Noexit's 62

[noexit]

I'm getting back into my Ghia and realized that I don't have a build thread. I had one at another VW website, but they've gone through some troubles, and all the old posts are gone, so I'm going to start mine here.

I wanted to get it all in one thread so I can keep myself motivated by seeing everyone at once, and remind myself how little I've worked on it. I started in 2007 around the time that Roy Grelland was finishing up his project, and it became my benchmark. Now about 4 years later, I've barely gotten anywhere...

Way back in late october 2007, I bought a "clean, straight, rust free" 62 from a guy in Idaho. It might have been $800?

I drove from just south of Seattle with my dad, to the south eastern corner of Idaho, taking turns driving, to pick up the car. My dad and I gave it a "through" look over in the barn, decided that it was a lot less work than the '59 I'd turned down a few weeks earlier because of my dad being scared of all the rust, and watched the guy start up the 36hp and back it out. We decided it looked solid, and started to hook up out tow bar. At almost exactly the same time, while I was under the car and my dad was above running wiring for the lights, we noticed that the front end was not symmetrical. One fender was narrower, and the ridge was much pointier than the other. It's hard to see in this pic, taken right after I got it home, but you're looking at where the bondo has started to be taken off.

We talked about it while the guy was trying to find the title, and I confronted him about it. I'd specifically asked him over the phone if it'd ever been in an accident, had it's nose squished, etc. He told me that it was clean and straight. I said that I was about ready to turn around and drive back home, and he basically said something akin to "that should buff right out". Really he said that it should pull right out with a hydraulic frame ram, but it's basically the same.

Fearing that he wasn't going to make the sail, he told me that he had a Ghia front end in the back. Looking at that, I was convinced that I had enough parts to piece together a solid front end.

It's kind of squished from him letting a shed collapse on it...

[noexit]

So I got it home, and started tearing into it.

Took all the glass out, stripped the interior and trim and started taking a wire wheel to the body.

Discovered all kinds of nice rust. Neither rust free nor straight...

[noexit]

Started taking apart the rockers:

Sold the 36hp to a guy who I also lent my tow bar to. He never brought it back. (If you're on here, bring it back please!!!)

Built a rotisserie that allows me to spin it about 180° and removed the pan.

I decided that I needed some more body metal, and found a '63 for $500 in my home town. If it weren't for the fact that an entire quarter of the car has been badly cut off and welded back on, I would have scrapped the 62 and started working on the 63 instead. I actually got enough spare parts from this car to pay for itself and for a lot of the '62. Time to start selling the spares I guess so I can pay for materials...

[noexit]

It's now two and a half years later I think. I'd just moved to Seattle when I bought the 63, and all the Ghia stuff is stored under my dad's car port.

Now to Yesterday! I finally have a space of my own to work in. It's a small garage, but it works as long as I keep it relatively clean. My dad brought my tunnel and pans up and yesterday I built some saw horses to put it on. Time to start this project again.

[Ian Peterson]

alright, ballard! I live in Spokane. the more Washington ghias the better! keep us posted

[scottz]

Word! Washington Ghias! Keep up the good work!

[NWGhiaGuy]

I'm another Ghia guy from Bellingham.....

Check out the Mt. Baker Vintage VW site - www.mbvv.org

[noexit]

I'm finally getting back to my Ghia. haven't done much since my last post. I'm not sure what was taking me so long removing my old pans two+ years ago, as I've been at it for one afternoon and have all the old metal off. I've finally ordered some Rust Bullet, weld through primer and seam sealer to clean up the tunnel and put new pans in. These things are pretty ill fitting and are going to need a lot of trimming to go in. And that's not even mentioning the slots I have to weld up, or the fact that the seat tracks don't lay down flat. I wish I had the funds for Klassicfab's floor pans. They look really nice! They didn't even exist when I bought these though.

[Brassneck]

Great to see you're getting back into it! I'm in Shoreline, with a '69 coupe...if you ever need any help...holler!

[Basketcase]

don'tcha just love old car sellers? keep at it!
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'72 Karmann Ghia Coupe (the Boss's)

[noexit]

[Basketcase]

I did the long drive once. I drove 7 hours one way to get my road runner. I told the guy send me pics o everybad area, and unless I find something you didn't show I'll be bringing the car home. Luckily it worked out.
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'72 Karmann Ghia Coupe (the Boss's)

[noexit]

It seems like everytime I post to my build thread, it's an "I'm back at it!" post, but here I am again. I finally getting together a good working shop, and am also to a stage in my life where I can get a quote from a contractor to upgrade the electric panel in my house so that I can put a 100 amp sub-panel in my shop and be like "F**K, that's expensive!", but also be able to suck it up and pay him.

So I've spent the last month putting in an attic ladder to store the parts, tearing out a wall that for some reason divided the space in half, and building a workbench.

Then then I went over to my parent's house where it's been the last 12 years.

And there's the parts car behind it. I'll pick that up early next week.

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Rusty '62 L360 seeblau, L289 blauweiß Type 1 Karmann Ghia

[jeffrey8164]

Welcome back!
When I built my second Ghia the first time, I worked on it incessantly. I was paying for the shop space so I was more motivated to get it done.
Now I’m doing a refresh and have my own garage so there’s no pressure. Even though I’m anxious to get it done, I still seem to find other things that get in the way. I’m close though.
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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)

[TRS63]

Welcome back! Looking forward to the next steps, as I am also in the middle of a "nose surgery" on my 60..

Antoine
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Antoine
My 62 ragtop daily driver:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=728873
My 914 restoration&lightweight project :
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=9698432#9698432
Resurrecting a 60 ghia : https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=713906
My 52 Standard Zwitter :
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10086685#10086685

[noexit]

I spent way too much of today getting my 63 parts car into my other garage. At one point, I'd taken the the steering knuckles and lower torsion arms off, so there were no front wheels, so we used a trailer dolly to mount, and layered a few scraps of plywood with all but one drilled the size of the trailer ball, and used that under the frame head to push the car out of it's resting spot and onto the trailer. That probably took an hour. Getting it out was much easier, and being able to turn the front dolly wheels almost 90 degrees really helped to maneuver it into my garage. This car will be mostly cut up. At some point, it was hit in the rear left quarter, and a new quarter panel was crudely welded in. It's a good quarter, but I won't be needing it, so it will go toward saving someone else's ghia. I'll only be using the front end. The dash, doors, hood roof and entire rear end will probably be other people's donors. Over all, the rest of the car is more rusty that my 62 is squished. You can kind of see in the picture how out of shape the rear window opening is.

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Rusty '62 L360 seeblau, L289 blauweiß Type 1 Karmann Ghia

[sputnick60]

I notice you are not putting your photos up here on the Samba. This will ultimately lead to problems with your thread when photos disappear from where they are now....and they will.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6

Thanks
Nicholas
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'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!

[noexit]

I've been thinking about this for a long time, and I've realized that I'm never going to finish this project, so it's time to sell.

I got this car in 2007 while living at home on my second round of chemotherapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma. Some of it followed me around while most stayed at my parent's house. It motivated my search for a house with a garage, but still, I haven't touched it in years. It's just taking up space. I'll post it here, Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace probably, but I have no idea what to sell it for.

I see a few projects posted in the classifieds that are maybe similar. I have the 62, a 63 parts car (or maybe someone wants to use that as the base instead?) and 1/3 of a 62, from the nose to the dash. All pretty much in the condition pictured here, all indoors or under cover for the last 15 years.
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Rusty '62 L360 seeblau, L289 blauweiß Type 1 Karmann Ghia

[c21darrel]

Best of Luck. Youre about to find out the value of a project.
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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!