TheSamba.com :: View topic - The K_R_A_K_E_N_N : a 70 Ghia Convertible reinterpreted

Thu Oct 08, 2015 10:35 am

Quote: custom/manual fabrication
I think thats the best approach when all you need is the cross piece.

Quote: properly brace them for removal and 2) how to properly line them up and locate them on the new pan. Any and all advice is welcome.

Take measurements. 8) :idea:
Mine ended up in 3 pieces, we fabbed the cross piece and welded back together. Measure the tracks themselves so you can accurately re-create them and measure where they are on the pan before cutting them out.

Thu Oct 08, 2015 1:15 pm

If you're tall you can also put the seat track back a bit for more leg room.

Thu Oct 08, 2015 4:57 pm

I'm 5' 6-1/2" (the 1/2" matters) and my wife is 5'. Forget moving the seats back, we probably need to move them forward and duct-tape wooden blocks to the pedals. :lol:

All kidding aside we have both owned KGs in the past and we are some of the few for whom the stock seat location works just fine.

thanks for the tips,
Emil

Thu Oct 08, 2015 9:55 pm

"My daughter has decided that "The unnamed triplet" shall henceforth be known as "The Kraken."'

Your daughter must have a well-developed but insubordinate sense of humour. The Kraken is a Scandinavian sea monster of doubtful provenance. But the word can also mean something that is broken.

She's having you on, is she?

Fri Oct 09, 2015 4:05 am

Evil_Fiz wrote: When you say "replacements made up" are you referring to custom/manual fabrication or a makeshift replacement piece? Another thing that is giving me pause is how to 1) properly brace them for removal and 2) how to properly line them up and locate them on the new pan. Any and all advice is welcome

I measured their position on the pans then cut the floor pan out around each seat rail. I then drilled out the spot welds to remove them from the pan with all three pieces joined together. I then took measurements or how they were assembled then drilled out the spot welds holding the sides on.

I then made up templates using cardboard based on the old cross pieces and then cut (using a guillotine) and folded (using a folding brake) new sections to suit using the old ones to check the angles are right. You need to think about the order that you do the folds because if you don't do it in the right order you can't fit it on the brake properly. I am doing an evening college panel beating course so was able to use their shop tools, but if you don't have access to shop tools you should be able to get them made up.

I have wire wheeled the side pieces and welded up a few rusty bits and am ready to weld them back together with the new cross pieces using plug welds to replicate the spot welds. Once I have installed the new plans I will plug weld them back in position based on the measurements I took before removing them.

Fri Oct 09, 2015 4:44 am

kiwighia68 wrote: My daughter has decided that "The unnamed triplet" shall henceforth be known as "The Kraken."'

Your daughter must have a well-developed but insubordinate sense of humour. The Kraken is a Scandinavian sea monster of doubtful provenance. But the word can also mean something that is broken.

She's having you on, is she?

I was unaware of the second meaning of "Kraken" but it fits the car none the less. Broken - it is dissembled, ready to go body-off, and the engine hasn't run in 23 yrs. I will be doing a fully reversible, high HP/torque Subaru based resto-mod build so I imagine the title of monster will be somewhat fitting when the car is done.

I would like to say my daughters sense of humor is fairly developed for a ten year old, but that is probably just a a proud dad talking. She loves Krakens and penguins and said the cars lines remind her of a Kraken.

I have read through you build and continue to follow along as you near completion. It servers as one of my inspiration builds. Good work and I look forward to seeing the novel in hardcover.

Emil

Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:05 pm

Evil_Fiz wrote: kiwighia68 wrote: My daughter has decided that "The unnamed triplet" shall henceforth be known as "The Kraken."'

Your daughter must have a well-developed but insubordinate sense of humour. The Kraken is a Scandinavian sea monster of doubtful provenance. But the word can also mean something that is broken.

She's having you on, is she?

I was unaware of the second meaning of "Kraken" but it fits the car none the less. Broken - it is dissembled, ready to go body-off, and the engine hasn't run in 23 yrs. I will be doing a fully reversible, high HP/torque Subaru based resto-mod build so I imagine the title of monster will be somewhat fitting when the car is done.

I would like to say my daughters sense of humor is fairly developed for a ten year old, but that is probably just a a proud dad talking. She loves Krakens and penguins and said the cars lines remind her of a Kraken.

Emil

Wikipedia: "In Norwegian and Swedish, Kraken is the definite form of krake, a word designating an unhealthy animal or something twisted (cognate with the English crook and crank)."

EDIT: In New Zealand, crook means sick, and in Dutch and Afrikaans, crank (spelled krank), means the same.

Fri Oct 09, 2015 2:58 pm

Sounds like a good name to me

Sat Oct 10, 2015 7:46 am

Here is a first pass at a custom deck lid script. It needs some cleaning up to get the letter spacing and alignment correct. I will probably have it laser cut from polished aluminum.

