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

Fri Oct 29, 2010 2:25 am

72Ghia wrote:

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

Are you going to be using some weld-thru primer on this before you button it back up, or maybe the Eastwood internal frame coating?

Fri Oct 29, 2010 3:51 am

72Ghia wrote: 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.

Yeah, as long as women insist on having babies and going back to work ASAP...... I'll have a job.

Fine Print!! They keep making that stuff smaller and smaller with every passing year!!!!

I'll be very curious if you are candid with (or PM me) what your top ends up costing you in product costs. I have a 70 top that is a rusty frame, shreds of fabric and a chunk of glass. The wood is rotted away leaving some screws embedded in shreds of wood hanging onto the frame!!
I'm going to be sandblasting it, all new wood, all new fabric along with padding, headliner and probably a small mountain of "extras" along the way! I'll be doing this all myself, I'm patient! I fear it will be probably the biggest single ticket item $$$$$$$ on my rebuild project!!
I'll probably end up selling my Super Vert to pay for this top. Then again, by the time I'm ready for a top on the Ghia, I've got a legal and drivable Ghia....who really wants a Super Vert when you've got a Ghia Convertible?

Dave

Fri Oct 29, 2010 7:52 am

So far besides what the car came with I've got around $185 invested. $130 Front wood bow, $10 -stainless staples, $25- end bracket bolts, $20- foam stripping, sewing needles , HD thread, elastic, glue, wood screws) The seller included a canvas top kit when I bought the car. I think he paid around $350 for it in 2000. Hoping the age wont cause any problems with install... it's still it packaging but the fabric can shrink over time. Top also came with padding ,headliner crush padding, some cables etc. & video. I'll be glad to share the final damage. Im pretty much ready to go except for the guide pins and guide boots. I wanted to install them before attaching a new front header bow just to make sure everything is straight.
The frame was wire wheeled painted with POR 15 and pivot areas greased. I've never done a top before so this will be an interesting experience. Lookng forward to some free time to get going on it.

Fri Oct 29, 2010 8:00 am

hpw wrote: 72Ghia wrote:

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

Are you going to be using some weld-thru primer on this before you button it back up, or maybe the Eastwood internal frame coating?

Defenetly...just debating on POR15 or Eastwood rust encapsulator. Either one should be a big improvement over bare metal. Also I'll be routing some clear drain tubes through this peice so water will bypass this section. Samba member "offtowildblue" came up with this clever solution and it is rather simple to do.

Fri Oct 29, 2010 12:27 pm

72Ghia wrote: I've never done a top before so this will be an interesting experience. Lookng forward to some free time to get going on it.

Be sure to take plenty of pictures so "we" can learn from your mistakes :wink: :lol:

Fri Oct 29, 2010 1:01 pm

hpw wrote: 72Ghia wrote: I've never done a top before so this will be an interesting experience. Lookng forward to some free time to get going on it.

Be sure to take plenty of pictures so "we" can learn from your mistakes :wink: :lol:

Agreed!! I'm right behind you!! Why blaze a new trail when someone already bushwhacked one!?!

Dave

Sat Oct 30, 2010 9:26 am

Just an update on some odds-n-ends:

dismantled & cleaned up the original horns , afterwards they were working again

installed some new boot snaps with rubber washers underneath

the ole hide it in the glove box trick. Modern radio tucked away with Ipod input & remote.

Picked up this padding material called "Quiet Walk" http://www.hardwoodinstaller.com/hardwoodinstaller/reviews-flooring-underlayment.htm to use as insulation.
It's only about 1/8" thick so it is very easy to work wth and the layers can be stacked as needed. It comes with a vapor barrier on one side so you can lay one end against the floor pan and double the padding up with a second layer flipped upright to have a barrier against the carpet as well. Therefore sandwiching the padding in plastic.

New check straps, hardware & rebuilt hinges. Advice for anyone repainting a Ghia. Mock these up first if possible. Or install the checkstraps to the hinges first before putting on the door I didnt and the passenger side door jamb got a small scratch from installing the check strap pin. No big deal a small dab of touch-up should fix it. Im sure it will get a few nicks before it is all said & done :?

Door mechanicals cleaned up up and back in. I'll install a vapor barrier before new panels go on. Need to be careful to avoid over-tightening the glass bolts. A turn too much and crash !

Sun Jan 23, 2011 10:39 pm

Very cold here in Maryland. Progress is slow.
I've been working on the top for a couple evenings. Thanks again to Vince "Ghiaddict" for taking the time to document the install process in his excellent thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=389729&highlight=

Ive spent a few hours for two evenings so far but it is coming along.. slowly but surely.

