Isky's KG... Back from the Dead

Right! Thought it was about time i showed off my latest Karmann project. Now she' not pretty, but she's solid. Unlike my other Ghia this one has hardly any rust. Quite a bit of surface rust but who cares about that (for now) 😉 PATINA ROCKS!!....oh and the rear deck lid needs a bit of work but is definitely saveable.

Now im far from a wealthy person which is why i buy the true do upperers (plus i like a challenge)....The major problem with this baby is that a previous owner had cut the wheel arches ready for fat tyre flares but never finished them. The car has been sitting in a shed undriven for about 17 years.

Its been done up with a professionally made alloy dash face plate, alloy fire wall and nice alloy engine surrounds. It also has new upholstery etc....But ill probably change all that over time after the body has been worked on. I still need to install my front and back windshields and chrome molds so might be making a call to 1 or 2 people from this forum 😉

So far ive just been tinkering a bit getting it drive worthy so i can eventually register it and drive it to tafe to work on in the coming months once my panel beating and car resto course begins. I took it for my first burn down the street today and she's flys!! My sunnies made a nice windscreen...

I was told by the previous owner who had it in storage for 5 years, and who didnt know much about it, that it had a 1200 engine, but after posting pics on this forum of the engine have been told it's most likely a 1600...Whoo!! hope so.

http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=77241

anyways hope you like my new ride!

Anthony

p.s By the way when i say it has new upholstery with all that alloy added, im speaking about the last thing that was done to it before it was set aside for approx 17 years. By the guys who were going to race it but never did.



the first pics were taken on the day i had it delivered....the later pics i took today.
















Pics i took today........

Your becoming quite the Karmann Connoisseur Anthony 😀

For one minute Anthony I thought your car had been chopped then realised the windows were missing 🤪 its amazing how without the windows the side profile looks really off.

ha ha i know....i seem to be getting quite a collection happening. You know for the past 10 years since i saw my first Karmann ive been quietly looking for a Ghia but could never find anything for under 10 grand. Then all of a sudden when i make my mind to seriously find one i get 2 cars thrown at me at bargain prices....i couldnt say no 😂

I totally agree about the off profile with no windows! I so badly want to get them installed so i can have the real deal.

Looks like you're making good progress. Hope you keep the pics coming.

Looks like you are in for some fun mate, that has to be the wierdest quarter replacement ive seen on a ghia, patch it up, slam it and drive it mate, you can always do the full resto some other time but you will probably find another 2 by that time so you can do a really good one while you drive the daily one🙂

I hear ya Rexy...My plans exactly. Im just going to keep working on it and if nothing else presents itself ill be happy with what i have. Considering what i paid im just going to have fun and take a few risks i think mate. Hey if its the "weirdest quarter replacement" youve ever seen on a Ghia perhaps you want to come down and become part of history by working on it with me??!! Kidding....but feel free 😀

At least i still have my red one i can take a few templates from. Ive decided to form the guards myself rather than buy full front and back fender sections. Ill just take my time.

Check this guy out. He does exactly what im after....and on Karmanns!! inspiring stuff



DVD on its way 🙂

thanks kg1962!

ill definitely post more pics as i progress 🙂

Yo Rexy i just worked out what "Slam it" means! Hell yeah, sounds good to me!


....hey all i started my welding course today, awesome stuff!

That is exactly the sort of work I do. I do restorations and customs in metal finish, and new panels made for Austin Healey, Porsche 356, Ferrari 365 GTB, Iso, Aston Martin etc. Steel or aluminium. I love seeing what the other guys do to. It is very rewarding to spend 500 hours on a car and create the finished product from flat sheets of metal.

Hiya Helbus!

Yeah i was so stoked when i found that guy. I couldn't believe it. Im not an idiot and dont think it'll be a walk in the park, but its inspired me when most others including most of my friends just laughed at me for even thinking i could. Hopefully his DVD will arrive tomorrow. I envy you....

On a brighter note everyone.....l got my horn and a few other electrics working today....HELL YEAH! and my wiper motor must be a 12 volter cause it didn't blow when i fired it up! Shweeet....

hey isky, post a pic of your other one too so we can see how bad it is🙂
Slamming your car will hide a bit of rust too😂people have to get on their hands and knees to see it down there😂

Lol! I never thought of that....even more of incentive to "slam it" . Pics on their way....

