The K_R_A_K_E_N_N : a 70 Ghia Convertible reinterpreted

[Evil_Fiz]

I know the default answer is "ALWAYS" but will I need to brace the body before I remove the outer rocker skin? The internal structural members will remain in place. My instinct is to brace fore and aft, across, and diagonally.
Can I get away with angle iron (bed rails) or should I opt for 1" square tubing? The bracing I have seen done has usually been square tube but the bed rails are heavy and on hand.

Three months or silence and now I'm all questions

Thanks,
Emil
_________________
“…It's not just about what's interesting. It's also about what's helpful, and it's helpful even if it helps just one other guy working on a Ghia.”
kiwighia68

See my build on TheSamba at:
The K_R_A_K_E_N_N : a 70 Ghia Convertible reinterpreted

[Evil_Fiz]

CORRECTION:
The Minster of Finance (Mom) has asked me to please post the correct age for my son. He is not yet ten, he is only nine yr. and nine mo. old. The original post has been corrected.

I hope this earns me the ability to sleep indoors tonight.
_________________
“…It's not just about what's interesting. It's also about what's helpful, and it's helpful even if it helps just one other guy working on a Ghia.”
kiwighia68

See my build on TheSamba at:
The K_R_A_K_E_N_N : a 70 Ghia Convertible reinterpreted

[Mellow Yellow 74]

[CiderGuy]

[Evil_Fiz]

Thanks guys for the info on the welder, gas, and wire.
_________________
“…It's not just about what's interesting. It's also about what's helpful, and it's helpful even if it helps just one other guy working on a Ghia.”
kiwighia68

See my build on TheSamba at:
The K_R_A_K_E_N_N : a 70 Ghia Convertible reinterpreted

[JaredJ]

My god....why does all this look familiar?

Great job so far!

[Evil_Fiz]

This explains the lack of rodent activity within the car as it sat for 23 years

I ordered a 16' endoscope camera today from amazon. In the mean time I got curious and it occurred to me I could shine a light into the top hole at the rear of the rocker channel and peek in through the inner/middle hole. Inside I saw what I thought was a wad of rodent lint and nest material. I stuck a hanger in and pulled it out but It took me a minute to figure out what I was looking at. There was more material in there so I went back in and eventually pulled out this chunk of desiccated snake skin. It looks like Copperhead skin to me but I am no expert.

I am looking forward to Sunday when the camera will be delivered. Stay tuned, same bat time, same bat channel.
_________________
“…It's not just about what's interesting. It's also about what's helpful, and it's helpful even if it helps just one other guy working on a Ghia.”
kiwighia68

See my build on TheSamba at:
The K_R_A_K_E_N_N : a 70 Ghia Convertible reinterpreted

[John Moxon]

[KGCoupe]

[vw.dodge]

Actually he was almost like
a pet around here, kept my storage building
and pump house mouse-free for years. I thought
he had left with the car, until one night he showed up
in my garage looking for another Ghia to take up residence
in. That is where I had to draw the line... :2gunfire:

[bobnorman]

There are a number of disadvantages to living on a large island in the North Atlantic, but also a lot of really great things- not having snakes is one of them.

Good job with the sandblasting, and great job your son did on the video. Looking forward to seeing more.
_________________
Air does not freeze. Air does not boil.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=289807

[kiwighia68]

[Evil_Fiz]

[vw.dodge]

Your skin is pretty old and it's hard to be sure, but I'd place my bet on a Copperhead, which seems to be what we see the most of around here. And most of them are a pretty good size.

[Evil_Fiz]

Since The K_R_A_K_E_N is over 40 Years old it was due for a colonoscopy
It took me a while to get the hang of my new endoscope camera but I was eventually able to shoot some video inside the left rocker and heater channels. Karmann must have anticipated the advent of small LED lit cameras because they provided convenient access at the rear or the rockers and heater channels. The video is SD because the App I used only shoots in SD and I did not notice until I reviewed the video on my computer. I now have an App that shoots in 720P HD.

It may be hopeful optimism on my part but aside from the snake pit and lint-like substances inside the cavities the metal and structures appear to be in fairly decent shape. It also looks like there is some kind of rustproofing coating on the inside as evidenced by the “pronounced orange peel” texture visible in the videos. Towards the end of the rocker panel video it looks like the damage visible in the pictures from a few posts back, page 5 – picture labeled “Driver Side Lower Rear Wheel Arch,” was limited to the outer skin and did not affect the rocker panel metal proper. For now, I am hopeful that I may be able to rescue most of the OE metal.

Has anyone been able to successfully clean out their rockers and heater channels? I am particularly interested in how I can remove the (what appear to be) egg shells and acorns from the valley at the bottom of the heater channels. That stuff looks like a moisture trap. I plan on having the body dipped so I imagine most of that stuff will dissolve but I rather “see” it gone mechanically before we attack it chemically.

Enjoy the carnage

Link


Link

_________________
“…It's not just about what's interesting. It's also about what's helpful, and it's helpful even if it helps just one other guy working on a Ghia.”
kiwighia68

See my build on TheSamba at:
The K_R_A_K_E_N_N : a 70 Ghia Convertible reinterpreted

[Mellow Yellow 74]

[Ian Godfrey]

I got a bit of stiff wire to scratch it all up, then used a piece of clear plastic hose that fitted in the inspection hole (15mm I think) and taped it to my vacuum cleaner. scratch, suck, repeat!
the clear hose shows when it blocks up
If it is all good, rust convertor, thorough dry and wax with a wand to finish

[vw.dodge]

From what i could tell using a light and a keen eye (with the rear inspection plugs and front mud sill removed ), everything inside looked rock solid with only surface rust. Try a blow tip with a long extention on your compressor hose to further loosen up dust and debris in there. You could even sandblast into the abyss if you want to go to the trouble of sucking out the media. Wurth makes a cavity spray once everything is cleaned up. Additionally, other than a couple of small patches on the rocker skins and the lower (forward of wheel opening) rear quarters you should be good to go. And of course a patch on the front apron, and replacement of the luggage compartment behind the rear seat with the provided donor section. All in all a good solid car in all the important places.

