Restoring a 65 Ghia in India

[c21darrel]

Later ghias, 68+ had the brake reservoir located at the dash. The holes also was the path to the M/C.

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GhiaBuild
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=481184
1967 DC build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=693583&highlight=67+dc
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[bnam]

It's been over 5 years since my last post on this thread. I did get the KG running well.

Rebuilt engine
Rebuild pedal assembly, shifter, cables
New brake drums in front, new cylinders, dual MC conversion
New wiring works harness
New headlight buckets
Repaired the welded in rear quarter windows with original pop out windows with correct trim

Then, other stuff - a '66 Fiat Pinnifarina cabriolet, cancer, and a 52 Citroen Traction Avant got in the way of further progress.

2 years ago we moved from our rented house to an apartment - was meant to be temporary as we had bought a house in the same neighborhood and planned to renovate it. Had grand plans of a basement garage etc - but the plans kept increasing in scope. In the meantime we loved the apartment. So we decided to rent out our house as-is and stay on in the apartment which we then bought. But then, I had no garage to work in.

Luckily I had a retained a portion of my mom's property nearby that had an open garage. Once I convinced my brother to remove his junk from there, I set about enclosing it and building a workshop for myself. Have put in a 2-post lift, an industrial air compressor, and have gas, arc, mig, and tig welding machines. I also hired a good body guy to start working on the 52 Traction Avant which was a piece of junk when I got it.

The body work on the traction avant is coming to an end soon. So, we'll now restart work on the KG. I've ordered pans from Thailand - they have been stuck in customs now for nearly 10 days - hoping to get them in the next few days. I've collected a bunch of body parts - used and new over the past few year. And recently, I came across Jurgen Wagner and have just placed an order for more panels from him that should get here in the next 3-4 weeks. By then we should be ready to start stripping the KG.

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1971 1302LS Convertible (RHD) owned since '74
Click to view image
1965 Karmann Ghia Coupe - under restoration
1966 Fiat 1500 Cabrio (with 1600 Twin cam)
1952 Citroen TA 11BL

[John Moxon]

[bnam]

Started work on the Ghia again. We’ve stripped it down. Now building a rotisserie following the plans posted here recently.

Some pics of the body…

The parcel shelf seems to have been fabricated in a prior repair. The rear edge including the vent is still original, but the flat portion and front edge is not. I know that the correct shelf has rounded corners on the left and right ends. If I could get some measurements of a correct shelf, we could try to reproduce it more accurately.

The rear window has also been repaired. Are these measurements correct?

Thanks,
Byas
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1971 1302LS Convertible (RHD) owned since '74
Click to view image
1965 Karmann Ghia Coupe - under restoration
1966 Fiat 1500 Cabrio (with 1600 Twin cam)
1952 Citroen TA 11BL

[bnam]

_________________
1971 1302LS Convertible (RHD) owned since '74
Click to view image
1965 Karmann Ghia Coupe - under restoration
1966 Fiat 1500 Cabrio (with 1600 Twin cam)
1952 Citroen TA 11BL

[bnam]

Removed the rusted pans. And opened up the tunnel. Meanwhile examining all the crusty metal around the bottom third of the car.

I have new pans from Thailand and other metal panels from Wagner and elsewhere. Probably need a few more. Will also need some help with measurements.

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1971 1302LS Convertible (RHD) owned since '74
Click to view image
1965 Karmann Ghia Coupe - under restoration
1966 Fiat 1500 Cabrio (with 1600 Twin cam)
1952 Citroen TA 11BL

[bnam]

Pan is complete. The pattern at the rear was different from the original - which I had remnants of. So, the rear was cut off the attached to the original rear pattern. The tunnel was opened up and a new fuel line installed. The entire frame was sandblasted including inside the opened tunnel. Then we applied Wurth rust converted and finally painted. While we had the tunnel open, we installed the new shift bushing and reinstalled the shift rod. We also had to replace the Napoleon hat.

With the pan complete, we moved on to fitting the pedals. The stamping for the stop bracket was in the wrong location - too forwards. So after test fitting the pedals we found the bolt location for the stop plate needs to be about 65mm from the front cross frame. This is more than what is shown on a 70KG diagram that's posted somewhere on this group (which shows 40mm). To ensure that the stop plate could not twist, we had to extend the molded "rails" between which the stop plate sits.