I know I am getting way ahead of myself since the build hasn't officially begun. That brings me to the question of whether I should start a dedicated build thread or just keep adding to this one.

I will now open the floor for comments, opinions, and suggestions.

Thanks
Emil

Sat Oct 10, 2015 3:56 pm

Keep it coming in this thread. PM John with a title change if you want that. I'm enjoying your fun loving attitude.
Nicholas

Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:56 pm

The build begins here… But first let’s talk about me.
(Feel free to skip ahead to the first picture bellow if you don’t find the human condition compelling.) :roll:

I have already introduced the car so I will take a few minutes of you time to introduce myself and provide some background on how I got here from there.

My name is Emil Frias. My user name is what it sounds like when an Avaya phone system voice synthesizer attempts to pronounce my name. This is my second Ghia but is the third in the family. My wife, who shall henceforth be known as “Accounting” had a 74 as her first car. Both my 68 Cab and her 74 coupe ended up being sold in parts about ten years ago her on TheSamba. Now that I am older, hopefully wiser, and modestly better funded, I intend to make up for my past sins by finishing what I set out to do over 20 Yrs. Ago.

Were it not for the fact that I barely drive anymore this Ghia would not have come to Casa Frias and would instead have been replaced by a 2013 Shelby GT500 convertible. I have always had dual allegiances to Ford and VW. I have owned both 1969 and a 1971 Fastback Mustangs in addition to a 1969 Beatle and a 1968 Ghia Cab. Rather than buy a $50K paperweight that would sit in the garage mostly untouched, I decided that a convertible Ghia, which I think is a far better looking convertible than any Mustang will ever be, would provide far more enjoyment via the restoration process. With the Ghia resto-mod process I get to actively participate in the reinterpretation and restoration of a car rather than occasionally operate a vehicle that would try to kill me every time I fired it up.

kiwighia68 of “Saving Emiko: 68 RHD Restoration in New Zealand”
fame made the following comment in the thread 1964 Ghia coupe, resto in progress, first posting:

“…It's not just about what's interesting. It's also about what's helpful, and it's helpful even if it helps just one other guy working on a Ghia.”

That comment resonated with me, along with many other comments about posting lots of photos and updates. Inspired by those comments I will make every effort to:
1) Post as much detail as I can about my journey
2) Annotate pictures to ensure clarity when needed
3) Explain my thought process regarding what I post
4) Post any mistakes I make along with where I went wrong in order to help those who follow.

This will be an “Average Joe” type build. I have no bodywork, paint, or welding experience. I don’t own a welder, paint equipment, body tools, or an adequate compressor. I will buy what I need as I move along and I will ask for advise and educate myself as needed. I am not completely new to auto mechanics or VWs. It’s going to be a hair pulling, frustrating, bloody knuckle, sore back and legs, expensive, and time consuming ride. WOOHOO! Lets get to it.

Poor-man’s Miter saw board support by Rubbermaid (Did I mention I lack some tools?)

I have been a bit anemic on posts lately but I HAVE bee moderately exerting myself on getting the project going. Lets face it, I have a 48 year old body built for IT and I am lucky to get a few hours of work in per day before I am rudely reminded of that fact. Here is the timeline of what has been going on at Casa Frias.

10-08-2015 - 2 Hrs.
Began construction of the body dolly. Cut vertical legs, cut hinge plates and did a test mortise on one hinge plate.

10-09-2015 - 4 Hrs.
Continued construction of the body dolly. Finished cutting dimensional pieces, mortised hinge mounts, assembled hinged legs, and built front, hinged cross-member.

10-10-2015 - 4 Hrs.
Finished building dolly and began body disassembly. Removed Deck lids, doors, steering column, convertible frame, gas tank, and engine parts. (tin, coil, carb, fan housing and generator)

10-11-2015-5 Hrs.
Continued and finished body disassembly, removed body mount screws, removed engine, and removed bumpers. I missed the two extra "Convertible-only" bolts under the rear seat arm rests.

10-12-2015 - 2 Hrs.
Removed Convertible-only screws. Began work on hoist frame
Florida labor laws are pretty lax. (if the NSA or anyone easily offended is watching, HE DID NOT USE THE SAW)

10-13-2015 - 2 Hrs.
Continued work on hoist frame. Ran out of 2x6 and am short on screws.

10-14-2015 - 2 Hrs.
Finished Hoist frame
The night before Christmas

10-16-2015 - 4 Hrs.
Separated body from pan

Dolly in position. Hoist frame being assembled. Too tall to fit in garage assembled so I had to tear it down after I finished it.