Adjustments made per factory specs and ready to begin the install.

Laying out headliner & adjusting before attaching into place. Thankfully the manufacturer install kit was generous enough to pre mark the centerline of the headliner with a light dotted line.

Sun Jan 23, 2011 11:44 pm

Where'd you find a front wood bow for only $130?? I need one for my vert but all the ones I've found are way way way more than $130

Mon Jan 24, 2011 4:59 am

pyralis wrote: Where'd you find a front wood bow for only $130?? I need one for my vert but all the ones I've found are way way way more than $130

I was thinking the same thing!!

Mon Jan 24, 2011 7:20 am

Samba classifieds a few years ago :D It still needed a bit of shaping but it shapes easily.

Mon Jan 24, 2011 8:34 am

Conv. top is looking good so far.
Keep up the good work.

It's like deja vu looking at your pics. :)

Mon Jan 24, 2011 8:46 am

Ghiaddict wrote: Conv. top is looking good so far.
Keep up the good work.

It's like deja vu looking at your pics. :)

:lol: I thought the same thing reading your thread. Im trying to keep the area around the car warm enough to keep the headliner flexible, incase you were wondering about the plastic overhead. Hopefully there wont be too much extra sagging during the warmer months. Then again this car probably wont be driven top up much anyway. BTW for the rear side foam pieces next to the rear glass, they do get placed over
the straps right? Your advice about the double sided tape did the trick. It was right on spec after that.

Mon Jan 24, 2011 9:03 am

72Ghia wrote: Ghiaddict wrote: Conv. top is looking good so far.
Keep up the good work.

It's like deja vu looking at your pics. :)

BTW for the rear side foam pieces next to the rear glass, they do get placed over
the straps right? Your advice about the double sided tape did the trick. It was right on spec after that.

Yes, foam over top of the straps.

Mon Jan 24, 2011 1:35 pm

Ok thanks..just checking before moving onto the D/S. I was pretty sure that was the way since the sraps might show through the top being above the foam. Another thing was the vinyl which overhangs at the bottom. I let this hang below on the inside to cover the screws. Do you know if this should this be in betwen the curved metal clamping plates on the oustide of the car then trimmed off? It's behind the headliner hanging on the inside out of site.

Mon Jan 24, 2011 2:08 pm

Do you mean the vinyl section that is part of
the covering for the rear corner pads?
If so, all of this gets routed to the outside of the
body shell and secured by the clamping plates.
Cover the points of the screws/bolts with something
else but not really needed since they get hidden
behind the headliner material inside.
We normally do shave off any sharp points that
protrude inside the body after the clamping plates
are fully installed.

Mon Jan 24, 2011 3:30 pm

Vince- Yes exactly. I just checked again and the vinyl was routed as described to the outside of the car. There is just small strip remaining on the inside which was notched out for the strapping. BTW-Not sure how you like to sew the elastic but I found that using vice grips to pinch the band together makes sewing alot easier. Once again excellent instructions. I've been following them as closely as possible so far so good ! Unfortunately it will take a few evenings to wrap up since I can only work on the car once the kiddies are asleep :lol:

Tue Jan 25, 2011 9:03 pm

A little more progress on the top

Ran out of glue, had to stop :cry:

Waiting for canvas

Quality Control Inspector/ Future Ghia owner with her crazy elf get up.

Thu Feb 03, 2011 3:54 pm

Your car is looking great Bill... I wouldn't dare do a top. You're a more daring guy then me. I'd call Grant and pay him. :)

Thu Feb 03, 2011 8:06 pm

Thanks Sean. Besides not having a clue as to how the top gets installed things are going quite smoothly. :lol: Just waiting on a on a rear glass tension cable to arrive in order to finish the top. While the top is on hold I decided to get the windshield installed. I tried putting the glass & seal in with the moulding installed the first time but it just was not seating properly. Reason seems to be the moulding was out of shape. Ended up fitting the seal first. Once it was seated correctly slight tweaks to the moudling were made by bending & twisting till it fit flush against the seal. Once the moulding was in the correct shape it snapped into place rather easily by tapping it by hand.

I had some matching scrap headliner material left & duplicated the original windlaces. The original vinyl was used as a template & the inner tubing was reused.

Using spray adhesive and 2 peices of board till the glue dried. Afterwards I ran some stitching along the tubing to draw the vinyl up tightagainst the tubing. Im guessing these can be sourced somewhere but Im pretty content with how they turned out considering they did not take very long to fabricate.