NOOB Story. Got a 1 PO ’65 Coupe

[Karmann_65]

I'm getting back in the groove and have been cracking on with a few jobs recently.

The entire carpet is now installed except for the piece over the petrol tank (for the moment).

Petrol tank has been blasted and powder coated a nice shiny black (no after shot sorry)

Engine bay now has a tar firewall and all the wiring is through.

Dash top with imported grab handle and period radio are in.

I got a friend round to help fill and set up the all new brake system.

Exhaust box got a good clean up and high temperature paint.

I had to come up with a way to mount the Karmann side badge. Found some narrow plastic (fist tank air pump) pipe which with a bit of packing out was a tight fit over the two pins. A dot of glue ensured that it's not going anywhere.

A full set of new side trims and the original gutter trims got fitted. The plastic clips for the side trims were a bit of a nightmare as they didn't grip the trims very well. With a bit of careful scalpel work on each and every clip, I eventually got them to work. You know when you buy a model airplane kit and you have to trim all the little stubs off when you separate the parts from the kit frame. They were like that and all needed cleaning up or they just wouldn't work.

The rear view mirror had no sun visor retainers so I modified an spare old pair of Beetle ones. May not be "correct" but they work just fine. These are the small parts that are hard/impossible to find here in the UK.

At weekend I reinstalled the engine....

and created new battery clamps.....

As a final "little" job I fit the interior door top trims. As with everything else on this build I had to get creative to fit them. All my clips were missing so I ordered a bag of 50 black plastic Christmas Tree clips for 8mm holes and modified each one to fit in the back of the trims.

Looking forward to weekend and getting some more jobs off the eternal list.

[LVGhia72]

Nice. I like the color of the carpet.

[Karmann_65]

It's so rewarding to get parts back from paint...

This was the state of the side trim clips when they arrived. Where the chamfer pushes into the back of the trim, the excess was stopping the clips from clicking into place and had to be shaved off.

New headlight lenses arrived in the post and guess what? Even they required a non standard modification to enable the correct fit. Where the side light protrudes from the bottom of the lenses, I had to cut the holders back to clear the bulb grommets.

While fitting the door pull handles to the door cards, the glue on the leather gave way slightly so I broke out the awl and hand stitched across the hidden joint. Typical that it's the part of the handle that gets pulled on and takes all the stress. Better to fix this now that later. Really happy with the way this turned out though.

Time to install the door cards so with a full new set of metal clips and rubber grommets I set to. Despite all my careful measuring it then transpires that most of the holes in the new (home made ) door cards were a couple of mm out of position. Completely my own fault but that meant I had to extend the holes to achieve a fit. Not so easy when it's already covered in new leather but I got there eventually.
A tip to prevent paint scratches inside the doors is to fold some cardboard over the top edge of the door card until it's hooked in position on the window mechanism and then slide it out. Those top card clips can do untold damage to your paintwork!

[sputnick60]

[Karmann_65]

[Karmann_65]

I've been having a look at the wiring this weekend and tidying up a few loose ends. Namely the 9 pin flasher relay but I think it should be good to go once I fit the fuses. I plan to fit the fuses one at a time and systematically test each one as I go. Wiring is not my forte as you've probably gathered.

While under the front I installed the glove box which you may notice is quite bright compared to normal. That's because the cardboard type material it's made of was in a dire state of collapse. After some reconstruction work with fibreglass and a splash of paint it's now quite sturdy, which admittedy didn't help with the reinstallation. With a bit of pushing and pulling on the box edges it's in. Another of those jobs where you need to be both inside the car and under the front at the same time. You know what I mean!!
There are still a few bits to do under here. Fuel tank needs plumbing in as does a windscreen washer pump. After a good dusting session, I've to find/make a boot (trunk ) liner and drop in the spare wheel.

Much to my annoyance, I appear to have misplaced my long sought after '66 hazard pull button. Until it turns up (in the "safe" place I put it) I've fitted a slightly later button that doesn't look too far out of place.
To prevent the later button from affecting the 9 pin relay wiring that's already in place, I bypassed the relay it screws into so it operates exclusively as a switch but still flashes.

As yet the radio I aquired is untested but that's a challenge for later on.

[Karmann_65]

I've hit a problem with the hazard switch. While following the diagram for a 9 pin relay I seem to have everything correct and the hazards work as they should.
Only trouble is that the dash pull button does not illuminate at all.

After testing the voltages at the 9 pin relay I see that despite a full 12volts at pin 30, I'm only getting 7.69volts at pin -s (going to the dash switch). This appears to be insufficient to light the bulb.

Any suggestions?

[Karmann_65]

After failing to find the problem with my 9 pin relay, I came to the decision that a rethink was in order.

Armed with a selection of old hazard pull buttons, a later 7 pin switch and a 3 pin relay this is what I came up with.....