The stop plate indentation on the RHD side is at 55mm on these pans. Btw, the pans were sourced from Volkstory in Thailand.

With the pan work going on, I got working on the front beam rebuilding. I used the factory drawings to have a maching shop build me these:

They are used for driving the bushing and the bearing to the correct depth. The second one is for the lower bushing/bearing on the 66-on beams (I didn't need it).

Completed front beam

The upper portion of the kingping seems like a trap for water/dirt and resultant corrosion.

Was there ever a plug offered? I tried one of the VW plugs, but it was a bit small. I think a plug like this might be nice. Will see if I can 3D print a pair.

The new grommet for the clutch and accelerator cable also has a hole for the older choke cable. I want to figure out how to seal that hole and also seal the gap around the accelerator cable to prevent water going in. While doing the pan I realized that these older tunnels did not have a drain in them. So I want to prevent any avenue of water ingress.

I'm now working on cleaning and painting the transaxle. Looking for a nosecone with reverse switch to transplant onto my gearbox so that I can fit a reverse light in the future.

I also need to look for a cover the tunnel opening in the rear. I thought I had bought one but could not find it. Will look in the classifieds.
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1971 1302LS Convertible (RHD) owned since '74
Click to view image
1965 Karmann Ghia Coupe - under restoration
1966 Fiat 1500 Cabrio (with 1600 Twin cam)
1952 Citroen TA 11BL

[Evil_Fiz]

Nice work. I like your preservative thinking.

Do you have a link to the beam factory drawings you mentioned above?

Cheers,
Emil
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“…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

[bnam]

Emil,
The drawings for the factory tools - VW767 and 768 are from the Technical section of the Samba which has the factory drawings for the tools.
Byas
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1971 1302LS Convertible (RHD) owned since '74
Click to view image
1965 Karmann Ghia Coupe - under restoration
1966 Fiat 1500 Cabrio (with 1600 Twin cam)
1952 Citroen TA 11BL

[bnam]

With the pan ready, I've started installing the Bitumen underlay mats.

It was my first time installing these mats. I was worried that if the mat did not seal properly to the floor (heated with a heat gun), it would trap moisture. By the time I got to the right side mat, I had gotten better at the process and am confident that that side was sealed well. On the left side, I may go back and put a thin bead of black silicon caulk around the edges. Now I need to do the rear pieces.

I'm still awaiting new bearings to complete the rear axle. In the meantime, I did a strip down and measurement of the steering box. It had been leaking from the seals, but was otherwise fine.

I build a jig to approximate the factory ones - to hold the steering box, provide a precise location for refitting the drop arm, and to be able to measure the +/-5 or 11deg movement that the manual suggests for checking play and adjusting. I also machined the tools for installing the seals.

The axial play in the roller was very good (under 0.04mm) and the worm and bearing surfaces looked good. There was excessive play in the adjusting screw which would require a thicker shim to correct. So, I'm having a few shims of different sizes wire cut and hardened. Should have those back tomorrow. I've ordered some Cornhead grease - it won't get here till the 20th.

I'm also having an adaptor plate machined so that I can have the wheels mounted and balanced at the local tire store. They don't have an adaptor for the wide 5 wheels.
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1971 1302LS Convertible (RHD) owned since '74
Click to view image
1965 Karmann Ghia Coupe - under restoration
1966 Fiat 1500 Cabrio (with 1600 Twin cam)
1952 Citroen TA 11BL

[Rome]

Your redone pan looks fantastic, considering how rough the original was-

Is that dual-port engine in one of your photos intended for your Ghia, or for another VW? Is it a 1300 or 1600?

[bnam]

Thanks, yes the pan has come a long way. The Body is as bad as the pan was. Let’s see how that goes.

Yes, that’s a 1600dp that came with the car. I rebuilt it and it was running well. I do have a spare 1200 I may rebuild. This 1600 case has brass “shims” under the crank bearings - I guess perhaps the case had been bored too much so the brass inserts bring it back to spec. I wonder how durable it is. Good thing is that the coefficient of expansion of the brass is close to that of magnesium. Still, I also now have a spare 1300dp case that I may use instead.

