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Loren
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Joined: January 10, 2004
Posts: 1701
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 Posted: Thu May 25, 2023 5:07 pm Post subject: Re: December 58 Ghia cabriolet lifetime restoration project |
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Jason was back at it this month. The back of the Ghia is almost finished and he is going to do a final once over when the body is back on the pan.
With the back dialed in he started in on the front end. First order of business was replacing the bumper mount. This is a later NOS panel we are working with and it required a lot of changes to make it correct for a low light.
You can see how different the two mounts are
He also started to fit panels and started to make the hood seal channel between the nose and the hood latch panel.
I am going to the Sacramento Bug O Rama this weekend and will take Jason some more parts for the car. I will also be able stop by his shop to check out the progress in person. Looking forward to seeing the Ghia back in one piece again! |
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TRS63
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Joined: December 17, 2017
Posts: 999
Location: Stuttgart - Germany
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Karmann Gheezer
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Joined: April 12, 2006
Posts: 429
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| Posted: Sun May 28, 2023 6:39 pm Post subject: Re: December 58 Ghia cabriolet lifetime restoration project |
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Awesome topnotch craftsmanship.
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Loren
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Joined: January 10, 2004
Posts: 1701
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| Posted: Fri Jun 30, 2023 12:57 pm Post subject: Re: December 58 Ghia cabriolet lifetime restoration project |
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Jason has been busy working on the front end, and there is a lot of work to do there. I think once the front is done it will all be downhill from there.
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Loren
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Joined: January 10, 2004
Posts: 1701
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| Posted: Fri Jun 30, 2023 1:05 pm Post subject: Re: December 58 Ghia cabriolet lifetime restoration project |
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Loren
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Joined: January 10, 2004
Posts: 1701
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| Posted: Fri Jun 30, 2023 4:19 pm Post subject: Re: December 58 Ghia cabriolet lifetime restoration project |
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When I had the Ghia at Danny's shop he really wanted an NOS inner fender panel to repair the damage to the driver side. I ended up buying one, but didn't realize it was from a 67 or later Ghia and there are quite a few differences between it and a low light inner fender. Danny filled in the cut out for the larger nose grills, changed the hole opening for the fresh air duct and added the indent for the front beam. This still left a lot of other details to attend to.
Jason had to make and weld in an indent for the headlight fuse box, move one of the tabs for the trunk liner, add a wiring tab, add a tube for the speedometer, change out the bumper bracket and weld up some extra holes.
Here is what we started with
Here is the lowlight bumper bracket above the one on the panel
Moving the tab for the trunk liner
Here is what the indent for the headlight fuse box should look like
It's actually a hard piece to make because it is deeper on one corner than the other.
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TRS63
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Joined: December 17, 2017
Posts: 999
Location: Stuttgart - Germany
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Loren
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Joined: January 10, 2004
Posts: 1701
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| Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2023 10:31 am Post subject: Re: December 58 Ghia cabriolet lifetime restoration project |
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Here are some more images from the last rotation.
I had a repair panel for the radio hole, but the holes for the knobs had been wallow out, so Jason filled them in and will drill them to the proper size once the panel is welded in.
I used a 56-57 front fender on the driver side. Danny had removed and welded up the turn signal area and Jason drilled holes and fit the 59 style front turn signal base.
Finally Jason spot welded all the front panels, including the inner fender panel. Now all he has to do is fit and weld the nose and fender. Still lots to do, but getting closer. Yay!
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Marcdeb
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Joined: May 22, 2019
Posts: 3033
Location: Vermont
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TRS63
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Joined: December 17, 2017
Posts: 999
Location: Stuttgart - Germany
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Loren
Samba Member
Joined: January 10, 2004
Posts: 1701
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| Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2023 1:08 pm Post subject: Re: December 58 Ghia cabriolet lifetime restoration project |
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I should have some more body work progress photos by the end of the month, but until then it's time to bore you with a multitude of front seat images and details. I found a pair of original upholstery 58-59 Ghia front seats a few years ago. I think they are from a black car, but I'm not totally sure since there were a couple of color combos with red seats. I finally removed the upholstery so I can deal with the springs and frames. Along the way I took lots of photos to try and capture the details on original seats and how they were upholstered at the factory. I think only a complete Ghia nerd will enjoy these photos, but here we go.
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Loren
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Joined: January 10, 2004
Posts: 1701
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| Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2023 1:19 pm Post subject: Re: December 58 Ghia cabriolet lifetime restoration project |
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Rome
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Joined: June 02, 2004
Posts: 9653
Location: Pearl River, NY
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| Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2023 11:32 am Post subject: Re: December 58 Ghia cabriolet lifetime restoration project |
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Amazingly thorough and skilled metalwork on the Ghia!
Is the early '50's "pre-A" Porsche 356 getting a similar amount of metalwork? |
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DariuszPlich
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Joined: July 06, 2017
Posts: 60
Location: Polska
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| Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2023 2:25 am Post subject: Re: December 58 Ghia cabriolet lifetime restoration project |
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| It's great to see your relationship. You can see how the renovation should be done. Beautiful work. |
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TRS63
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Joined: December 17, 2017
Posts: 999
Location: Stuttgart - Germany
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Loren
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Joined: January 10, 2004
Posts: 1701
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| Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2023 9:16 am Post subject: Re: December 58 Ghia cabriolet lifetime restoration project |
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The Porsche 356 is getting a lot of work done on it too. Jason has three cars in rotation and each gets a week of work per month. There is my Ghia, the 356 and a split bus.
Jason has moved his shop closer to home and he will continue to work on my Ghia and see it through completion. |
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TRS63
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Joined: December 17, 2017
Posts: 999
Location: Stuttgart - Germany
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calexican
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Joined: June 11, 2008
Posts: 730
Location: El Paso, TX
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| Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2023 9:53 pm Post subject: Re: December 58 Ghia cabriolet lifetime restoration project |
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| It’s really an amazing thread. I love all the pictures too, and seeing the car in bare metal is really cool along side the Porsche. |
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sputnick60
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Joined: July 22, 2007
Posts: 3916
Location: In Molinya Orbit
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WrennMetallWerks
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Joined: December 06, 2007
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