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Basketcase
Samba Member
Joined: August 10, 2011
Posts: 636
Location: Ohio
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 Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 1:22 pm Post subject: |
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apparently VWs are not free of the "unobtainium" scourge of the old car hobby.
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'72 Karmann Ghia Coupe (the Boss's) |
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kman
Samba Member
Joined: November 04, 2005
Posts: 739
Location: Michigan
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| Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2014 8:26 am Post subject: |
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| Basketcase wrote: |
| apparently VWs are not free of the "unobtainium" scourge of the old car hobby. |
Yes. Aristotle was wrong when he said "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts." At least when it comes to old cars. |
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kman
Samba Member
Joined: November 04, 2005
Posts: 739
Location: Michigan
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| Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2015 4:35 pm Post subject: |
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| No real progress as of late, but I did drive it up and down the street today with the wife in the passenger seat. We both had big smiles on our faces. |
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kman
Samba Member
Joined: November 04, 2005
Posts: 739
Location: Michigan
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| Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 8:55 pm Post subject: |
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Getting busy. Hoping to finish this thing this month with the exception of the convertible top. Though I do plan on getting the frame ready for it.
The convertible frame needs some work. I got the hinges working and started to put it together. It folds up and down. I need to make a couple of connecter pieces, clean it up and refinish it. I have a partial front wood bow that Iowegen sent me. It is usable, but I need to carve out and glue up the rest of it.
I modified the original antenna bezel to accept the electric retractable antenna. It makes it look more original. It is pitted just like my bumpers.
I mounted the headlights and taillights and front signal lights and figured out all the wiring for that. Starting to look like I can use it.
I had to rework the left rear wheel well by folding the lip up. The 185 width tire was rubbing a little over bumps. Looks like I still have some painting to do.
I've been working heavy on the wiring. A few pitfalls along the way. I plugged in one wire wrong and it completely burnt up when I connected the battery. OOPS. Nearly had a fire but I reacted quickly. The emergency flasher shorted out and fell into a bunch of pieces on another occasion. Fortunately the spare one I had worked. Worst of all just as I got everything working properly I bumped the aftermarket turn signal lever with my knee and it t snapped in half with hardly any force. Arghhh!
My solution was to try and replace the lever in the new signal with one of my original levers. After much fussing around I was successful (so many tiny springs and a ball bearing that likes to shoot across the room). It actually works even better now.
I finally got all the wiring done and everything working. This was as neat as my skills and patience could make it.
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c21darrel
Samba Member
Joined: January 22, 2009
Posts: 8233
Location: San Dimas
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kman
Samba Member
Joined: November 04, 2005
Posts: 739
Location: Michigan
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| Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2015 6:03 am Post subject: |
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Repainted left rear quarter (tires fit now) and about 6 hours of polishing. All the electric works (except for clock) Ran it up and down the block. The tires need balancing but it went pretty well.
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kman
Samba Member
Joined: November 04, 2005
Posts: 739
Location: Michigan
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| Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2015 4:30 am Post subject: |
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Working on the side trim
Before
During
After
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CiderGuy
Samba Member
Joined: December 23, 2013
Posts: 1351
Location: Bucks County, Pa
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| Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2015 7:16 am Post subject: |
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Looking really good. Please post more pictures of the car.
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Cars Currently Owned:
1970 Karmann Ghia Coupe
1973 Karmann Ghia Coupe - Project car for sale
1970 Karmann Ghia Convertible (Body off restoration)
Timing is everything |
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kman
Samba Member
Joined: November 04, 2005
Posts: 739
Location: Michigan
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| Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2015 9:51 am Post subject: |
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| CiderGuy wrote: |
| Looking really good. Please post more pictures of the car. |
OK
Rear tire gap fixed. Close but not too close. While I was at it I added support to where the rear wheel wells bolt to the chassis as I realized The aftermarket panels did not have the double layer (no picture)
Front trunk area. I want to add carpet and finish it off in here. I will probably lay some foam and hardboard over the wires and order a carpet kit to match the interior.
Fuel and vent hookups. Keep in mind that whatever parts didn't fall apart in my hands or crack when bent, I reused. Sometimes I repaired and used them anyway.
I patched the front horn boot with a piece of old inner tube. I had a tire iron that I ground down a little to fit in the center of the Bilstein jack that came with the car. Also this is the only old tire that still held air for any length of time, so it became the spare and windshield washer air supply.
When I first go the car I bought a box of parts and this repro hood emblem came with. I carved a base out of black walnut and cleared it plus made a gasket.
A look at the engine bay. I'm not 100% sure that all the air stuff is hooked up right yet. I think it's a mix of parts from different years. I did run the metal fuel vapor tube from the canister up front to the one in back. This took care of fuel smell better than expected.
