Ryan's 1970 Ghia Coupe Restomod

[rward011]

So, for the first time in many years, the car was back on its chassis with NO RUST!

Let's just say I had to straighten my hat when we decided to see exactly what she would look like back on the ground.

Mmmmm....camber

Up until this point, we were at around 150 hours with just 2 guys, some air tools, and a good amount of beer.

We probably spent at least 10 hours a day in my garage for two straight weeks.....and every hour was worth it

To give you a good idea, this is most of the metal that was cut and and replaced....its practically a new car!

....And here is how she sat after most of our metal work was done

Here is a bonus video of installing the rear air ride brackets:


Link

[c21darrel]

THAT is a lot of metal replaced.
Nice work!
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GhiaBuild
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=481184
1967 DC build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=693583&highlight=67+dc
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[bhartwell59]

good idea reversing the front bonnet. you're right, does look like it should've been done that way at the factory.
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'74 Zambezi green Ghia vert, autostick, 101k
'87 Jeep Wrangler, 4.2, 330k

[Yankees]

Great work, you are a master. I'm going to Pomona this weekend to see what's out there. I did a job similar like yours on a 53' Food F100.

[xzener]

Looking great. Love the hood hinge modification. Our KG's look very similar ATM. I'm still working on the front suspension and finishing up block sanding prior to paint. I have chosen to drop my air ride and go back to (almost) stock. Have an adjustable beam, and will be reindexing the rear.

Before narrowed/adjustable beam/

After, with air ride...

Good luck with the rest of your build. Will be watching it closely. I see your missing a headlight bucket... I had a hard time finding one myself. Good luck with that, last I looked, they were out of stock EVERYWHERE. Keep up the great work.
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My 70 beetle was totaled Now to build the Ghia I always wanted. Rest in peace Ruby, I will miss you. Hello <insert Ghia name here>!

[kiwighia68]

[Onceler]

Looking good! Keep it up, I'm in the middle of pretty much the same rust issues, so good to see how ur tackling these issues
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1972 Karmann Ghia

[rward011]

It's been too long since I've updated this thread, so here it goes!

After a couple of moves, she was in a place where we could finally tackle the rest of the body work.

Once we were satisfied with the fabrication of the brackets and cleaning up the rest of the welds, it was time to finally put some paint on the chassis.

It's definatly the small victories that helped us going....and this might have been the turning point of actually starting to assemble the car...not take stuff off.

Almost everything was either replaced or restored.

The major differences will be the 4 wheel disc brakes, new inner and outer wheel bearings, air ride plumbing, and new front beam.

Looks like the leafbug approves!

Here are a couple shots of the finished chassis waiting to be rejoined with its other half.

[xzener]

Looking great. Have you decided on a paint color?
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My 70 beetle was totaled Now to build the Ghia I always wanted. Rest in peace Ruby, I will miss you. Hello <insert Ghia name here>!

[rward011]

Sure did!....and that honestly might be one of the hardest decisions about this whole restoration.

Like most of us, I was flip flopping on certain color schemes. I tend to keep it simple with my cars (either Black, Silver, White), but this isn't just any car; it's my Ghia.

At first, I was dead set on a champagne silver, but after a couple of weeks driving around dealerships to see colors in person, I started to expand the search.

Happy to say I kept it in the family and chose Porsche Macadamia Brown Pearl

I will say that the picture really doesn't do the car justice, but it fit the timeless look of the Ghia when it is done!

[dawerks]

Insane amount of work and nice colour!
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"There is only one sin; disconnection from self."

[xzener]

Excellent color choice. Puts my POs ugly metallic gold to shame. That color will make the Ghia's curves POP! Same reason I chose a metallic.
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My 70 beetle was totaled Now to build the Ghia I always wanted. Rest in peace Ruby, I will miss you. Hello <insert Ghia name here>!

[rward011]

Well, with the pan out of the way....there was nothing left to procrastinate on except the body and sanding, and sanding, and more sanding.

We shaved everything we could in the rear engine department to make it look clean as possible which included deleting the fresh air filter stand, battery tray, charcoal canister, voltage regulator mount, and various tabs on the firewall.

I know in the near future that I will probably go with the gas struts in the rear and remove the springs to make room for dual carbs.


Thanks to the boys over at NuVintage in Denver, I was able to source another deck lid as mine was rusted out and warped.

Here is a picture of the same deck lid after lots of aircraft stripper and a wire wheel.

We wanted to have seamless panels between the body and the deck lid, hence the mud to create the perfect lines you see here.

Under Construction

[rward011]

The sanding continued, and with the rear of the car almost ready for paint we continued forward on the car.

Did I mention I like to be difficult/ stubborn?

I've always liked the way a '67 dash looked with the ignition in the dash instead of the steering column.

We've gone this far, so hell, why not? Let's shave the dash too!

Instead of trying to source and entire '67 dash, I decided to just fabricate an ignition cylinder close to what a '67 would look like. (I'm pretty sure the hole that used to be there was a dealer installed cigarette lighter that won't be missed)

[rward011]

Now, that the dash was shaved it was time to complete the sanding that was needed in the interior and front of the car.

Even though most of these areas will never see the light of day, it was important to us to make it clean as possible.

The front trunk would need a some cleaning up, since we shaved the fuel door and other various tabs that wont be used.

Since I'm going with an airride setup, it was important that I have access to the rear bags, so we created access panels. (the parts cut out will go back, as they are part of the rear seat)

[rward011]

Once we were finally satisfied with sanding everything, it was time to prime the car and final preparation ready for paint!

[rward011]

By this time, I'm sure we were a nervous wreck.

After hundreds of hours of body and metal work, it was time for ole girl to finally get the paint job she deserved.

We were fortunate enough to find a paint booth for rent in Loveland about an hour away from where I live in Denver.

The night before, we were planning everything from the drive, to how we would unload the car, to how we will take the pan off of the car and get the car into the paint booth.

It was almost surreal to think that this could be the last time that we would have to take the body off the chassis, and believe me we had that down to a science!

As most of you know, once the car is ready for paint, it might as well be an original Picasso painting....after all it will be priceless!

The next two days would be long and grueling, but it would be worth it in the end.

[rward011]

The drive home was probably the most stressful 60 miles of my life, but she made it back home!

The journey is far from over, but for once in this build I feel like like finally over the hump and a downhill battle from here on out.

[kiwighia68]

Beautiful colour combination you have chosen. I once saw a Porsche 997 Turbo cabriolet in those colours. A thing of beauty.

On your paint job, did you do seam sealing where the panels meet o the underside of the body? (Or have I missed it?) My painter guy made me do it -it took several days of working under the car, lying on my back.
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Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015

[rward011]

Really appreciate it Kiwi! I have followed your build for some time and bookmarked certain pages from your post for inspiration.

The car did get seam sealer underneath the pan and along the inside of the panels, but I must have been in the moment and forgot to take pictures of the process.

The only pictures I could find of seam sealer being applied are on the pan and the inside of the nose.

Using the painter's tape helped keep my OCD in check.