far... so good. No major issues...yet :D

Installed dash with stock radio. The glovebox has been made to hide a modern stereo which I'l post some photos of shortly. It accepts MP3 players too which should be nice.

I'll be hunting for a decklid at the Bugout next weekend but until one is sourced I came up with a temporary solution.
Used several pieces of formed steel to Fabricate custom license cover. Still looking for some low profile LEDs to illuminate the license plate

This is just a mock up but it will get a strip of beetle fender welt along the back.
I dont know ...kinda like the custom license cover but it wasnt something planned.

Sun Aug 29, 2010 7:24 pm

Lookin' good! That paint work looks awesome...your buddy did a great job. Yeah...now the fun part...re-assembly. Sometimes the stuff you don't even think about will give you the biggest headaches. On my '67, it was the carpeting and the rubber seals around the door windows that tried my patients the most. Looking forward to seeing it all done...as I'm sure you are too!

I like that license light pod too...certainly is different

Mon Aug 30, 2010 2:26 pm

Thanks. So far it looks like the biggest challenge will be the convertible top. I've never installed one before. Doesnt look physically difficult just lots of steps that need to be done correctly before moving onto the next.
Im thinking this might is best done during warm weather so I'll have to get moving on it soon since things will be cooling down here in Maryland. Maybe by next spring this thing will be on the road.
Any other thoughts on that license plate cover anyone?

Mon Aug 30, 2010 4:59 pm

I love it. It's very unique but classy. To someone who did'nt know better it looks original. To someone who did know it was not og, it looks like you spent hours and hours getting that deck lid shaped just right, lol.

Mon Aug 30, 2010 9:08 pm

John Moxon wrote: 72Ghia wrote: I'll go hunting for a decent decklid at the next Bugout. He said no big deal to shoot another one. Live and learn I guess :lol:

I'm sure Gary can find you a good one Bill. :wink:

Gary had one but somebody else was first in line. :cry:

Tue Aug 31, 2010 8:27 am

72Ghia wrote: Thanks. So far it looks like the biggest challenge will be the convertible top.

Check out Ghiaddict's excellent sticky featuring step-by-step photos of a top replacement. If you run into problems, Vince is the man...knowledgeable and willing to help. He gave me some good tips on redoing my door window rubber.

Tue Aug 31, 2010 11:32 am

Yeah I saw his thread...it's a great reference. I've purchased quite a few Ghia parts from Vince. He is excellent to deal with too !

Tue Aug 31, 2010 6:16 pm

Bill -

I am born and raised in Maryland, but never seen a blue license plate. What is the story on that?

Tue Aug 31, 2010 7:17 pm

It's an actual tag from the 70's & this one would have been correct for 1972. It was a Christmas gift from my brother who picked it up at a car show at the Timonuim Fairgrounds a few years ago. Got one for the front too. He says it's a small one time fee to register the tags & you can run them on historic cars but you need to keep another set of historic tags which they issue in the car somewhere. Just found this link for a company who makes reproductions: http://www.licenseplates.tv/1971-maryland-state-2443.html

Wed Sep 01, 2010 5:38 am

If you decide you don't want to tackle the top, Northside does a great job. I've personally seen a late ghia vert he did, and it looked better then new.

Thu Sep 02, 2010 5:25 pm

swhitcomb wrote: If you decide you don't want to tackle the top, Northside does a great job. I've personally seen a late ghia vert he did, and it looked better then new.
great to know that. Where is Northside located?

Fri Sep 03, 2010 2:48 am

Madison VA. A bit of a hike, but Grant is a great guy and his shop does excellent work. Grant and some of his guys come to our club meets.

In the last few years his shop has done at least 3 72-74 Ghia verts. His upholsty guy is Billy who used to work at VW Restorations.

BTW, last time I was there he had somewhere close to 10 parts Ghias.

Fri Sep 03, 2010 6:08 pm

Bill - if you are going to the Bugout this weekend, Northside always has a stand there and some of the cars that they have done. Pretty impressive. Grant will certainly be there.

Fri Sep 03, 2010 7:59 pm

True. Our club is friends with Grant and String's club, so we parked with them at bug out 67. Got my ghia in Hot VWs that way.