The rear end. I may switch to a duel muffler after I rebuild and install another engine I have. I like quiet and don't care about power on this one. I installed a 3rd brake light which tucks out of the way nicely and bought a new rain tray. I bought a new battery and found the old emblems and put them back on.
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CiderGuy
Samba Member
Joined: December 23, 2013
Posts: 1351
Location: Bucks County, Pa
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| Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2015 3:04 pm Post subject: |
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Car looks great, you must be very proud. Thanks for the pictures.
_________________
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Cars Currently Owned:
1970 Karmann Ghia Coupe
1973 Karmann Ghia Coupe - Project car for sale
1970 Karmann Ghia Convertible (Body off restoration)
Timing is everything |
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c21darrel
Samba Member
Joined: January 22, 2009
Posts: 8233
Location: San Dimas
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kman
Samba Member
Joined: November 04, 2005
Posts: 739
Location: Michigan
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| Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 2:14 pm Post subject: |
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| c21darrel wrote: |
Looking good!
What was your procedure on re-newing the side trim? It came out super nice.
Thanks |
Pretty straightforward.
I clamp these in a vice pointed up and push and hammer out the dents.
When it is near as good as I can get I sand the bad areas with 150 then move up the line with 240, 400, 800, heavy cut polish then fine cut polish.
The aluminum is very thin and is easy to sand through.
Speaking of trim I am looking for 2 pieces. The piece that is missing in the ad below on either side. They should be 20.5 inches long. I have a classified ad in but no responses yet. Cant find any in the ads. They can be dented up or whatever, just not cracked. If anyone wants to make $20 from messed up trim, PM me.
It's this WTB ad.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1838557 |
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c21darrel
Samba Member
Joined: January 22, 2009
Posts: 8233
Location: San Dimas
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kman
Samba Member
Joined: November 04, 2005
Posts: 739
Location: Michigan
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| Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 4:11 pm Post subject: |
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Hey thanks. I was looking for that ad. Used the wrong search terms.
Yes. I heat up rebar orange with the torch and hammer it. Do this multiple times and it gets almost as hard as tool steel. These two have lasted a long time. Also great to get to dents in hard to reach places. |
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kman
Samba Member
Joined: November 04, 2005
Posts: 739
Location: Michigan
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| Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 4:57 pm Post subject: |
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Was able to do some work on the convertible top frame.
I made a couple of bushings out of some cutoff tube from an aluminum bicycle handlebar. They flanged nicely and work well.
Had a couple of missing pieces on the frame. I made these out of 1/8 inch thick steel. When I got the fit right I heated them orange and quenched them to harden them.
Also had time to sand, epoxy and paint it
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kman
Samba Member
Joined: November 04, 2005
Posts: 739
Location: Michigan
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| Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2015 7:36 pm Post subject: |
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Reinstalled the frame today and installed the glass window. Its getting so I need to order a top.
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NOVA Airhead
Samba Member
Joined: July 20, 2005
Posts: 5225
Location: Richmond, VA
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| Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2015 7:00 am Post subject: |
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I have some pieces of original side trim. One piece is the lower for the driver's side rear quarter - 21 inches long.
Its in decent shape.
You can have it if you want - just pay for shipping.
Also the other pieces as well if you need them.
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Ghia Owner Emeritus |
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kman
Samba Member
Joined: November 04, 2005
Posts: 739
Location: Michigan
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| Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2015 11:28 am Post subject: |
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| NOVA Airhead wrote: |
I have some pieces of original side trim. One piece is the lower for the driver's side rear quarter - 21 inches long.
Its in decent shape.
You can have it if you want - just pay for shipping.
Also the other pieces as well if you need them. |
That is very generous. The ad that was posted earlier sold the pieces I needed and I could definitely use the drivers rear quarter as well as the passengers if you have it. I will PM. |
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grandpa pete
Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2008
Posts: 6426
Location: St. Petersburg, FL
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kman
Samba Member
Joined: November 04, 2005
Posts: 739
Location: Michigan
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| Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2015 12:56 pm Post subject: |
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Put a few more parts in. I may have to remove some of this when I put in the top, but I just couldn't help myself. Also I just ordered a top kit from convertible specialties. Black canvas with off white pinpoint interior. Yay! Definitely the biggest purchase I've made for the car yet (more than the car itself) I'm also having the wife get some insurance quotes so we can register it. I wonder how long its been since it's been registered. My guess is the mid 90's.
I'll be making the rest of the front wood bow and the middle bow out of poplar.
I'll be following this excellent write up of the top installation
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=389729 |
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