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dc
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Joined: April 03, 2004
Posts: 1426
Location: Kitsap Peninsula
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 Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 9:11 pm Post subject: Re: '63 Ghia - Second Chance |
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Some seam stitching the other day - driver's side is prettier welds - thicker metal here:
Passenger side metal is thinner - harder to get a clean line -
Careful grinding should make both sides pretty good with minimal filler needed - so that's good!
Lower edge area traumatized me and I'm not working on it for a few days!
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1963 Karmann Ghia |
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Inchpincher61
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Joined: February 05, 2016
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Location: Germany
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| Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2020 10:52 am Post subject: Re: '63 Ghia - Second Chance |
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Well done man !! 
Its probably the best way to weld this area point by point just to avoid deformation due to too much heat. I did just the same when we reworked the nose. I hope there will be not too many pores or holes after grinding it down.
Keep going  |
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dc
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Joined: April 03, 2004
Posts: 1426
Location: Kitsap Peninsula
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| Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2020 7:34 pm Post subject: Re: '63 Ghia - Second Chance |
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| Inchpincher61 wrote: |
Well done man !!
Its probably the best way to weld this area point by point just to avoid deformation due to too much heat. I did just the same when we reworked the nose. I hope there will be not too many pores or holes after grinding it down.
Keep going |
Thanks!
Back at it tomorrow is the plan - more slow and careful- nothing looks warped or "oil-canned" at this point - whew!
I did a lot of moving around the entire panel and then only about 1" at a time.
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TRS63
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dc
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Joined: April 03, 2004
Posts: 1426
Location: Kitsap Peninsula
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| Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2020 5:40 pm Post subject: Re: '63 Ghia - Second Chance |
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Several more hours of work later...
Grind the welds carefully:
Seam seal with metal/epoxy
Careful use of polyester filler - the pro variety 
Primer Filler coat (over selected areas of self-etching primer)
It all looks really nice and flat - one of my best panel repairs ever
The parts that look crappy and uneven - under the driver's side vent and around the turn signals and the cruddy outer parts of the vents - are all areas that i didn't try to fix. I'm not going for perfect - the whole car would need to be blow apart for that But it's a weird way to fix a car...
More sanding, blending, painting, sanding, painting, etc. to go - but I'm happy with the progress so far 
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Marcdeb
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Onceler
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| Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2020 7:36 pm Post subject: Re: '63 Ghia - Second Chance |
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Nice work. Don’t be afraid of filler. Convex areas are the easiest to shape. As opposed to flat surfaces, it’s easy to spot waves on a bus.
Use 36 grit to shape the filler, and primer and finer grits to remove the scratches, not to shape. Keep up the good work!
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1972 Karmann Ghia |
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dc
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Joined: April 03, 2004
Posts: 1426
Location: Kitsap Peninsula
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| Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2020 7:49 pm Post subject: Re: '63 Ghia - Second Chance |
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| Onceler wrote: |
Nice work. Don’t be afraid of filler. Convex areas are the easiest to shape. As opposed to flat surfaces, it’s easy to spot waves on a bus.
Use 36 grit to shape the filler, and primer and finer grits to remove the scratches, not to shape. Keep up the good work! |
Yeah - true -
I like the filler I'm using and I may do work on the driver's side. Body work is a slow process and it's not always easy to be patient!
I am excited to get the bumper on this car
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Onceler
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dc
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Location: Kitsap Peninsula
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| Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2020 6:50 pm Post subject: Re: '63 Ghia - Second Chance |
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Another day and half of body work refining the driver's side under the vent area - it's better!
Another coat of primer - sand- a coat of sealer - and THEN-
some Dove Blue - which was great....
Until I ran out up near the top passenger side... started low on purpose and knew it would be close.... oh well - it really need two coats at least
Not sure if my paint place is open on the 3rd  Might be a couple days yet 
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dc
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| Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2020 11:54 am Post subject: Re: '63 Ghia - Second Chance |
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Second coat of paint is on :
Been working on prepping all the nose jewelry
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Rome
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Joined: June 02, 2004
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Location: Pearl River, NY
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| Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2020 7:36 pm Post subject: Re: '63 Ghia - Second Chance |
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| Second coat of paint is on : |
Sure looks good after all your grafting and smoothing. Will you paint the entire car with those custom-mixed spray cans, or will you attempt a repaint using a spray gun? |
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dc
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| Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2020 8:01 pm Post subject: Re: '63 Ghia - Second Chance |
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Thanks!