Probably the only wheelie this car will ever do. Front end firmly on dolly. I used 1 come-along and a 2x4 across the inner wheel arches to lift the body. The body is resting on the outer edges of the Napoleon hat. (NOTE: I may have to double up the 2x6 cross member as a safety net. The body is resting further inboard on the dolly than I expected.) I also ended up having to un-pin the rear hinges because the dolly is too short to permit the hinged assembly from clearing the wheels.

TADAAAAAA!
I used a longer 2x4 under the rear bumper mount points to hoist the rear of the car. Once the rear body was up in the air I simply attached the legs, inserted the hinge pins, and secured the assembly with screws. (The front followed a similar process minus the hinge pin removal.)

The rocker panels are at 30” above ground level. This height clears both the shifter and shock towers. There is very little flex in the door openings but the braces are added insurance. I hope that is an indicator of minimal to no rocker and heater channel damage.
(This picture is a FAKE. I forgot to take a picture when the body was on the dolly so I lugged it out to the driveway the next day and made up the difference)

My next task is to start cleaning the chassis, suspension, and pans.

Stay tuned and thanks for watching.

PS.
I used SketchUp to design the dolly and Hoist frame. If anyone is interested in the model files, PM me. I will also upload them to the SketchUp 3D warehouse once I clean them up and label them to make them available to everyone.

Edit:
You can download the free version of SketchUp, "SketchUp Make" Here: http://www.sketchup.com/download
or the free SketchUp Viewer here: http://www.sketchup.com/products/sketchup-viewer

Sun Oct 18, 2015 1:45 am

Subscribed. I think it's going to be fun Emil. :)

Mon Oct 19, 2015 12:28 pm

Me too.

Tue Oct 20, 2015 10:57 am

Evil_Fiz wrote: This will be an “Average Joe” type build. I have no bodywork, paint, or welding experience. I don’t own a welder, paint equipment, body tools, or an adequate compressor. I will buy what I need as I move along and I will ask for advise and educate myself as needed.

:popcorn: Love it! My excuses for avoiding anything that requires the body off has been that I have little experience, insufficient tools, a young demanding family, and many other responsibilities. And here you are, seemingly in a similar situation, but not letting those excuses stall your efforts. Kudos for just getting off the ground. Best of luck!!!

Tue Oct 20, 2015 11:09 am

^ this.

Tue Oct 20, 2015 12:10 pm

This is a great thread. Looking forward to following along and perhaps living a little vicariously through you...

Evil_Fiz wrote: Lets face it, I have a 48 year old body built for IT and I am lucky to get a few hours of work in per day before I am rudely reminded of that fact...

My 47 year old body has been shaped by years of office work and recently chased by 21 month old twins...we do what we can.

I Love the name and the script idea by the way, I’ve been toying with doing a similar thing and having a "N_O_R_M_A_N_’S Ghia" script. My IT capabilities in that regard are lacking though, so I figured I’d get the S and the O from an old Volkswagen script and weld it up… The laser cut option is clearly much better.

Tue Oct 20, 2015 1:36 pm

No updates?? Better get Krakenn!! 8)

Kraken...its what you do. I got a laff :lol:

http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7UFD/geico-kraken-its-what-you-do

Tue Oct 20, 2015 3:01 pm

bobnorman wrote:
I Love the name and the script idea by the way, I’ve been toying with doing a similar thing and having a "N_O_R_M_A_N_’S Ghia" script. My IT capabilities in that regard are lacking though, so I figured I’d get the S and the O from an old Volkswagen script and weld it up… The laser cut option is clearly much better.

Here you go bobnorman. I can clean it up some more if you need, the "O" is a little narrow. I am also working on a Dolly model request from a fellow member. I need to rework the model for his needs. Should get KRAKENN on the Ghia in the next few days.

Tue Oct 20, 2015 7:27 pm

Wow. That's fantastic, thansk so much for doing that. I'll PM you.

Funny enough, I've actually been doing some work with a company called Kraken in the last month or so.

Tue Oct 20, 2015 8:27 pm

Evil_Fiz wrote: bobnorman wrote:
I Love the name and the script idea by the way, I’ve been toying with doing a similar thing and having a "N_O_R_M_A_N_’S Ghia" script. My IT capabilities in that regard are lacking though, so I figured I’d get the S and the O from an old Volkswagen script and weld it up… The laser cut option is clearly much better.

Here you go bobnorman. I can clean it up some more if you need, the "O" is a little narrow. I am also working on a Dolly model request from a fellow member. I need to rework the model for his needs. Should get KRAKENN on the Ghia in the next few days.

There is a company that will make custom script logos targeted to Porsche owners, ...

http://www.nameyourporsche.com

... I don't know exactly how customizable the font is, but it may be worth checking out ... IF you don't mind paying Porsche prices, that is.