The resurrection of my 1960 karmann ghia

[Antoine_P]

Update, the body is back from the blaster!!
Here some views:






I am amazed how solid some areas are, like behind/under the back Seat:


Or the Engine bay:


Whereas some other areas will require „some“ welding






Stay tuned for the next updates!

Antoine

[Mr fixit]

All I can say is WOW Antoine,

You have done a great job because that is a real project and it seems the front has all the metal rust damage.

The media blasting sure will give you the details of what needs to be fixed next. Super work and I hope you keep us posted, it's one project that I have been following from the start.

TX
Mr fixit
Chris

[crystallographic]

Hi Antoine,
I am watching your project proceed along with much joy. You are the right man for this job, and I will enjoy seeing your progress in the next steps.
Success and Joy!

[Gojeep]

Any surprises?

[steve.murphy]

Looking good Antione, keep going!

[Antoine_P]

Wow, thanks so much for the support, it means a lot to me!!

So, next update: I decided that I will start with the front left

First thing was the top part which is connecting to the fender:




Bent some metal:


But it cannot be so easy as being straight, it is a bit curved as showed here:


So I made it to fit:


Then made the second bending, but here is also not straight forward:


So I played with the shrinker/stretcher and made it fit:




Then it was time for a cut:


Adjust:


Tacked in position:


And started tig-welding it (I slowly get confident with the tig welder and love it!):




Fully welded:


Cleaned/planished/in primer, but there was still some rest of the old welding points left and some holes to close:



Old welding points grounded down:



Holes welded shut:

Cleaned:





And in primer:



And from the inside:



Cheers

Antoine

[cliffrod]

It's great to see you making progress, Antoine. Thanks for posting.

[Chris_Hamilton]

It would be a good idea to brace those door openings before you get into repairing the rust around the cowl and other places.

Nice job btw.

[Antoine_P]

Thanks guys!

Chris, there are bracings at the door openings and the new «*cart*» where the body is (that was made to move it for the blasting) is holding it front and back so nothing can move there

So, next step was the air channel.
If you remember well, I already modified the repro back part and had started the airbox. But after another check , I wasn‘t satisfied with my work and started again ops:

So, Let’s redo it :wink:








And then adjusting and fitting check.. a lot of them:




Until I was satisfied and ready to weld the airbox together, starting with welding primer:


And welding the airbox together:


after welding it together, I did put a coat of primer inside to protect it :




And did a modification to the parts putting drain holes for water ops: (I know, not original but not that visible when assembled ops:






Then it was a matter of making the «*holes*» for the wiring harness, both on the body and on the airbox:








And welding the last bracket, as I won’t access behind it afterward for cleaning, primer,.. :








And it was finally time for some paint where I won’t access when it’s all welded:












I will of course remove the paint/put some welding primer where the plug weld comes but man it feels so good seeing some strato blue on that car!

Antoine

[dwmh]

Well done Antoine, it's hard to know where to start on a big job like yours, but you're well on the way. Keep it up.