For those who didn't already know this was my first find. But because of the work involved for this poor novice has become a parts car.



What ive used on it so far...or what will probably happen with it.

-Ive used the nose grills for my Chocolate car.

-Ive swapped over the chrome door handles for my chocolate cars painted black ones. Even swapping over the lock mechanisms with the black ones which i stripped back. I never had the keys for the red one so at least i can lock the doors still.

-Ive taken the nice bumpers off and put them on the chocolate car.

-I also want to put the red cars faultless back and front windshields and nice chrome "T" molds on my chocolate Ghia and replace them with its glass and "C" Chrome molds. The Chocolate windscreens are pretty good but have slight wiper wear and the back chrome isnt as nice. Just waiting for some more rubber seal advice for the "T"section molds, as well as if the swap will work considering old Reds are cracked and brittle.

So realistically i havent had to use much of my Red 1960 karmann at all. Im glad to have it because i might need it to form the guards on for my Chocolate Ghia.

Eventually id like to take the engine out to keep and sell it. Hopefully i might get a couple of grand, who knows 🙂

Oh yeh ive seen that one before, so is that the one with good floors?By the look of the sills you would think the floors would be bad and you would think the factory sunroof🙂 would have leaked over it too

Geez your quick Rexy....I edited the above post with what ive used this car for so far since receiving your post.

No surprisingly the floor looks really good. Better than the chocolates. Ill try and take for pics of it within the next hour to show you and get your opinion. Plus my RACQ mate Drew recons all the drums are quite new etc. The sunroof is still in tip top shape. There is a bit of rust around the front windscreen though. I doubt that water ever got in. Besides even thought the pans look good someone has still put in the fiber glass pans inside the car so that may have protected them.

Rexy or anyone interested ive added pics of both my Karmann chassis on my original "changing karmann chassis thread"....

http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=77894&page=1#pid724953

SO WHATS THE PLAN MAN?!?!

Well a couple of nights ago i made the mistake of searching Karmann Ghia on here and seeing every ones awesome cars. It actually depressed the hell out of me at the time. Comparing mine to those i saw that is. Then i walked outside and saw my little baby sitting all alone in the carport. I suddenly was in love again and remembered that because she isnt what most think as beautiful, she is to me (naaawwweee...) and the fact i have a Karmann all of my own, something i thought would never happen, is all that matters.



Anyways for those that are interested i thought id reiterate what it is im planing to do in the near future, what it is im wanting to achieve long term (maybe), ask some opinions, and show what ive done so far....as well as titillate you with some more pics.

Firstly as most of you know ive decided to go my much loved "Rat Rod" look. Ive also decided to Slam the hell out of it after finally working out what the word "slam"actually means.


Over last weekend I started sorting out the electrics which proved to be pretty bloody easy. My dad who initially rolled his eyes when i got my car was suddenly on board and excitingly showing me all this cool stuff. (Geez i wish he was a panel beater ;)

This first pic is similar to what im going to try and get my karmann to be like in the immediate future (or at least within the next 12 months). First i want to sort out the wheel arch problem. It looks like ive source two full rear Ghia wheel arches for only 250 bucks each...Whoo!! Apparently they are in good condition. Ill be going to check them out this weekend.

So it really comes down to this, do i want to make custom flares? or do i want to go the slightly easier route and stitch on some already fabricated rear panels? Ill know more once my instructional dvd turns up on 'Karmann Flares for the beginner'... but think ill take the easier option. Once ive fixed up my arch delemer ill maybe look at the pans. Even though they look crap the inside fiberglass is solid as, so im not in a great rush.
















Finally my much wanted gear knob turned up! Im not sure if ill use it but ive always wanted one since the day i saw it so who cares...it can sit on the shelf if i decide to go the 'T bar'...or ill use it as an umbrella handle and have the narliest umbrella in town

Btw do people use the 'T' bars with Manuals? Im sure ive seen them on manuals...looks great but it doesnt make sense. Pretty sure the General Lee on the "Dukes of Hazzard" had one.




