US style towel rail bumper installation *pic heavy!

[kiwighia68]

[chaas67]

Thank you very much! That gets me pointed in the right direction.

Appears the PO filled in all four holes, 2 rear and 2 front, which means I’m sure there are many more surprises in store for me.

[sputnick60]

[QRP]

I had the same problem fitting my front bumper, no hole in the body so I tried this short cut, my ghia is definitely not show quality so it wasn't a big deal, just screwed a stud into the bumper blade and slipped a pc of cut to fit fuel line to keep it from vibrating around. So far so good.
The rear will definitely need the holes.

[NoDents]

Mine is in the body shop, otherwise I would help you with pictures/measurements.

If still need info come Monday I'll get info/pictures
_________________
No Dents

1963 Bug - Sold in 1980
1966 Karmann Ghia Convertible - Stolen in 1988
1971 Karmann Ghia Convertible, resto/mod COMPLETED 10/2020

[sputnick60]

In the technical section is this Technical Bulletin A14 - Reinforced Bumpers for Karmann Ghia Coupe and Convertible. which hasn't previously been linked to this sticky.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/techbulletins/a14.php

Also worth mention is the difference between pre-67 and 67 to 70 where the trailing line of the rear wheel arch changed making the bumper corner at the rear shorter. The bumper corners are not backwards compatible. They will bolt up to the cars but the early bumpers will poke into the wheel opening of later cars.

Nicholas
_________________
'66 Karmann Ghia Cabriolet...
'65 Porsche 356C Coupe...
2005 Mecedes Benz C180 Kompressor Estate
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[chaas67]

[chaas67]

[chaas67]

[mcdonaldneal]

[YellowSplittie]

Here is a handy reference that I've used in the past. It helps if you are trying to find the correct corner section for your rear bumper.

[chaas67]

[chaas67]

Been working on the front and rear bumpers and am at the stage of putting them all together and as fate would have it, ran into a snag.

I was in the process of chasing the threads on all the pieces and realized that the rear bumper pieces did not have nut welded to the brackets at the end of ‘tail’.

Looking at the pictures above it sure appears that there should be a nut welded to the bracket. So the question is has anyone else ran into this and thoughts on how to fix?

I don’t weld, yet, but could JB weld it if that’s the solution.

Thanks everyone

[Legacy]

One option would be to use a rivet nut. If you are not familiar with them here is a link that shows what they look like and how to install one without the "special installation tool". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhzVDvnN_yM

I've used these extensively on car projects and they have worked fine. Only thing is that I don't know if you can find them with a metric thread.

[chaas67]

[dc]

You mean where it mounts to the body?
Look carefully at the picture of my '63 -
Here's the hole on the passenger side:

_________________
1963 Karmann Ghia

[Legacy]

My wife's 69 has holes in the back apron and braces attached to the underside of the apron.

May be a little hard to see in the pictures below but believe me the holes are there.

[chaas67]

Thanks guys that what I’m looking for. The PO filled them in and painted over them When they installed the bumperettes, which I’m getting rid of.

So the question is how critical is it to have the Rear override supports installed? Hate to go digging in on bodywork and cause paint issues but if it must be done than so be it.


Thanks all

[Legacy]

[chaas67]