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Fri Feb 07, 2020 4:31 pm

Need some advice on best way to remove the jack support from the pan. Not sure what happened, but the jack support on the left side has been pushed upward.. The cutout on the rear quarter patch panel that goes in front of the rear wheel is no longer lined up with the support. Below is a picture showing how the lower edge of the panel was damaged when apparently the PO tried to jack up the car. Is the support spot welder to the floor pan?

Sun Feb 09, 2020 1:56 pm

Took some pictures of the rusted left side rocker. Also cut out similar rusted sections on the right side of the car. Rocker on right side was rusted about the same amount as the left side. Looks like I’ll be spending some time repairing the rockers on both side of the car.

Sun Feb 09, 2020 3:42 pm

If you are replacing the pans...you will need to transfer several parts over to the new ones. Seat mount slides, seat belt mounts, brake stop, and jack points. New pans dont come with them.

Sun Feb 09, 2020 4:21 pm

c21darrel wrote: If you are replacing the pans...you will need to transfer several parts over to the new ones. Seat mount slides, seat belt mounts, brake stop, and jack points. New pans dont come with them.

Thanks for the heads up. Not planning to replace the pans. They are pretty solid and in good shape except for a few spots where the edge lip needs to be repaired. One question I have, however, is how is the jack support attached to the pan. Is it simply spot welded to the pan?
The jack support section is one of the areas I want to repair. The lip in that area is rusted and it would be much easier to repair the lip if the jack support is removed and then reinstalled after the lip is repaired.

Sun Feb 09, 2020 6:00 pm

Yes, it sits on a small plate welded to the pan.
Yours probably got pushed up because its missing the reinforcement piece....and the metal above it is rust.
Good Luck.

Mon Feb 10, 2020 6:07 am

c21darrel wrote: Yes, it sits on a small plate welded to the pan.
Yours probably got pushed up because its missing the reinforcement piece....and the metal above it is rust.
Good Luck.

Thanks much for the close up picture. Certainly helps me understand what I need to do to correct the issue of the jack support being pushed upward.

Mon Feb 10, 2020 6:13 am

As usual with Ghias, rocker areas will require attentions but nice project :D

Antoine

Sun Feb 23, 2020 4:50 pm

Just a quick question.

Has anyone used these rocker panels?
https://www.amazon.com/Motor-City-Sheet-Metal-1956...amp;sr=8-1

I only need the portion below the door and was wondering if I could make these work. About 1/2 the price of the full rocker.

Tue Feb 25, 2020 10:38 am

The full rockers are about $112 at CIP1 but if you only need under the door...
Unknown manufacturer for vw, no feedback/reviews. I assume you could return if necc.

Sat Mar 07, 2020 2:00 pm

When the left jack support was pushed up and bent the floor pan it apparently broke through some of the pan metal. Add the fact that although I was as careful as I could be when I cut the jack support off the pan the end result was some holes in the pan where the support had been welded.

The circled areas show the holes.

When making a repair panel to cover the holes in the floor pan I wanted to include a lip that followed the contour of the floor pan to add strength to the repair panel.

I’m certainly not skilled at shaping metal and I don’t have a lot of metal shaping tools, just the basic hammer and dolly set. It is a good thing I don’t throw things away because the I found the hub on an old brake rotor worked great for metal finishing the curved lip.

It may not look perfect (I did clean up the edges after this picture was taken) but it fits well and should serve the purpose of sealing the holes and add strength to the floor area when the jack support is welded back in place.

Fri Mar 13, 2020 2:29 pm

Today I started working on fitting repair panels in the area of the left side rear wheel well.

I’ve read in multiple threads about issues encountered with lining up the torsion bar access hole of the rear inner lower front section and the access hole in the outer front skin. Used a piece of rolled-up paper to extend the torsion bar to ensure the access holes lined up.

Have a few spots of the rear wheel well that need repair. Started making up some repair pieces. Here is my first attempt of making a patch panel for one of the area of the wheel opening.

Sat Mar 14, 2020 2:42 pm

Had some free time today to focus on the rear bumper bracket mount that was basically rusted out. Cut out the original bracket mount, removed the undercoating that was flaking off, wire brushed the remaining rust and treated the area with rust encapsulator.

Sun Mar 22, 2020 2:51 pm

NEED SOME HELP -- Can someone tell me what the dimensions are for the rear bumper bracket opening on a 60 Karmann Ghia?

I started working on the rear section below the left taillight. As you can see in the picture the original bracket opening can’t be used as a reference since the area around the opening had a less than acceptable repair.

Since I have limited metal working tools (and skills) I went the route of cutting reliefs in the section that has compound curves. Will require welding the reliefs close once the correct curves are established but couldn’t think of another way to do it. If someone has a better approach please let me know since I’ll have to do a similar repair on the right side taillight.

Ran out of time so put off the welding and final fitting for another day.

Sun Mar 22, 2020 6:00 pm

Amazing metal work. Nice job.

Sun Mar 22, 2020 6:22 pm

Legacy wrote: I’m certainly not skilled at shaping metal
I can say this. You cannot! Your patience and creative problem solving are fun to watch!

Mon Mar 23, 2020 5:14 am

xzener wrote: Amazing metal work. Nice job.

Thank you for the kind words.

J1 wrote: Legacy wrote: I’m certainly not skilled at shaping metal
I can say this. You cannot! Your patience and creative problem solving are fun to watch!

As an engineer, figuring out how to do something is what I get the most satisfaction from.

Mon Mar 23, 2020 7:19 am

I'll take a picture and measurements of my rear bumper bracket openings later today. My model year is 64 but it should be the same.

Mon Mar 23, 2020 8:06 am

Peter D. wrote: I'll take a picture and measurements of my rear bumper bracket openings later today. My model year is 64 but it should be the same.

That would be great. Really appreciate the help.

Mon Mar 23, 2020 8:27 am

Peter D. wrote: Great work! How long would you say it took you to sand down the body? I got an astronomical quote for media blasting and I'm thinking I'd rather invest in a good sander and do it outside.

First let me apologize for being late to answer your question. I must have miss it when you posted it.

As I mentioned in a previous posts I removed the top coat of paint and in some cases got down to bare metal using a heat gun to soften the paint/bondo then scraping it off with a wood chisel. I then used a combination of a DA sander, a 7” 3M stripping disc attached to my buffing machine, and a 4” stripping discs attached to my grinder. The positive aspect of the stripping disc is that it is much faster than the DA sander or heat gun.

Although I didn't keep accurate records of the time I spent I would estimate it took be about 25 to 30 hours total. The most time consuming, and least dirty, was the heat gun process. I rather spend twice as much time doing that then sanding with a DA or stripping disc.

Mon Mar 23, 2020 2:54 pm

Thanks! I will try my heat gun and grinder as soon as weather permits. I want to roll the body outside the garage first and it's 32 degrees and snowing in CT.

I took a few pictures and measurements for you. I have zero technical training so I hope this makes sense:

Using a tape measure and hanging the end off the bottom of the tail light opening, measure down 11 cm and make a mark. Then measure horizontally to the right 7.5 cm. That's the center tip of the opening.

The opening itself is a bit rough (hand-made car after all). Using my digital caliper I got 20 to 21mm across, and 69.5mm in height. There's a rubber grommet that goes on it so it doesn't have to be perfect.

I took a third measurement from edge of the rear apron to the right side of the opening, 18 cm. My car is missing the proper seam thanks to the previous owner and some bondo so I used the seam mark in the engine bay above.

I hope this is helpful and keep up the good work!