Now opinion time?

What do you like better? Should i use my already existing upholstery. Which is new by the way from 17 years ago, just never used. Or should i use my newly acquired Californian Potato sacks for that 'real rat look!?' Hmmm tough one...opinions appreciated guys. Also what seating should i use? The ones original ones from my Red Ghia or the bucket style racing seats that came with the car?









and finally just for fun i thought id show you what id love to get my car looking like in the long run. I have a couple of car spray painter mates i can call on but think i might need the services of an air brush artist. Ive always hated the air brushed patina look but if its not overly uniformed could probably deal with it. Hey! i might even do it myself by slowly adding colors over time and watching them fade and rust in style ;) Anyway who knows.

Thanks for lookin!!







oh! yesterday i finally got my steering wheel correct. Since fixing some of my electrics including the horn, each time i turned the wheel my horn would go off. I had to grind down the bottom lip of the wheel (red part) because is kept making contact with the steering column...now its all good :D

Only problem is i don't have the horn button for that wheel. I really like it as well so if i cant find one think ill just leave it and use the bare wire as a horn...just adds to the effect ;)

wow!how did u make those pics mate?btw, u know u can buy newwheel arch panels dont u?$250 each sounds a bit steep?

Thanks Steve,

Really? i thought 250 was pretty good. Someone on here offered me a full back 1/4 for $2500 a couple of months ago...then straight after someone else offered one to me for $700.

Your talking about the repair panels right? I worked out to fix my problem i need at least 3 of them. Check out the pic below and you can see that ive lightened the back panel so you can see the cut under it.

The actual wheel arch panel (No.2) ive looked into, and on this particular side of the car the cut is so great it is still not wide enough. There would be a gap id have to fill with another piece. Besides the drivers side 1/4 looks to be pushed in a tad so replacing the whole thing would be better i think.

I worked out to get all three of these panels delivered from cip1 will cost me approximately $350. So $250, and only having to weld one piece each side sounded pretty good.

But im not a panel beater by any stretch and you are. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks mate...especially if it can save me some money!


As for my pics! i did them in photoshop. I have two websites that require attention from time to time so its a useful skill to have...and its very enjoyable to do. If you ever want anything done mate just let me know. I love doing it. Same goes for anyone. I'd never charge, its just lots of fun 🙂 Plus you can really get a good idea of what you want to achieve.

If you are getting a full side panel then 250 is cheap yes, i thought the little wheel arch section was 250, have you tried the guy in wa?

yep im talking about the whole back quarters. I think even including the tail light section.

I tried calling that bloke after i got my first car and his phone just rung out for days. Ill see how i go with the panels ive found first...

the guys name isnt george by any chance is it?

nope....do you know someone else who has some?

UPDATE....

Rito! well today i showed my ongoing commitment to my rustic old Karmann. I woke having to make this decision....

Should i drive down to Tamborine mountain, strap my wings to my back and soar to the clouds with the wedgies.....or should i start to pull apart my first ever brake system....Who won? you guessed it....Greasy hands brakes!!

SHOULD I DO THIS ?????



OR SHOULD I DO THIS ????




----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Well to be honest pulling apart my first set of drums proved to be pretty damn rewarding. Not only did i pull my first ever brake system apart i also removed my first ever master cylinder. The master cylinder seemed to be in pretty ordinary condition and im pretty sure ill be replacing it next week. Not sure what its out of but like a lot of part in my car its not original.




The other thing Ive decided to do is replace all my Chocolate karmanns (good car) drums and wheel assembly with my red cars...Old reds look to be in tip top condition where as my good cars are a little drab. I found lots of muddy hornet nests inside the drums etc. But if you don't think its a good idea let me know.... One minor prob is on my good red karmans drums there seems to be a tiny bit broken off where one of the adjustable rotors is. I don't think it'll be a problem so im ploddin ahead...

Anyways i was pretty DAMN!! impressed with my dedication...

Till next time!


MY RED KARMANN




MY CHOCOLATE KARMANN



ps. yes im aware the pin springs that hold my shoes on in my last pic aren't present.... ;)

good work!