I will paint the whole car that color and finish but not with touch up cans- kinda spendy! I have a gun and compressor for painting big areas... but it will be nice to drive the car this year before I worry about painting the whole thing
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dc
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| Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2020 9:16 pm Post subject: Re: '63 Ghia - Second Chance |
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Done with the nose 
Well...mostly done - still gotta re-install the horns and fix the latch on the replacement hood
Really pleased with how it turned out.
Again - far from perfect - it's hard to know where to stop when you just do spot repairs
All the replacement bits- the nose/grill vents, emblem, bumper, signals are all used/worn parts that either came with the car or were bought to match relative wear and tear...
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Vladiiiii
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Joined: February 24, 2019
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| Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2020 10:20 pm Post subject: Re: '63 Ghia - Second Chance |
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Honestly? Looking great! Congratulations on the repair. And the new color has a quite vintage theme to it, too
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 |
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Marcdeb
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dc
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| Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2020 10:00 pm Post subject: Re: '63 Ghia - Second Chance |
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Wanted to get that nice script back on the deck BUT I was tired of looking at the yellow and purple paint in that spot. So I hit with some blue!
Also note the modern WA State tags - oh well
Messed around with an old NOS Sun 4K tachometer and transmitter box for 6 volt - 4 cylinder....
It only sort-of works  Very erratic needle movement with a temporary hook-up using alligator clamps and a 1.5 volt lithium AA battery in place of the "bad boy" mercury 1.35V battery it came with originally....
4K is a little low BUT it's a cool old tach - still in the box date 2 of 1962 ! MAYBE I can get it to work...
Quick dash shot:
Yeah - I know that's a Ford Ghia badge minus the red and blue in-fill - but I kinda like it there (it's just held with some glue)
My radio is a re-furbished unit that is bench tested to work fine - but I can't get anything but soft static in the car - bad speaker?
AND
I changed the oil today for the first time since the giant rebuild - oil looked good - typical first change look - kinda gray and sparkly with teeny-tiny metal bits from break-in. I used a new sump plate and drain plug 'cause I had a leak there before!
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sputnick60
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| Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2020 2:36 am Post subject: Re: '63 Ghia - Second Chance |
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| dc wrote: |
| My radio is a re-furbished unit that is bench tested to work fine - but I can't get anything but soft static in the car - bad speaker? |
Try bad antenna, then try missing link on the DIN connector joining the RF audio out to the power amp. At least you know the audio stage is functional.
There is often a trim capacitor adjustment on the radio at the back that matches the antenna and improves reception on AM radios. Ita about 1/8" in size and usually at the back of the radio accessible without removing the covers.
Nicholas
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'66 Karmann Ghia Cabriolet...
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dc
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Location: Kitsap Peninsula
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| Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2020 9:32 am Post subject: Re: '63 Ghia - Second Chance |
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| sputnick60 wrote: |
| dc wrote: |
| My radio is a re-furbished unit that is bench tested to work fine - but I can't get anything but soft static in the car - bad speaker? |
Try bad antenna, then try missing link on the DIN connector joining the RF audio out to the power amp. At least you know the audio stage is functional.
There is often a trim capacitor adjustment on the radio at the back that matches the antenna and improves reception on AM radios. Ita about 1/8" in size and usually at the back of the radio accessible without removing the covers.
Nicholas |
Great advice! I will try those ideas/investigate
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Rome
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| Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2020 11:35 am Post subject: Re: '63 Ghia - Second Chance |
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| Quote: |
| There is often a trim capacitor adjustment on the radio at the back that matches the antenna and improves reception on AM radios. Ita about 1/8" in size and usually at the back of the radio accessible without removing the covers. |
I remember that feature from AM radios I had in my VWs in the mid 1970's. There may be a small reference label on the radio body for this "trim" operation. By memory, the antenna needs to be fully extended, select a station ~ 1300, then turn the trim adjustment until the signal is strongest per the clarity of the speaker. |
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