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1971 1302LS Convertible (RHD) owned since '74
Click to view image
1965 Karmann Ghia Coupe - under restoration
1966 Fiat 1500 Cabrio (with 1600 Twin cam)
1952 Citroen TA 11BL

[heimlich]

[bnam]

Yes, the bearing sit on the shims. The shims are screwed into the case. It could have been done to fit the case to the bearing or maybe case had been bored out already. It seems to work - engine runs well. But I certainly haven’t put many miles or stress on it. And that bothers me. That’s why I’m looking at alternatives.

Most vintage cars here don’t get driven much. The repair will probably be ok for a car that comes out once a month. I do drive my 71 on long trips 1800km round trip is the longest so far. I’m tempted to take a car upto Umling La - which at 19300ft is the highest motorable pass in the world. Won’t take the KG for that but I would want to do 5-8hrs or highway driving in a day in the KG.
_________________
1971 1302LS Convertible (RHD) owned since '74
Click to view image
1965 Karmann Ghia Coupe - under restoration
1966 Fiat 1500 Cabrio (with 1600 Twin cam)
1952 Citroen TA 11BL

[heimlich]

[bnam]

[bnam]

Work on the front side - replicate the original fresh air ducts, rebuild the front inner fenders, wheel floor, nostrils, and repair and refit the front nose section.

Work continues slowly on installing the tar mats. Finished the rear half of the tunnel

Also, I made an adapter so that I could get the wide 5 wheels balanced. Anyone done this? Did you need to chamfer the center hole? The conical fittings used on the tire balancer seemed to have a 30deg (ish) taper.

Byas
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1971 1302LS Convertible (RHD) owned since '74
Click to view image
1965 Karmann Ghia Coupe - under restoration
1966 Fiat 1500 Cabrio (with 1600 Twin cam)
1952 Citroen TA 11BL

[bnam]

The body on my car has a lot of rot. We've started with the front section. The front portion of the inner fenders - I've got two replacement panels. The upper edge of middle section of the inner panels on both sides have been repaired multiple times and no longer are accurate reference points. So, this made positioning the two new front inner panels very tricky. Unfortunately, I got no hits on my request on this forum for measurements either.

Luckily, I was able to get a friend to lend me his 68KG to take measurements off of. It's an ex CA car that has several CA style mods done to it, but retains most to body intact.

The critical measurements for the panels were the height - we measured the top rear corner from the mounting surface of the fuel tank, a stamped ridge that needs to be parallel to the front cross brace of the car, and the front gap between the panels (which we measured on the reference car as about 60cm). We screwed 2 wooden cross braces of 60cm each to hold the gap between the two panels constant, while we measured diagonally to ensure both panels were aligned equally from the centerline. It took us a day and a half to get this right.

The reference car:

We now need to build the top 6 inches of the middle portion of the inner fender. These are curved slightly and need to match the opening of the trunk. The inner edges of the trunk opening on the body are also rotted and repaired poorly - so we will rely on the reference car to confirm the dimensions.
_________________
1971 1302LS Convertible (RHD) owned since '74
Click to view image
1965 Karmann Ghia Coupe - under restoration
1966 Fiat 1500 Cabrio (with 1600 Twin cam)
1952 Citroen TA 11BL

[bnam]

The pan is back on 4 wheels. The steering box was rebuilt with a new roller adjustment screw shim, new seals, and cornhead grease. The breadbox nose was transplanted with a later one with reverse switch. Installed original unsplit axle boots and rebuilt the rear axle with new bearings and seals. I realized I should have bought new rear drums - they measured 234mm. So for now, I’ve just mounted the old rear drums without any pads etc - just to get the wheels on.
_________________
1971 1302LS Convertible (RHD) owned since '74
Click to view image
1965 Karmann Ghia Coupe - under restoration
1966 Fiat 1500 Cabrio (with 1600 Twin cam)
1952 Citroen TA 11BL

[Rome]

A big milestone to have your pan revived and clean, and being able to roll it around!

It looks like your seat rails are the correct "wide distance" style for '68 and earlier Ghias. Were the original rails salvaged and welded onto the replacement pan halves, using your actual seats as installation guides?