I had the same issue with the broken bit off on my type 3 wagon rear drums. (the little metal holder stip to keep the toothed wheel from 'wobblin out of adjustment)

5 mins with a set of tin snips, scrap engine tin wear, a hammer, flathead, vice and a welder... and pesto! [Exactly the same setup as urs, just different scale/size. the red ghias brakes look good. If u can mock up sumfin quickly it would be easier than removing the other drums and rebuilding followed by new wheel seal kits etc]

by the way, ebay is awesome for new brake cylinders (both master and slave) and bearing kits. if u buy enough of em at once to do the whole car, it justifies the postage costs from the states and still ends up cheaper.

do note that the master cylinder in the states will be for left hand drive, the metal tube outlets will be completely opposite. but for $29 for a new one, i took the brand new seals, shaft and guts etc and transferred it onto the old casing. worked out awesome, and again still cheaper. equivalent to a rebuild kit. all u need to do is remove a circlip and the whole internals come out 👍 Finish the casing off with paint and its like new.

Are you serious! I didn't know you could do that to your old master cylinders...i mean i knew they could get reconditioned but didn't realize people did it themselves. That's an awesome tip! thanks man! Where's that circlip? Oh i see.... at the end. So does the inners come out when its removed? Shweet!

Well you know i could weld that piece on with my newly aquired oxy welding skills ;) lol (pat on the back for me...) but i don't have the welder yet. Planing on getting a mig as soon as i can afford it.

And yes i shop on ebay all the time! Your right, you can save a bundle!

Anyone know what the above cylinder is out of originally?

isky wrote:Are you serious! I didn't know you could do that to your old master cylinders...i mean i knew they could get reconditioned but didn't realize people did it themselves. That's an awesome tip! thanks man! Where's that circlip? Oh i see.... at the end. So does the inners come out when its removed? Shweet!

Yup! the inners will spring out. there is a bolt in the top of the cylinder, its a stopper. take it out too and the end circlip u mentioned and volla! check the insiders of the casing to make sure the edges aren't too worn, if not ur all good!

I learnt this by playing with it after my new shiny american master cylinder disappointed with the non-right hand drive capability.

as to what that ur master cylinder's off, i dunno. excluding the rubber boot, looks alot like my bugz! i wouldn't know though.

good work with the oxy! i neva used one before. all i could afford was a cheap gasless Mig, good brand though, and its cheap price was still expensive for me lol. but to re-mock up that bit will be so much easier, in my own opinion.

Nice....so whats the brand of your mig? How many amps? is it a plug in and use or did you have to get a sparky out to run a separate circut? My oxy instructor said if i get a 150-160 amp mig it should cover most of my needs. Ill check Bunnings later this week. I got given a new compressor a week ago which should come in handy.

SIP brand, think its the 150 amp. replaced my a pillar and both wheel wells with it. + a bit of the sills. great allrounder, and it does plug straight into mains supply with no worries. the only concern is it sets off the circuit breaker on 4 way power extensions (u know those power boards with the black button on the side?? those ones...), so plug straight into the wall.

for the thick guage stuff (such as cutting and turning my front beam) i used my 100 amp arc/stick SIP welder. seems to go much more nuts than the mig... but anything like body work it turns it into cheese....

150 amp mig will do ya fine!

Geez mate you sound like you know your way around a welder!....i might be calling on you to keep an eye on me when the time comes 😀 Ill go searching for one later this week...and yes ive heard SIP is pretty damn good.

Update: I dont think ill be getting those full back quarter panels. They weren't all id hoped for. Actually i might get one side and do the rest of the wheel arches with rust repair panels from cip1 like i demonstrated in a previous pic some post ago. I like these guys cause i can get the deluxe upper rear wheel arch in the correct original shape...plus the price sounds reasonable.

hows this going?

mate ive been flat out with work for the past two weeks which is why i havent been on lately or put up any updates. We're going to put the old master cylinder back in hopefully this week after having a good look and thinking its probably got life left in it...

Once ive done that and spent a little time on the rear wheels im going to take it for a spin!