Go over and meet him. He's a great guy and very helpful.

Wed Sep 08, 2010 9:46 pm

Yeah it was great meeting everyone & checking out some great cars.
Thanks again to Sean for helping to locate a deck lid.
Here are some updated photos:
Just installed the bumpers. Everything is lining up good. The front was a close fit on the ends. I ended up moving the brackets all the way out and there is only like 1/16" clearance between the bumpers edges and the lower sides of the front fenders. The nostril seals were a bit loose fitting so I snipped about 1/2" off each one and connected them with a staple to create a loop. Then fit them around the grilles. Still need to figure out how the headlight trim ring seal mounts It has a tapered side which im not sure if it goes towards the headlight bucket or the trim ring. The marker assembly has a small issue with the gasket sealing to the lens completely. One of them has a 1mm gap along the top. I might have to loosen the bolts and try shifting it a bit to get a better seal. I dont want to crank down too much on the lens or they could crack. Last resort will be a bead of black sealer :? .

Wed Oct 13, 2010 9:50 pm

So at the last Bugout in Manassas Va. I was able to locate a decent decklid thanks again to Switcomb. This one is in much better condition than the first. Still I decided to go a step further than before and separate the 2 pieces looking for hidden rust.

Knowing it probably had some in the lower bottom I carefully peeled up the lip along the lower portion using a sharp wood chisel. After going around with the chisel a flat head screwdriver followed and then it could be peeled further with pliers.

Instead of peeling up the entire lip all the way around I decided to make cuts on each end as shown and remove the lower inner portion.

Just as expected

Rust !

Btw also had to drill few spot welds on the center lock bracket.

Here a badly rusted section was cut out and traced onto new sheetmetal
& clamped in place for welding

a bit more welding & grinding for this part.

Thu Oct 28, 2010 5:43 pm

Usually when the kids go to sleep at night I'll slip out to the garage to pluck away at the project.

Dremel tool worked well to recreate a tight curve. A very little filler should be all that is needed.

Looks like the back of this panel was never treated. Bad spot being it serves as a gutter

Installed a new front seal but now am having some trouble with the hood not shutting flush with body. I tried loosening the bolts and moving the hood forward but no luck. Im guessing the hinge pins are worn? Maybe some light tapping with a mallet along the seal so help it seat properly?
Never replaced the hinge pins/bolts but I've seem quite a few Ghias with hoos that dont lay flush.

This curve was a bit tight for the seal to make around so a few relief notches were made and then glued & clamped to dry.

All the seals Ive seen are installed with the seam at the nose so I did the same

Nice to get some boxes off the shelf & start putting this thing back together. Notice the glove box cut out in the back to allow the radio to fit and breathe. This will be one minor modification which does not call for any serious hacking. BTW does anyone install hose clamps on those blue brake lines? They seem very tight , but Im guessing a few clamps wont hurt.
wiper assembly tested, cleaned up , and regreased.

The parts piles are getting smaller each day !

Looking forward to getting these put on. Im holding off on tires since who knows how much lonng this project will take.

Collecting supplies for the top

Thu Oct 28, 2010 6:43 pm

Looking Good!!

I am Soooooo far behind you!!! I want to go faster but, I have this stupid thing called a JOB!!!! oh, and a wife, and kids, and grandkids, and a social life!!

For what it's worth, use stainless steel staples. Many say you don't need to but I've seen too many ferrous steel staples rot out on various tops over the years!

Dave

Thu Oct 28, 2010 8:13 pm

djkeev wrote: Looking Good!!

I am Soooooo far behind you!!! I want to go faster but, I have this stupid thing called a JOB!!!! oh, and a wife, and kids, and grandkids, and a social life!!

For what it's worth, use stainless steel staples. Many say you don't need to but I've seen too many ferrous steel staples rot out on various tops over the years!

Dave

lol .... Job? You are lucky but yeah those things really get in the way dont they. Good you have priorities in order though. The car probably isnt going anywhere. Yeah I picked up the stainless ones (see the fine print in the red box? ) This was recommended by Ghiaddict & his excellent top installation thread. The top will be canvas so hopefully everything will last a good long time.