Category: The Rebuilding Journey

Choose this category if you only want to follow the rebuilding of this Ghia.

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Reveal Your Secrets

I wish magic was an option.

Let the fun begin. The time has come to start stripping the paint, Bondo and rust off the Ghia to see what she’s hiding.

I got a new pad for my free DA sander and cleaned it up the best I could.

Bring on the dusty carcinogen cloud!

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Pulling the Gas Tank

I have a bit of down time, so I thought maybe I should do something with the ol’ girl.  Popping the gas tank out seems easy enough.

First, I need to get the fuel expansion chamber out of the way.  I’ll just leave the screw in place for now.  I’ve never messed with crimps like this (VW newb, yes).  I’ll figure it out as I go.  I’m sure this stuff is all common hardware, however one of the purposes for this blog is to remind me what things look like before I took it apart. I’m trying to avoid a “where did this come from” moment. I know that’s wishful thinking.

Now just four bolts and it should pop right out.  Disconnect the fuel line on the bottom.   Don’t forget the wire to the sending unit.

The bulkhead and beam appear to be in better condition than I expected.

For reference, these parts are in tote 21321.

Ps.  I don’t see a problem here.

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What is the Fiberglass Hiding?

The front of my Ghia has a whole lot of nasty looking fiberglass on it.

What is it hiding? I was pretty sure what I was going to find, so I checked the date of my last tetanus shot and peeled back a layer.

It’s as bad as I imagined. I am better off just lobbing off this entire front end and starting over.

This part is apparently the air duct backing plate at the front of the wheelhouse. It’s part #11 in the below sheet metal air duct parts picture below. I’ll most likely need all of these parts. As of the writing of this, the part is available at:

https://www.mtmfg.com/vw/3442/Karmann-Ghia-Sheet-Metal-Air-Duct-Parts

I’m guessing I’ll need parts 1, 5, 9 and 11.

Good news is, it appears there’s decent metal below the rust.

Below pictures for future reference.

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On the Move Again

A bit over two years ago, we moved to our current home. I really thought I would get more done with the Ghia, but sometimes life has other plans for you.

We moved here in November 2016 with our two kids.

A month later, we adopted two girls and maxed out our bedroom space.

But we didn’t stop there. On June 20, 2018, we welcomed Zachary to the world.

This home is not big enough for the seven of us. It was time to sell. We close on April 3, 2019.

So once again, the Ghia was pulled out and moved to a friend’s garage for a few months.

Why a few months? Our new home is not fully built yet.

There is a nice big garage cooking though (12 foot ceilings; yes!)

So… this brings me to my point. After taking with my better two-thirds, we are going to get this project going after we get settled in. We also decided we are going the full-time roadster route. What’s more fun than a 225HP go cart?

Like a good friend of mine said…