Did you check the inside of the master cylinder for pitting in the bore,this is common and will cut the new cups out very quickly.We use either new or resleeved cylinders. Cheers Les

We found a place that would resleeve a cylinder for 140, but it was going to cost 207 for a newy so we decided to use the original seeing it didn't seem to have any visible rust. If it doesn't work out when installed it won't be a big deal replacing it. I think I'll just get a new one from 'micks' I guess. Can you get a better idea of wear by taking the clip off? I just looked down the break line holes and it seemed pretty clean.

By takin the clip off you can look straight down inside, and even run the finger a bit.

once degreased and clean, it should be shiny. you will see if its pitted or not.

Rito! so ive had a month or so off for work commitments and am now raring to get back into it. Today the master cylinder went back in. Next week im going to swap the rear drums and shoes with my red Ghia's newer ones. I also got a the rear wheel kits from Micks a while back which will come in handy. Then ill bleed the lines and get the brakes up to scratch.

The U.S exchange rates are looking pretty sweet at the moment so ill be doing a bit more online shopping as well. Cip/ebay watch out!

So yeah question for everyone?? My drivers side door is sliding on and rubbing against the bottom sill. There seems to be about 1cm play in the hinge if i lift the door up and down. Is this normal? and can i fix the door rubbing on the sill by adjusting the hinges? Seems pretty straight forward but thought id ask 🙂

Cheers!

the alloy hinges are prone for wearing out, you can drill them out a little and put larger pins and sleeves in them or just order another set

thanks Rexy...so are they alloy?! I didn't realize alloy was around 50 years ago. That last statement probably shows how dumb i really are lol.

Ill try adjusting first, if that doesn't work ill try the set on my other red KG, if that doesnt work ill buy newies...

thanks

I had my hinges redone at Vintage Vee dub. All four cost $480🙄
you can send them away to the US and get House of Ghia to do the refit for about $70USD each Plus 2 way shipping.
Nicholas

bloomen heck! had no idea a small hinge was so exy...cip1 sell them for 45 (us) but it cost another 45 to get it shipped. Im pretty confident ill get by with adjusting, or using my others from my parts car...they seem solid enough 🙂 I actually also need the door alignment wedges as well.

On the ghia, if the hinges are at all loose they will soon fail. It will be better to cough up and get refurbished ones... the repro ones break. When you get the alignment wedges .... try find the OEM ones..... the WCM ones fall apart after a year🙁 .

I was surprised at the expense of refurbishing the hinges here in OZ... But I had commissioned the work before asking for a quote.....I'll be more careful next time.

BTW what sort of glider is that? I've been using a C2 for a while now & lovin' it. (I'm HGFA advanced rated)

thanks for the advice sputnik...

I fly a Sting, but also have a S4 moyes. My Sting is my fave though, i love Airborne gliders. I want an C4! Ive been flying since about 2004 but don't go as often as id like. Where do you fly?

isky wrote:

Just a heads up on a potential issue you might have here....
I bought a bunch of these rear quarter rust replacement panels only to discover they are for 1967 and later...which is after the shape change and shorter bumper. In brief... they don't fit for 1966 and earlier cars.

Nicholas

Sputnik hi, Thanks mate that bit of info could have saved me some grief seeing im almost ready to purchase. I know a bloke around here who has been doing a car the same age as mine so shall ask where he got his from...I'll also contact cip1 direct to see what the go is...

Thanks again buddy!

Any progress on this one Anthony 🙂?

Hows the holidays been mate? 👍 I checked out your website you mentioned a week or two back, your work is awesome! (some of the gals aren't bad either :P) lol

With the way your good with your hands and creativity, i'm VERY keen to see how this one turns out. should be mad as!

I got an email from CIP1 stating they have a 15% off halloween sale or sumfin with like 4 days left... if ya going to buy from them, don't leave it too late!

Chris Hi, Thanks mate. Lo,l being good at making corsets and being able to do a job like this is pretty extreme mate. But my corsets do have steel in them...😉 When are you coming over? Ill try and accidentally organize a photo shoot with some of my girls for ya 😀

I saw the 15% off thing at cip1. Im going to get a hand full of little nick nacks from them in the next couple of days like a door hing, door alignment wedges, license plate seals etc. I was going to get a front lower fender section but was just told by Nicolas (sputnick60) to be careful because their body metal is made for later model Ghias than mine...but looking again at their description it says 56-74 years so i dont know. I better investigate it first. I might just get one and see.