Using this wiring diagram....

Many thanks to Ian at "Aircooled Auto Elec VW" (here in the UK) for the superb diagram.

[Karmann_65]

More shiny (expensive) new parts arrived in the post.

I bought new headlights recently but couldn't get along with their odd looking, flat fronted shape, so these have now been relegated to the "spares" box.

We all have a "spares" box don't we?

These are so much nicer and in keeping with the shape of the car.

With the wiring all now done and the interior fully fitted, I finally got to sit in the car again after many years of waiting. The front seats have far more padding in them they used to so I've had to tilt them all the way back on the 3 position adjusters.

Stainless tail pipes are on order.

The last few bits of work under the car are getting ticked off the list. Heat exchangers and cables are now hooked up to the body and the new fuel line is on with the in line filter over the drive shaft.

Breaking all modern conventions and loving the stock ride height.

Another spanner in the works revealed itself yesterday. With half a gallon of fresh petrol in the tank, it decided to spring a leak. Two actually! Must be from when the tank was blasted prior to powder coating. A little concerning as to the condition of the rest of the tank but after a couple of tiny plug welds it all looks good again. Time will tell after a subsequent thorough leak check.

Big push now to get it up a running.

I managed to turn the car around in the garage so I could fit the second new check strap and door card with the drivers side wide open.

Painted the brake drums and couldn't resist getting the wheel bling on.

[restocal63]

You are doing an amazing restoration, keep up your good work.

By any chance do you have any approximate dimensions of the front kick panels and the metal strips which hold them in place, as they are missing from my car and karmann ghias are very rare in Malta.

Thanks in advance.

[Karmann_65]

[Rome]

Lovely color! Am glad you kept the original 1-year only Ghia hubcaps and beauty rings. I have not read through your entire thread but did a search for "1966" which had no results. Have you realized that you have a 1966 model year Ghia, and not a '65 per your thread title?

Your headlamps protrude a lot beyond the fender-mounted trim rings. This is usually due to generic "Beetle/Ghia" headlamp mounting brackets. Did you try fitting the used, original-looking brackets which you modified for the city light bulbs? True Ghia brackets with 141 part numbers bring the headlamp deeper into the fender bucket so that the outer edge of the headlamp is "nearly" flush with the fender trim ring. I looked in the Gallery for Ghia headlamps but could not find one where the lamp was adjusted so that it was parallel with the trim ring. If you look at (zoom in a lot) this '68 Ghia which I'm nearly certain has the same headlamp bracket as yours originally had, you can see how much less protrusion there is-

Trunk liner: I've seen repro liners advertised, which are made of a dense cardboard/card stock "somewhat" like the originals. But due to the many folds at the front, as well as the side "ears", the repros will likely not fit or look nearly as good as an original. The originals had a vinyl bound edge near the front edges. The liner was flat along the trunk floor over the gas tank, then made an upward bend as a cargo stop, and bent downwards with at least a few lateral folds. Here's a shot from 67 Florida Deluxe's fine '66 Cabrio where you can see a small bit of that edge binding. Also the surface pattern. The material had a waterproof coating, though if the material tore from age and careless loading, the base material could rot from exposure to moisture.

Here's what appears to be a repro. You can see the lack of that front edge beading, the gas filler neck does not have the liner behind it as an additional luggage protection, and most likely less lateral folds at the front edge. The side ears are proper height, as they fit into those two small bent-down J hooks just below the trunk seal. On my '64 Ghia, there is an approx. 1 1/2' x 3' mat under the trunk liner which helps to even out the gas tank topside reinforcement ribs. This factory-fitted mat is approx. 1/2" thick and made of a semi-dense fibrous material almost like impregnated horsehair.

Since you seem to be a resourceful fellow, if you attempt to make your own trunk liner, here's a drawing to start with (from AlienJohn). Your measurements will vary since this one is for a much later Ghia that does not have the notch for the tank filler neck in the front.

[67 Florida Deluxe]

[67 Florida Deluxe]

[67 Florida Deluxe]

I just went through the entire thread and you do some admirable metal work, Brian! The paint looks outstanding, too. Well done all the way around

-Kent
_________________
-Kent (BaT "daleallen")

OG member of the '67 Posse

A few of my toys, past and present
'56 Oval, '66 KG Conv't, '67 21-Window, '67 Bug, '79 SuperVert, '55 Pre-A Continental

[Karmann_65]

[Karmann_65]

[Karmann_65]

It's alive!!!!!


Link

An encouraging result after all this time. A quick static timing set, points and valves gap check, clean oil, plugs and leads.

Fresh juice and away she went.

[dc]

Woo-Hoo! Congrats!

Mine also had a first start in decades due to these strange times.
_________________
1963 Karmann Ghia

[Karmann_65]