1973 Karmann Ghia Restoration

[didget69]

...and I'd say that he lost interest.

bnc
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I never found the need to impress people with any mechanic certifications, trophies or track wins... unless it was for Mom to post on the refrigerator door.

[popoule]

good luck !! im gonna folow this one

[drehzahl7]

after a deployment to south east asia, ive been back for a few months.. but started school and been working a bit here and there.. sucks to see my ghia just sitting in the way in my garage.. today i decided to at least get it out of my garage.. at least the body... then ill start working on the body again.. i have too many toys.. got me a harley when i got back from asia and that kind of took my interest... but here we go again...
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Restoring my '73 Karmann Ghia

[drehzahl7]

thanks for the advice.. im again deployed.. should be home within the month..

i terribly miss my ghia.. lots of work to be done on it when i get home though..
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Restoring my '73 Karmann Ghia

[sparkleplenty]

I hate to break it to you but the frame head on your pan appears to be bent. I could just be the pics playing tricks with the eyes. If it is bent, it can be fixed. You will need to find someone with some good welding skills that has tackled one of these before. You will definitely want to have it fixed before you paint the pan or put it back together...Hopefully it's not bent and you will be good to go...-Russ
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'56 European Oval Ragtop-Stock
'56 Karmann Ghia Coupe-Stock
'59 Italian Series I Li150 Lambretta-Stock


"Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime."

"Only when the tide goes out do you discover who is swimming naked."

[turtle67]

hey what's up, it's probably too late to tell you, but make sure you keep all parts bagged, separated and take alot of pictures, you're going to need 'em when you put it back together, I'm working on my'67 almost finished, 2 year project so far.

[drehzahl7]

yeah, my long term plans are for a 60 gal 3.2hp craftsman compressor but my one car garage is very tight right now.. and this 11 gal compressor should be fine for now..
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Restoring my '73 Karmann Ghia

[Geardo]

[drehzahl7]

found a 2 hp/11 gal compressor for cheap on craigslist... Air tools here i come..
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Restoring my '73 Karmann Ghia

[EPETREA]

Just a cheap electric drill might get you by. If there are any harbor Freight stores nearby, they have cheap tools.. They wont last a lifetime but for what they cost you can buy 2 or 3 to do the job.

[c21darrel]

I used a propane torch often on my body metal. Its only for removing the bondo areas which are already damaged metal. I had no warping problems. No need to make it red hot just til the filler softens and scrape away. It would probably be worth buying an electric grinder as it will be one of your most used tools during this stage of your project. Luck!

[drehzahl7]

yeah, your right.. i have a fiber wheel but my grinder is battery powered and it only lasts about 10 minutes on a full charge and 10 mins worth is not much bondo.. i am worried about warping the panels but its either or you know? any other ideas? stronger chemical?

thanks!
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Restoring my '73 Karmann Ghia

[EPETREA]

Wouldnt use a torch if I were you. Too much of a chance to warp the panels. Check out the fiber wheels for stripping paint. You can get them at autozone, pepboys..ect.. the best that I have found are the 3m wheels.. seem to last a little longer. they work great in the wide open areas but do chew up pretty fast when you get too close to edges... or odd shaped pieces.. hope this helps.

[drehzahl7]

So this is as she sits right now.. I built the dolly, measured the right measurements, just from the wrong places.. so the dolly sits a a few inches too low to be able to roll the chassis under the body .. no biggie, ill fix it later..

ive been slowly working on scraping the paint and bondo off and its a bit frustrating.. i think im going to go buy the torch and heat it up and scrape instead.. the bondo seems to be a little thicker/deeper in some areas and it doesnt come off as easily with aircraft remover once its thicker/deeper.. so heres the pics i have for now..
as usual.. any ideas, tips, comments are welcome..

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Restoring my '73 Karmann Ghia

[drehzahl7]

today i got more paint off.. a lot more... so i decided to take a little break and head to the do it center... got myself a few 4x4's and rubber wheels... and i measured once, cut once... so far... but now its time for me to go play gi joe and go to drill.. so i think ill assemble the dolly for the body on monday... and hopefully take off the body on monday or tuesday...

i know im making very slow progress but i like to keep it as a hobby.. im in no hurry to get her running right away... so i do things myself instead of a shop and i save some green... ill post some pictures on monday..
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Restoring my '73 Karmann Ghia

[Loren]

It looks like you are doing a fine job. I would suggest getting a propane torch with an automatic ignitor to remove the bondo. If you can get to the back of the panel, like the nose section, heat the back of the panel and scrape the bondo off, just don't heat the metal till its red hot, just enough to soften the bondo. You can use if from the front side, it just takes a little longer. You can also use it to remove the tar boards, just use it on the back side of the metal, especially on the floor pans, might help to have a second person scraping while you heat the areas up. I would remove all the paint and bondo from the nose section and see what you have to work with. Since you can get to both sides of the nose you might be able to metal work it and get it back into shape, thought the nose ridge looks a little dicey. As stated above look at John Kelly's web site for great body work information http://www.ghiaspecialties.com/ He has gotten out of the Ghia business, but he does teach a few metal working classes and runs a great Inn with his wife on the Washington coast, right on the beach. I don't know if he is making the shrinking discs again or not. The last time I talked to him he wasn't making them any more, but he passed me on to the inventor of the shrinking disc, Wray Schelin, and I was able to get one from him along with a great DVD on how to use it. I have used it a little on my 57 Ghia, but I still have a long way to go until I master it. It's not that hard, just time consuming. If it were me I would practice on the nose and see where you get. Worse case senario you end up cutting it out and replacing it, but you get to lear a lot along the way.

[drehzahl7]

So after a little time off from working on her, i decided to give aircraft remover... and it is much better than my grinder i think.. here is what i got done today..

i found some rust but it looks like just surface (?) rust, it isnt very deep... im starting to get excited about taking the body off when im done going as far as i can go at home and sending it to a shop for them to get the nooks and crannies for me.. probably by sandblasting her ...

and while the body is at the body shop getting the last touches and getting painted, ill work on the frame at home.. which brings me to the following question.. how do i take the tar boards off? i want to just take a scraper to them but it seems like i would make a big mess that way.. how have you guys done it? again..thanks in advance for your advice...

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Restoring my '73 Karmann Ghia

[gregmporter]

When removing glass in a ghia: use a box knife/razor and cut the seal completely out around the glass. I too have cracked a ghia windshield and it really ticked me off. The seal is cheaper than the glass and in most cases you wouldn't reuse it anyway. Just cut it to pieces and you'll be able to lift the glass out with no restriction.
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You Tube Channel w/vids of the car's progress
http://www.youtube.com/user/gregmporter

1974 Karmann Ghia Cabriolet
1964 356C Coupe (in progress)

[72Ghia]

Stuff happens. I've broke a few on Beetles before. Just keep a lookout for another one. If you are still trying to remove bondo try to heat gun or hair dryer with a scraper. It's much cleaner as far as dust does.
Just dont let the sheet metal get metal too hot. Have fun !
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Bill

WTB- Billet center caps with Wolfsburg logo

72 Ghia Vert project
Bodywork http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=303542&highlight=
Re-assembly: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=4762737#4762737

72 Beetle Weekend Driver, restored in the 90's
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=353424

www.airsuckers.com

[drehzahl7]

i broke my front windshield today while removing it.. i think it was becuse of a chip it had already.. but its gone.. it was the original one too.. im kind of bummed out.. now i need to be very careful when i remove the rear one.. i just added anothe thing to my "to buy list"
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Restoring my '73 Karmann Ghia