Call me when your ready...but dont expect too much mate 🙂

isky wrote:I saw the 15% off thing at cip1.

I should have been clearer... the part I had trouble with is #3 in the picture.
You should be OK with #1. If you have access to a good old school panel guy, making up a good replacement out of sheet metal for #2 & #3 should be easy. I had Chris Rolfe from Innovative Body Works do mine and it came out rather well.
Check out his face book page for lots of photos of my ghia

This one is of the lower rear wing in question.
Nicholas

haha, i will be ready soon! exams finish this coming thurs, then work will wnat me... but i will get a day off sometime, and will give ya notice.

👍

Wow Nicolas! That's some pretty major surgery happening there! Cant wait to see the final result or even more progress pics.... Hmmm i just looked at cip's site again. There seems to be two different shapes available for item 3. years 56-71 and 72-74....Perhaps you bought the 72-74 metal? Anyways thanks for the hands up 🙂 There's a bloke out my way who ill contact shortly about doing some work for me. He's doing his own Ghia at the moment and it looks sweeeet! I just really want to take care of the back wheel arches....ill do the pans myself down the track a bit 🙂

@Chris....lol, no worries mate!

I missed that earlier one about the glider... I've been flying since 1983. Maxi, Mega2, Probe, Probe2, Foil, Kiss, Blitz, Blade, Shark, Climax, Current glider = C2. Favorite all time glider was the Kiss and the C2. I mainly fly Stanwell but I used to fly Byron alot and spent time in Europe too.😎 Beechmont is a cool site. So to Mt Tambourine.

About the panel...... Yes, there is a difference on the CIP offering but it is because the "Fat Chick" bumpers required a square indent to accommodate their shape that is different to the rounder early style bumpers. Are these details mind numbing😂 but bear in mind these part suppliers don't give the correct dates for parts some times. I would say the rear guard section has three versions. '54 to '66 then '67 to 70 then 71 to 74

If you want more on my car... look on the samba....http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=270985

Nicholas

Hey Groovers! Little help?

Well i FINALLY started on my back brakes today...the plan was to replace my drums/shoes/slave cylinders etc with my Red karmanns because the ones off my red cars looked brand new. When i actually got my drums off my good brown car i was dumbfounded to see that they also looked in good nick. In fact they were massive! The drum off the brown car actually fitted well over the standard red cars drum. My mate said "id keep those for sure!, they're huge, you'll have great braking power!" He also said they may even be off a combi...

Now i know the previous owners of my car rallied it or were getting it ready to rally so that may explain why they are so different. So my question is....What are they from?

Ok these were the numbers and script around the area in question 58 W&E.S 311.501.311A BI TVS 1618 (i think it was 1618)

and on the drum itself there was W&E 2 VW 55 311 501 615E

oh and they also had two small springs holding the shoes on instead of just one if that helps...

Some pics...

Geez Nick you've done some flying! I haven't even heard of some of those gliders...Yep Beechmont and Tambo are pretty good. I live in Brizzy so i get pretty sick of driving all that way...especially when i don't get off the hill. I flew Byron a few years back and had the best day ever! Totally out flew every one on the day 😀 I also did 40 km's at Tewantin / (Rainbow beach way) on my last flight. It was epic and i almost got hit by a 4WD when landing on the beach...

This is a blog i once had but haven't added to it for years if your interested...

http://www.anthonysingh.blogspot.com/

hey guys don't worry about trying to identify my drums....apparently they're standard. I took the shoes into get re-bonded today and the old fella behind the counter took one look at them and said 'from a Karman Ghia hey?'

I just couldn't understand how a 61 KG drums and guts could be so much bigger than a 1960 model...

Cheers

Finally things have started to happen. Over the past 6 months I've spent a pretty penny buying all the rust panels, floor pans and little bits and pieces needed to complete my little beast. Last weekend my mate and I loaded it on the back of a car trailer and drove it up Toowoomba way so my new best friend could start stitching them on 🙂 It'll turn 50 this year and has sat idle in a shed for easily 20 years... this should be a nice birthday present.

