TheSamba.com :: View topic

Thu Dec 25, 2003 6:54 pm

Hi All,

I have owned my '67 Ghia 'vert for 14 years and always drove it "as is". I recently came across and then purchased an NOS chassis. It still had the VW "Ersatz Teile" stickers and tags on it. Very cool!

My plan is to set up the chassis as a roller with new front beam and rear suspension, etc. to begin the restoration.

I would love to hear from you out there as to what you think about my plan for the body/paint work:

1) Set up the new chassis as a roller.
2) Disassemble and strip car on old chassis
3) Perform metal work on the car on it's old chassis.
4) Move the car from the old chassis to the new chassis.
5) Perform finish body and paint work on new chassis.
5) Reassemble car

I can send pictures of the chassis if anyone is interested. Thanks in advance for the replies!

Sebastian

Thu Dec 25, 2003 8:14 pm

Let's hear the story on the NOS chassis. Where was it, why was it there, how did you find it, and all that. Sounds interesting.

Why not post a photo in the gallery?

Fri Dec 26, 2003 1:51 pm

Sounds like a plan. If the current body is rotted at the rockers, you need to prace it first before you remove it.

Fri Dec 26, 2003 4:08 pm

Everthing sounds good that you want to do, but I would paint the body with it off the chassis. This way you will not get any overspray on that new chassis. It wold look more professionaland be done like the factory.

Sat Dec 27, 2003 6:34 pm

I had heard about this chassis for years and had actually talked to the guy who had it a few times. He did not know exactly what year it was for but was sure it was a swing axle chassis, he just couldn’t remember if it was ball joint or not. Earlier this year I decided to get a Porsche 914. My wife let me know immediately that she was not fond of 914’s at all. “Fine” I said, “Then I’ll restore the Ghia instead”. “OK” she said. I couldn’t believe it. The green light! She does like the Ghia better than my 356 and 911, so I guess it wasn’t that much of a surprise, even thought it will cost about 15k to do it right.

Back to the chassis. The guy who had it was a Formula Vee racer named “Chet the Jet”. I don’t even know his last name. I got his number from a friend of mine and called him. It seems that he had bought the old stock from a local VW dealer back in the late 70’s or early 80’s. Included in this stash was the NOS chassis and it sat in his barn for 20 to 25 years until I bought it. Apparently back then you could buy a replacement chassis if your car was damaged enough in an accident. The tags on it say “Ersatzteile” or “replacement part”. This was also true of Porsche with the 914. I know someone who built up a beautiful 914-6 from a body purchased at Stoddard Imported Cars’ parts department back in the early 70’s. I know of no 356 or 9111 replacement bodies that could be bought at the dealer, so it may have been for 914’s only.

Before purchasing I had him verify that it was in fact for a ball joint front end Ghia. Bingo! The next Saturday I was there with two friends to pick it up and store it in the shop until this spring when I will first build it up into a rolling chassis. It has some scuffs and whatnot but no rust or dings. It is brand new!! I plan on keeping the car stock as far as appearance goes but it will have a 356 1600 engine and a Rancho Performance street trans installed. I will have Rancho gear the trans just like a 356 which will make the car much more driveable. I’m not looking to squeal tires but I want more power than the 1600 VW and I’m not interested in a performance VW engine--even though they are a lot of fun--because I want the reliability and longevity of the 356.

Sat Dec 27, 2003 6:50 pm

914 are unibodies.. so i dont really understand your statement about be able to buy a replacemnt chassis for it.

Sat Dec 27, 2003 7:22 pm

Hi,

I didn't say he bought a replacement "chassis" for his 914, I said "body" and it was available as a part with a part number through Porsche dealers, just as this replacement chassis was available through VW.

It's pretty neat that we live in the same area with (somewhat) similar stories on two cars with ties to Karmann. I just thought I'd mention it since it was such a coincidence.

Thanks for the reply!

Sebastian

Sat Dec 27, 2003 7:50 pm

thats impartical to have a replacement body would cost more to R&I from one to the other then to buy a whole new car.

Sun Dec 28, 2003 9:54 am

That's a good point. I called him up and asked him about it and he brought something up that I did not think about: Back when he did it, 914's were still new cars, so there really weren't any "shells" around to buy, at least none that he would want. He is a concours freak and wanted to start his car with a perfect body. When he learned from Chuck Stoddard that he could buy a whole body as a "part" from the parts department, he got very excited. This was quite a project for back then, all parts were new and in went a 2.7 twin plug 911 engine!
Anyway, he still has the car and he has put 40,000+ miles an it and it is still clean as can be.
But the point is that with what he wanted to do with the car, buying another 914-6 body actually would have been more expensive back then than buying the replacement body and with the replacement body he was virtually guaranteed that it would be perfect.

Sebastian

Sun Dec 28, 2003 10:49 am

I'm almost ready to put my 66 Ghia vert on its new (rebuilt) pan, and I'm doing it a little differently than has been suggested.

The major welding and bodywork is done, but we're painting the interior and underside with the body off the pan. Then, the 1/2 painted body will get mounted to the pan. Once that's done we'll do the final exterior bodywork, prep, and paint.

The theory is that I want the body in its final position on the pan before messing with door alignment and gaps, and all the other final fittings. A little more work when masking and painting, but it will avoid problems with the vert body flexing or twisting. Door gaps are my major fear.

Sun Dec 28, 2003 1:48 pm

Great Idea. I believe I'll do the same. Let me know haw it turns out as you are probably way ahead of me. I don't envision any paint work for another 2 years.

Thanks!

Sebastian

Wed Dec 31, 2003 3:07 pm

That's a cool story, yeah post a pic or two in the Gallery and then come back and post us a link when you get them up
(just cause I hate that IMG thang! LOL)

Sat Jan 03, 2004 8:28 am

i hope you are right in saying it is a pan for a ghia, because beetle pans ate narrower than a ghia. i think they are about 3 inches narrorer on each side for a total of 6 inches

Sat Jan 03, 2004 10:16 am

It is most definately a Ghia pan as it is much wider than the pan it was next to in the barn. The part # on the tags and the stickers on it are "141" part #'s so it is a Ghia pan/chassis.