The resurrection of my 1960 karmann ghia

[Antoine_P]

Small update on the right rear quarter panel..
When I did receive it, it was clear that it was full of bondo like the door:


So I started to remove it, with the fear of what is underneath:


But in fact it's better than I thought, only one dent some waves in the front where you can access from behind so I can save it:






Stay tuned,

Antoine

[Jaroslav]

Antonie. When I see it, I'd let it wash. You'll be sure. After your repair when you invest many hours of work and financial investments would be your work in safe.
A sculptor or mason repaired the car in front of you and the results are visible.

In my youth, a bricklayer who wanted to sell a car that had rust and large holes at the bottom. He tossed the trowel from conkrete to the bottom of the car and made the paint and sold the car to the "happy owner" .....

[Antoine_P]

I can only agree! that's the way rusted cars were kept on the road..

Well, while I was already working on this side, I also put a part of the front inner fender wheel back into shape
You can see here a dent in the middle:


After a bit of hammerwork:


And same here with the collision damage:


After a bit of planishing:


The rusted through front part will of course be replaced..

Antoine

[Jaroslav]

Antonie. Ask about the water technology. This is really need wash. I can ask here here, but there are many orders and the price is up to 1000 euros for a complete body. But you saw the quality. You have a foundation for long years to come.

[Antoine_P]

Yes, I have the offers for media blasting in hand that way I will really know what is left! I just want to be a bit further on the front part to have a sufficient stability for them to rotate it and reach everywhere.

[Antoine_P]

Last update here and we are more or less up to date

This part on the right of the rear seat had been cut and poorly "welded" together by a previous owner:






The bottom could be saved but the top was never gonna be nice enough so I decided to rebuild it from scratch 8)

First the removal:




And here we go:




Let's draw it:






A few tests for the beads:




And it was time to start:




Taking shape:




Fitting test:


Of course I repaired also the front part:






And it was time to weld all back together:




And in primer:




Stay tuned

Antoine

[Antoine_P]

Well, some updates are now ready to come as I finally uploaded some pictures

Let' start with one more step on the pan: the passenger side now can have a seat
First step was taking care of the seat position adjuster:


Positioned:


Welding phase:


Then it was time to weld the rail on the pan:


Then adjusting the second rail using the seat:


Welding:


Checking.. it fits


Now in primer:




The missing rail for the driver's side arrived yesterday so will be welded in two weeks..next week is a "break" on this project, as I am having a 4 day english wheel class
Stay tuned, I will make some more updates in the next few days!

Antoine

[Jack 1957]

Antoine, I admire your ambition. This one is going to take a lot of work but you're moving along nicely and doing good work.
Also, try reducing your picture size, they are bigger than my screen. Here's a good free resizer: https://www.faststone.org/FSResizerDownload.htm

[Antoine_P]

Thanks so much Jack! It really means a lot to me as I am far from being a restoration expert but took this huge project to learn and I am enjoying every minute of this journey!
Concerning the size: I will try my best but I am saving the pictures on the Website I found the most reliable and I think it gives the size

Antoine

[Mike Whelan]

Hi Antoine,

Where is the English wheel class?

I built a small 24 inch ew last year and am interested in getting tuition.

I'm restoring a 1952 Rolls-Royce for longer than I care to admit!

Mike

nr Trier