I feel so much better now that things have started 🙂


The following are pics of my mate Drew driving it on the trailer as well as some of the parts I've been collecting to complete the project.

Starting to take shape! Found some major inner sill rust behind the front left hand door so will have to deal with that before proceeding. My body man mate is a legend and keeping me informed and up to date the whole way. Both my doors are now opening and closing perfectly! Even better than his car lol. Great to see some of the patch panels roughly in place also. Apart from discovering the rust my mate pulled out a metal plate in the rear quarter lower rear section... I can't believe how dodgy some people are. As my body buddy says... "'Everyone is a panelbeater!' If you can't fix it then don't!" Hopefully soon we'll cut the front guards off my parts car as well as a few other bits and pieces 🙂

ThoughtI'd up load some pics 🙂

you been waiting for this day for ages man 👍

noice work! keep us updated every step of the way 🙂

Thanks Chris! Yeah i know right, I'm so relieved. One thing I've found though is that it's one thing to read and watch other peoples blogs and seeing all the undiscovered rust... but when it comes to your own pride and joy you get this sick feeling in your guts. Will do, I'm sure there'll be loads more photos to come 🙂

Massive day on Saturday. Unbolted body, removed doors, cut off roof and all 4 guards from my parts kg for stitching onto my better brown one.

It was actually pretty sad to see the red car get cut up like this. But in a way it's going to live on.


Parts car prepped and stripped for cutting.




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first guard off
















front guard gold






all 4 guards off to get stitched on to it's new body 🙂

I pretty sure I looked at the brown ghia in the mid 90's near Minden and he was after 5k which was steep at the time for a modded ghia.
And here it is all this time later and good on you for keeping it alive.

Serious?! I'd love to find out it's history. All I've heard was that it was used as a rally car (what ever that means). I bought it from a guy who was advertising another Ghia. In the add he said "if you buy my Ghia for 20,000 ill throw another Ghia in for free". I just called him and asked him about the give away. I certainly didn't pay 5 grand for it.

Thanks mate... hopefully there will be another 'back from the dead' Karmann on the roads soon 🙂

More progress shots thanks to my awesome body repair buddy =D

G'day all. Been a while since I posted on here. Actually about 4 years! Well I'm still at it and thought I'd start to trickle a few snaps of where my ride's at. It's been with my mate in Toowoomba all this time and unfortunately I think he lost interest quite early on in the piece. We've done quite a lot to it and it's a lot closer than it was to being ready. I'm grateful for the help he's given. Anyway, as of a few weeks ago it's back with me, so hopefully I'll start putting in some solid hours.

I'll put up some more photos later. There's quite a bit more done than what's being posted now... but there's still a lot to be done to get this old beastie back on the road.





























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Looking good mate, a lot of work gone in so far.

Whats the plan, rat or paint?

Thanks buddy. I'm a huge fan of patina and the rat look, and that was and still is the plan for my ride. But think it's going to have to have some sort of paint work to finish it off. Realistically I'd like to have the body completely solid, in great shape, and bog free. So if I want to spend some serious coin on a good paint job i can with out the added hassle of major body work.

Nice one keep the pics coming (not another 4yr gap!)

you have certainly cut some steel there

a couple of those last photos get across how solid and "in shape" it has become

Like your thinking re get a sloid base, drive it and if you want to go down the painted road, you have something worth paining

I love patina Ghias, whatever the case it's gonna be a kick ass car.
Throw in a narrow big block type 4 with IDAs and Porsche cooling...........

Thanks guys, wait till you see the other side after peeling back the rear guard. I'll try to upload pics later.

Do you still have the donor cars doors for sale?

Do you still have the jacked up Kombi ute?

I just read through your saga.
The old red car you cut up has indications of a car I owned between 1970 and 1977 and which I've never forgotten.
It was originally the blue shown under the rear seat area and I first painted it a horrible Caterpillar bright yellow which appears under the door hinge areas and then the VW wattle yellow colour but probably didn't remove the doors that time. I had a dark brown vinyl roof fitted but yours seemed to be black.
In the end rampant rust and an increasing family forced me to sell it.
Do you have any idea of the history of your (now) donor car?