Fixed wrong year fender

[morgan8899]

This 1970 Ghia had the wrong year fender and was poorly installed. I think the fender was a 69 or later. Because the previous installer had to cut a new hole for the turn signal. It is was crooked and in the wrong place. There were also pieces of the original fender leftover, one near the bottom of the door and a piece of fender bead left inside the fender. The door didn’t fit right so he sliced the fender at the opening leaving the pieces hanging inside. You can see in one of pictures that channel for the hood gasket is smashed over and only spot welded in a couple of places to hold it in. If you look at the head light bucket. It’s also smashed over to hold it in. I Had to remove lots of bondo to reveal that instead of fixing the rusted areas the holes were just fill with bondo. He also left so much of the tire well section open to elements that it rusted out most of the lower section and rocker panel.

To fix another problem area on this ghia I purchased this partial fender along with the right rear section. https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=692927&highlight= I decided to get it because the hood channel was complete. Because I purchased this partial fender, I used a section of the old fender to fill in the gap. Along with a replacement patch panel for the lower section. Because the way the medal was bending I had to cut the section of the old fender into three pieces. To get the shape of the fender back to normal.
Did the best I could. Since I don’t have an English wheel or the skill to make a fender. It took six pieces to put this fender back together. Now to begin the lead work and the task of recreating the peak and valley of the fender and door. To get that signature ghia look.

[jeffrey8164]

The things we do for love.
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Volkswagen!
Turning owners into mechanics since 1938.

“Let he that is without oil throw the first rod”
(Compression 8.7:1)

[jeffrey8164]

Now what?
_________________
Volkswagen!
Turning owners into mechanics since 1938.

“Let he that is without oil throw the first rod”
(Compression 8.7:1)

[morgan8899]

I’ve replaced all the rusted area’s. I wanted to get it to good base starting point before adding the fun stuff.

In November I’ll pick up the suspension for AirKelwd. I think I’ll reverse the hood. Might even make it electric since I bought it without an engine.

[morgan8899]

So, the damage to the left side is more extensive then realized. After further assessment it looks like the original collision to the left front fender caused the forward door jam to move in and up. Pushed the rocker/heater channel to move in and up. Wrinkle the dash underneath the steering column (future picture to come). And snap the steering column bracket. I originally thought the bracket was broken because the pervious owner had lost the keys and broke it trying to move the steering wheel.

Since I’m a novice to body work, my attempts at, what I thought was the problem, were futile. (ok not that bad, but feels like it)
For instance, the door wasn’t hanging right. So, I had the hinges refurbished. That fixed the play issue but not the angle. It wasn’t lining up with the body lines. This I assumed had to be addressed first before I reconstructed the fender.
A replacement door jam and all its corresponding parts were not readily available. And, I do not have the tools to pull/stretch the body back into shape. Which is why I decided to modify the door hinge mounts.
I cut out the hinge bolt plate and trim off the bottom part. (No pics, sorry) Elongated the bolt holes and notched the bottom part of the jam so the hinge would sit lower. Then welded it all back into place. This fixed the door alignment.

Now for the working backwards part. I had already repaired the heater channel and replace the rocker. Surprise, it was to high and inward on the bottom of the door.

At this point I still didn’t realize the rocker/heater channel was push in. It’s on a slight curve. It’s not noticeable looking at it from the top down. It wasn’t until I rotated the body on its side, when I was working on another section, that I saw the curve. Insert “F” bomb here.

Thinking I just installed the rocker wrong I persuaded to move it down with heat and a long 2x4. That got it closer, but still not perfect. So, I cut it into four sections and move those sections into the right positions. Add a thin layer of body filler to smooth it out and it’s good to go.

Insert more “F” bombs here. That curve is going in! The frame with it’s new pans won’t fit. I’m going to have to cut the rocker again to relieve the pressure. Then using a jack mounted against the horn to persuade the heater channel (with the mounting bolt holes) to straighten out.

I need to put a laser line on it, but it looks like a 1/4”. Just enough that if I ignore it you would see it.

That’s my plan. I welcome any suggestions.

[c21darrel]

Concur, more F bombs.
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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
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[Evil_Fiz]

Kudos to you for finding solutions. As a fellow novice I feel your pain.


...we're all in this together,

Emil
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“…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.”
kiwighia68

See my build on TheSamba at:
The K_R_A_K_E_N_N : a 70 Ghia Convertible reinterpreted

[Mellow Yellow 74]

As someone who has replaced the heater channels with the body off but has not put it back on yet, this is a bit of a concern to me as well. I did a lot of measuring and checking but it is difficult to know for sure, particularly when using repro panels for both the heater channels and floor pans. I have not replaced the outer rocker panels yet so hopefully have a little wiggle room with respect to the door gaps if there is an issue.

In general body work on a Ghia is not easy because you can’t just unbolt and replace panels like on most other cars. But replacing Ghia heater channels is particularly tricky to make sure you do it right. Ideally you would do a trial fit of the body back on the pan before welding the heater channels but this is not easy. The alternative is to rely on the bracing at the doors, but the body is flexible when not sitting on the chassis at the normal mounting locations.

Keep up the good work Morgan!
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1962 Karmann Ghia
1974 Deluxe Microbus
1985 Caravelle (Vanagon)

[kiwighia68]

Mellow Yellow is right, I think. The panelbeater guy (Phillip) who replaced the heater channels on my Ghia was ultra-careful. He braced the door openings before he cut out the original rusted channels. Then he provisionally installed the replacement channels and put the body back on the chassis to make sure everything lined up. We did this twice before he was satisfied. Only then did he complete the welding.

I think the replacement of the heater channels is perhaps the trickiest job on our Ghias and I doff my hat in your direction for tackling this job on your own.
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Festina lente - hasten slowly
1968 Ghia named Emiko
Resto completed Dec 2015

[morgan8899]

[morgan8899]

So here are the pictures of the left and right side of the Ghia. The green laser line shows that the rocker is pushed in on the left side but the bolt holes are still stright. When I get around to mounting the body back on the pan I will try to push it over. If not I'll cut and re-weld.

[Olli from NJ]

Very interesting thread to follow. Thank you for that. I love the rotisserie. Could you show a couple of detail shots as to how you have the body mounted? And what laser did you use?

Olli

[KGCoupe]

[noexit]

This thread hits kind of close to home. I'm getting my stalled 62 project back in a couple of weeks, and it's been hit on the front drivers side. The doors looked like they hung right, but the rear door jam is pushed back on the driver's side. I'm really been second guessing my decision to restore this one rather than the 63 I have as a parts car.
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Rusty '62 L360 seeblau, L289 blauweiß Type 1 Karmann Ghia