Quality of the repo noses? When to replace the nose?

[Zack1978]

Hi everyone,
After 20 years of ownership I have finally started the process of restoring my 72 coupe. The first step was to da sand the front end.
When I did the drivers side fender, it was ok except for the headlight area...which has Frankenstein welds and some rust. The headlight area needs replacing a few inches back from the bulb......but at least there was solid metal there. The pass side fender as also decent except for the headlight area. On the pass side the entire headlight area was constructed of fiberglass and filler.
Then I moved to sanding the nose. Well I realized that my car had been hit in the nose, a few times! Almost the entire ridge was built from filler, and there is even a very tiny crack in the metal on the ridge. I assume that the nose metal was worked many times so the metal is thin. There was also an assortment of small dents in the nose covered with filler.
So at this point where should I go? The John Kelly ridges are long gone. I guess I could weld the small crack on the ridge, but the ridge is still a mess. What is the quality of the repo noses? I assume that you must buy the air boxes separately? Should I chnage the nose or find a great metal guy...I am not a great metal guy! The lower half of the nose (under the spare tire) was also replaced at some time.

Thank you,
Zack
_________________
1972 Coupe

[Zack1978]

This is the nose I was thinking of....... http://www.karmannghia.com/viewDetail.asp?strMasterCat=905&idproduct=1570

Is the ridge nice and crisp on the repo panel?

Zack
_________________
1972 Coupe

[ernstben]

For that price, I bet you could find an OG nose section. Maybe give HOG or KGPR a call and see if they might have something like that? Or maybe cruise the classifieds? Something like this might work well for you:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1112128
_________________
Ben

'63 Ghia Coupe Project
'59 Panel Project
'56 Ragtop Project

[tisius]

[EPETREA]

So sad!!!

[Zack1978]

[Zack1978]

Also I took a very close look at the nose today, and the ridge is not as bad as I originally figured. With that said there is still a crack in the ridge, and it is misshaped in numerous areas. Any ideas?
With respect to the repo nose are they good quality? Any experience with them?


Zack
_________________
1972 Coupe

[Zack1978]

Bump....
I am still looking for info as to the quality of the repo nose. Has anyone actually ever used one? They go for $600.00, but for a new part it seems worth it. What are the pro's and con's to the repo nose?


Zack
_________________
1972 Coupe

[Marlonius]

You should post a few pics of your nose as it is today as well and see what advice you can get about repair. It could very well be easier to fix in situ than replace altogether - used part or repro.

Secondly, I'd lurk in the classified section here and be patient. People part out some pretty rust free vehicles from time to time.

Finally, some cons of that part - to answer your original question - you'd have to do significant welding - opening the nostrils and transplanting the underlying parts. You'd also have to add the horn hole and presumably the brackets for the horn. So, even if it's a perfect repro, it'll still be work.

My advice without seeing your car is to give it a few months of monitoring the classifieds here.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/search.php?...ton=Search

[Zack1978]

[Ian Godfrey]

see the last sticky directly above this thread

[Zack1978]

[Steve22]

[Marlonius]

You know, that doesn't look too bad to me. Personally, before I ordered anything or cut anything off that car, I'd first try to repair it in place. You literally have nothing to lose, but have time and money to save (gain).

Obviously you have the rust in the 12 oclock position on your P. side headlight, but you'd be dealing with that in any case. Assuming you can weld if you're considering an overall graft, I think you should be able to MIG up the crack and then do further massage.

I did a quickie search on your behalf, and the nose punch is well covered if you care to do the same. Meanwhile, a couple of my faves:

Great Post about noses, specifically ridge restoration.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3...p;start=20

And this one - great photos by 74 Autostick down the page - shows a repair that had a worse starting point than you have.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6326350&highlight=#6326350

PS: Your mirror base is on upside down - the mirror should be ore parallel to the ground.

Edit: I see Steve22 was typing the same thing essentially as me at the same time. Great minds I suppose!

[carl4x4]

The nose section looks quite good, I've seen some with a lot more damage that have been repaired than yours. I'd vote for repairing, it's probably less work than replacing and keeps it original.

[EPETREA]

Find a great metal guy, you will thank yourself later. If the nose doesnt have to come off you will save yourself a major headache.

[Zack1978]

Thank for the help everyone!

Here are some more pics of the nose damage. It is a bit harder to see since there is primer on it, but the pics are good quality....they were taken with a real camera. At this point there is no filler at all on the nose, just real metal and primer.
Would a pick and file be good to use here?

Thank you,
Zack

_________________
1972 Coupe

[Zack1978]

Also.......when I sanded the nose down I realized that it was patched near the bumper bracket holes on both sides. My car is a 72 and I don't think it ever had the bumper reinforcement tubes like the 73 and 74 cars did, correct?
It almost looks like the area where those tubes would have gone was welded over. These two areas were repairs, and not factory, correct?

Thanks,
Zack

driver's side

pass side
_________________
1972 Coupe

[Marlonius]

Good pictures.

It does look like you're missing something there. What bumpers did your car have when you got it? I've never owned a 72+, but I believe the 72-74 all had the same bumper with an extra circular hole and tubular "shock absorber.

As for your nose, I think some gentle metal work would get that most of the way back to normal shape. The ridge itself looks to be missing actual material. If it were my car, I might try welding that up, starting at the bottom. I'd use something copper as a heat sink such as a piece of pumbing pipe with the end pinched flat and then hammer rolled to replicate the inside curvature of the ridge. Go slow, all that. I'd do the welding first, then panel beating of the metal after.

When it comes to dents, one is often tempted to hit the high point of the dent first. In fact, you need to start at the outside of the dent and work your way in toward the center. Imagine hitting the last part that bent first and "undoing the dent" in the reverse order to which it occurred. I don't know if this makes much sense, it's hard to describe in words.

. Youtube is a great source of video tutorials for this sort of thing. I was shocked at how little force it really took when I had a friend school me on my own car.

[Zack1978]