My plan had always been to replace the right rear quarter with a NOS panel, but perhaps the original can be saved as you mentioned. Although I had secretly hoped you would do a stock restoration, I am glad to see you are forging ahead in your own direction. Keep up the good work Emil, I'll be following this along.

[Evil_Fiz]

Updates have been slow lately and will probably get slower before things get better.

After watching the video below I decided to take a really close look at my compressor and what I found was both depressing and terrifying at the same time. I have abundant external rust on the underside that not unlike Ghia rockers is an indicator that things are much worse inside. I may open it up and take a look if I can find a 3/4" square driver to remove the end plugs but I am not hopeful that what I find will contradict what I already suspect. So now I have to save up to buy a new 60 Gal. +10 CFM @ 90 PSI compressor which is what I should have done in the first place. (Scott Doonan is right, "...don't be so damn cheap.")

I am going with that air flow rating because I am going to attempt to paint the car myself, not for economy but for personal satisfaction, and the lowest consumption HVLP gun I can find is the "Eastwood - CONCOURS™ Pro 2 Paint Gun and Accessory Kit" rated for 6.5 CFM @ 30PSI. They make a 4 CFM @ 29 PSI gun but the "HV" in HVLP kind of makes me wonder about its ability to truly deliver; more research is needed. I am very hesitant to sell the compressor knowing the shape it is in so I may just keep it and use the motor and pump to feed into the new compressor to reduce fill time and maybe get a CFM bump that will allow me to run a more traditional HVLP gun. The good news is that after blasting many parts on the car, including the complete chassis, I have gotten my money's worth out of the purchase.

I have not been able to find a quality compressor that will run in the 8-ish CFM range that my current 20 Gal. unit does so I am considering the "NorthStar Belt-Drive Stationary Air Compressor — 3 HP, 60-Gallon Vertical Tank" sold by Northern Tool + Equipment. It has 47 good reviews and appears to be a good compromise between industrial and hobbyist compressors. Free shipping is also a plus.

Any thoughts or suggestions will be most helpful as I search for a solution.

we're all in this together,
Emil


Link

_________________
“…It's not just about what's interesting. It's also about what's helpful, and it's helpful even if it helps just one other guy working on a Ghia.”
kiwighia68

See my build on TheSamba at:
The K_R_A_K_E_N_N : a 70 Ghia Convertible reinterpreted

[Evil_Fiz]

Against conventional wisdom, and the rantings of compressor snobs around the world, I have NOT purchased the 60 Gal. Upright compressor I was contemplating. After consulting with "Accounting," the resident voice of reason, I opted for this, Campbell Hausfeld Air Compressor, 30-Gallon Horizontal Portable Single-Stage 10.2CFM 3.7HP 208-230V 1PH (VT6271) instead of the one I had been looking at which was this, NorthStar Belt-Drive Stationary Air Compressor — 3 HP, 60-Gallon Vertical Tank. Both have similar reviews so my decision came down to the following:
- Accounting is by far a better decision maker than I am and she was in favor of portability over extra capacity. I was listing in that direction myself and I have found that her instincts are most often dead on.
- The portability comes into play because my mom has a barely used 2 car garage which will probably become a blasting and paint booth (more on that later.)
- The compressor will get occasional extended use (Paint, Blast, DA Sander) but will mostly be used for lighter duty (Tools, tires/tyres, cleanup.) The CH has an 80% duty cycle vs the NS's 60% DC.
- Garage space is at a premium. The 30 Gal. fits under the Ghia but the 60 Gal. would require creative rearranging of already limited space.
- The CFM of the "Death Tank" was just under what the new compressor puts out and was 20 Gal. rather than 30. Eastwood makes a few HVLP guns that work at lower CFM making either of the above options suitable. I was also able to media blast with the old compressor so I will be OK on that front.

The decision has been made, the order has been placed, and I am expecting delivery in 2 weeks. Now I'm off the junk yard in search of an F-150 radiator to use as a charge cooler between the pump and the tank.
EDIT:...and by radiator I mean A/C Condensor

During the downtime I have been forced to endure I decided break out Sketchup and design a modular paint/Blasting boot built out of 2"x2" furring strips and clear plastic sheeting. It is designed to fit in one garage bay and under the garage door rails. I have not fleshed out how I will do the roof section since I need to work out the placement of overhead lights. The modular aspect of the booth allows me to adjust the size without redesigning. it also lets me create a 6'x6' mini both, without a roof, to be used for small parts blasting and painting in the driveway. The panels will all have t-nuts installed to make assembly and disassembly a speedy process. Here are some preliminary sketches, I will probably create a dedicated thread when I build it.

Full Booth and Mini-Booth

Individual panel types

My next engineering marvel is an Octadolly based on the design found here: Restoration Design

Link

With information provided by sputnick60 I have created the following design. The octagon dimensions are pretty much set but the body mounting and for/aft dimensions will be adjusted once the dolly/rotisserie is built. Clearance on the sides is about 5 inches providing ample access to body panels. I will probably add my build information to the existing rotisserie thread in the bus section.

back in two week,
Emil
_________________
“…It's not just about what's interesting. It's also about what's helpful, and it's helpful even if it helps just one other guy working on a Ghia.”
kiwighia68

See my build on TheSamba at:
The K_R_A_K_E_N_N : a 70 Ghia Convertible reinterpreted