O Ghia's Restoration Journey

[moogie32]

Oh, wow, Marc - she's really taking shape! The bumpers look awesome! You'll be cruising with the rest of us before you know it!!!
_________________
RIP HBB (1984-2009)
Du liefst so gut
Du warst so schön
Doch leider musst du von uns gehn

[Rome]

Excellent work on the rear bumper cleaning/painting and assembly. It looks like it sits flat on the carpet, indicating that it's level and not slightly bent. Did you chase the threads in the front of the blades with M8 x 1.25 mm tap so that the bolts fit easily? And the 2 small holes in the apron with M6 x 1.0 mm for the overrider support bolts? Anti-seize on each bolt's threads for rust avoidance?

To mount the bumper, I recommend that you loosen the bolts that hold the rear blades to the center blade and pry them apart so that the blade front ends point outward as much as the blades' bolt holes allow. Slide some winter socks over the front of the blades so that when you start to bring the bumper to the body, the blades won't contact the paint. Once you have all bumper points fastened to the body hand-tight, close the engine lid, step back about 5' and get onto your knees/crouch. Sight along the bumper blade upper edge and along the center towel bar so that the sight lines are parallel to the engine lid bottom edge, since you know that is level with the ground.

Then go around to either side of the car, crouch again, and view that the side blades are horizontal to the ground. Repeat on the other side. Make minor fitment adjustments by gently smacking the bumper with your hand. When everything is aligned, tighten all bolts so that the adjustments are firm.

[Vladiiiii]

Those bumpers look great, and the rest of the car anyway
That air filter housing is also perfect
Time for spring/summer
Vlad
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Vlad's 72 Ghia (Once in a Lifetime Restoration topic)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=9237746#9237746

[Marcdeb]

[Marcdeb]

[Marcdeb]

[Rome]

[Marcdeb]

[moogie32]

[Marcdeb]

[Marcdeb]

I wanted to post some findings on Bumper Carriage Bolts in case it might be helpful for others. I'm sure it's common that original carriage bolts are not always reusable. Here's some details to watch for if replacing these carriage bolts.

When my car arrived from the PO, the bumpers had just been assembled and put on the car, but everything was loose and I could literally move the bumpers up and down on the car. No big deal as I soon decided I would take it all apart for a new paint job.

While putting the bumpers back together this week, I realized that the new carriage bolts were not a proper match for the bumpers. The square shape below the dome was too long. The nut hits the end of the threads before the bumper sections are tight together. These carriage bolts are still useable if extra washers are used to fill between the nut and the bumper. I had a spare bumper so I compared the carriage bolts. I don't think these bolts are original either, but they seem to be a better choice as the square portion under the dome is much shorter and no extra washers are necessary. The dome on these is also larger which I suspect is more like originals.


Here's a picture of the hardware as it was installed when the car arrived.

Here's the two different bolts I have with the more appropriate carriage bolt on the left. The bolt on the right has a square shaft that is more than twice as long as the bolt on the left.

_________________
Marc
68 Karmann Ghia Cabrio Autostick
71 Karmann Ghia Cabrio

Previously Owned:
2011 VW EOS Hard Top Conv
2008 Saab 9-3 2.0T Conv
2003 Saab 9-3 SE Conv
2001 Saab 9-3 Conv
1998 BMW 3 Series Conv
1997 Saab 900 Conv
1997 Mazda Miata

68 Ghia Vert Survivor with 22,350 miles: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=768107&highlight=
71 Ghia Vert Restoration: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=726710&postorder=asc

[easy e]

The one on the left is aftermarket. The one on the right is original.

I think the nearly twice as wide/flat looking aftermarket ones don't look nearly as good as the original bolts. The original type stand nice and proud, like an old time hot rivet.

_________________
aka: Evan
Spreadsheet for Bus RPM, based on gearing & tire size (Excel format)
Searchable, click-navigable 1958 Bus Parts List

[Marcdeb]

[Marcdeb]

I started digging through all my spare hardware and I may have found an original, or correct, carriage bolt used on the bumpers. It is the bolt in the middle which has the smaller dome top as well as the shorter square shaft under the dome.

The bolts that came with my bumpers (On the left and right) are obviously new replacement and not a match to the original.

_________________
Marc
68 Karmann Ghia Cabrio Autostick
71 Karmann Ghia Cabrio

Previously Owned:
2011 VW EOS Hard Top Conv
2008 Saab 9-3 2.0T Conv
2003 Saab 9-3 SE Conv
2001 Saab 9-3 Conv
1998 BMW 3 Series Conv
1997 Saab 900 Conv
1997 Mazda Miata

68 Ghia Vert Survivor with 22,350 miles: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=768107&highlight=
71 Ghia Vert Restoration: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=726710&postorder=asc

[Big Bill]

I think you are correct, the middle bolt looks like some bumper bolts I have had to years. They came off of the bumpers of a 60 Rag top I had in the 80s, I often thought they were too short but with the single flat washer and nut they were perfect.

[Marcdeb]

[Marcdeb]

While the bumpers are on hold waiting for the correct original carriage bolts, I moved on to the Windshield Wiper Assembly. It was naturally quite dirty but surprisingly, the top end of the motor itself was very oily and greasy.

Useally Simply Green would do a good job on something like this, but for the top of the wiper motor, I had to use engine degreaser carefully applied with a small brush and the grease came off easily.

Considering where this car came from and how long it was in pieces (10 years), I'm not so sure that all these pieces are correct. I happen to have another wiper assembly from a 71 Ghia and the the nuts that go on the spindle do not all match up. I have a thicker set that hold the spindle to the frame and then a thinner set that goes on the spindle once it's in place on the car. The spare assembly has all 4 of these nuts the same thinner thickness. The thicker nuts happen to be the only hardware that has rust on it although it was a thin rust that came off very easily and left no pitting at all. Once cleaned off these larger nuts look like Stainless to me???

I decided to leave everything as I received it.

OGhia came with black wiper arms and blades. The 1971 Brochure I have clearly shows silver wipers which I prefer anyway so silver it is going to be.

_________________
Marc
68 Karmann Ghia Cabrio Autostick
71 Karmann Ghia Cabrio

Previously Owned:
2011 VW EOS Hard Top Conv
2008 Saab 9-3 2.0T Conv
2003 Saab 9-3 SE Conv
2001 Saab 9-3 Conv
1998 BMW 3 Series Conv
1997 Saab 900 Conv
1997 Mazda Miata

68 Ghia Vert Survivor with 22,350 miles: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=768107&highlight=
71 Ghia Vert Restoration: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=726710&postorder=asc

[rbsurfguy]

Looks great Marc, did the same to mine, just cleaned up parts well and the connectors, all work. At least it rotates when I test it!
Jeff
_________________
1971 Ghia convertible (Body off rebuild)
2019 VW Atlas 4Motion
2012 Passat-Sold


See my build on The Samba at:
Jeff's 71 Vert Restoration/Reassembly http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight=

[Trylon]

Was not planning on driving in the rain but was happy to have working wipers when I came home in some light drizzle from Lime Rock.
Seems that my plans and reality often clash.

Fun to see your car coming together!
_________________
1973 Porsche 914 2.0
1959 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia
1979 Volkswagen Rabbit
1973 Volkswagen Bus
1970 MGB-GT
1962 Oldsmobile Jetfire

More tomfoolery on
The Karmann Ghia Fever YouTube Channel!

[Marcdeb]