1972 VW Karmann Ghia

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2872 East 3400 North

Twin Falls, ID 83301

HOME
PROJECTS
MISC.
SHOP POLICIES
10 RESTORATION MISTAKES
EVENTS
CONTACT
TESTIMONIALS

Needs a little repair and color change.

Tops of both doors have rust and partial repairs

Dent, flat spot

cracks

Block sanding shows how rough the body is. Light colors hide a lot.

Hole from missing bracket, will fill and try to find bracket

Had a couple bubbles in paint, moisture coming thru the holes , rusting, lifting paint. Will weld all holes shut.

Had 3 cracks in filler, too thick,

Deep filler in door.

More holes to weld, may replace that area.

Surprise, filler in rust holes

Handful of filler behind rust hole, Will cut out area and replace with good steel.

Could feel dents on the inside, hammered out and chunks of filler fall off

Center bead line was completely covered with filler

More holes in this dent to weld.

More filler to remove.

Rust holes to fix properly

More rust

Rust hole with filler.

Easy access to back of dents, remove filler and pound out.

old patch in lower area, will try to bring it out some or cut and replace.

Another rust hole with filler in rocker

I think this panel under the rear seat in supposed to be welded to the floor. Will look at another car to see for sure..

Hammered out dented nose, crack in middle to weld. Should take very little filler this time.

2 dents in rain gutter.

Hole in rain gutter to weld.

Almost totally naked

Rain gutter repaired, will need tiny amount of filler before paint.

Filler visible on inside of rusted metal

Front nose rust cut out, will straighten inner brace first.

Damage that didn't get repaired properly.

Holes under filler and dented.

cut out damaged area, will straighten rocker then weld in new straight piece.

Rocker is now straight, having access hole made it much easier to fix.

Making patches from a damaged VW door, best to use matching steel.

carefully fitting new steel.

Prepping to weld, found more rust. Make small patch for it first.

First patch spot welded in place.

Think I finally found the last rust spot.

After cleaning more found more holes under filler.

Finished welding and grinded smooth.

First few spot welds to prevent warpage, as little heat as possible at one time.

2 more patches trimmed and spot welded in.

2nd round of spot welding, 2 or 3 more rounds before done.

Holes welded shut.

After grinding welds smooth, ready for a little filler and sanding.

Metal work on right side rocker done.

with copper plate behind rain gutter, weld hole shut.

Let cool then grind smooth.

.Smooth enough for primer.

Hole welded and smooth at rear of rain gutter.

Visible damage inside right door (gap)

Curve up in bottom of door

Filler had been used to hide damage.

Straightened, but still have a little rust damage to repair

Gap is now gone.

New metal welded in top of door.

Rust in top of door

More filler shoved thru rust holes.

Made a new piece to replace damaged area, but made it a fraction too small, will repair original. Not enough of the donor VW door to cut another.

Studs attached for pulling dent.

Left rear fender ground smooth, ready for a little filler.

Holes in left rear fender welded shut.

Smoothed original piece, welded holes, shrunk high spots, clamped in place for welding

Tack welds started, hammer and dolly as I go.

Successfully welded back together, a little hammer and dolly work, pretty straight, very shallow waves, 1/8th inch filler max.

Another hole in rain gutter, left side.

Welded.

Ground smooth.

Hole.

Welded with copper plate for backing to keep inside smooth.

Smoothed.

Found a hole near front of roof, will weld and smooth.

Dent near middle of roof. Previous repair had filler over 3/4th of roof to match the high spot.

If they had left the dent down, a small area would have needed filler, but would be more than 1/4 inch deep, too deep.

Highest point of dent was ground thin and melted thru when shrinking.

Welded hole, shrank dent, smoothed back to its gradual curve, will take very little filler to smooth out for paint.

Will remove the vinyl off the center of dash to paint body color .

Studs to pull dent from shrinkage from welding

All welding and metalwork is done.

Thin coat of filler and lots of future sanding, primer, and more sanding

Dash pad hides upper holes. 1/4 inch gaps in lower slots, will weld.

Hammer slots shut.

Weld seams.

Grind welds smooth.

Radio hole had been modified, no way to mount new radio.

Made new piece from thicker steel and welded in place.

all welds will be hidden

Straightened the rear seat riser till it touched the floor and welded.

Lots of hard glue to remove off doors and dash.

first layer stage of primer

Tools of my life for the next week or so.

2nd day of block sanding, finding high and low spots. Tomorrow I'll lay on the floor most of the day sanding the low areas.

Bead rolling a new glove box door

Using the bead roller bend the top curved edge before sliding the original door inside and crimping together.

Original plastic cover on top, steel below. Much stiffer now.

I think it looks better with the bead.

And I thought the hood was perfect, not. Block sanding shows every high and low spots.

Ready to prime again.

Ready to prime again.

Here's the main reason I like to use black primer, when wet shines and reflects like gloss paint to see how smooth it is. Ready for white pearl.

3 stage paint, white base, pearl then clear

POR-15 rust sealant inside of both doors and bottom seam to prevent any further rust.

Painted dash, edges of doors, hood and trunk with red and clear

Sound deadener added

headliner is in

Chrome window trim is in pretty bad condition. I sanded and buffed the end to see if it would shine. Looks like it will.

Used trim was bought for the car, lots of bends.

bent back onto shape

new glove box door mounted

side trim added

bending, drilling, trimming 2 inch flat steel to make new bumper bracket for the older style bumper

spot welded

remove to finish welding so I don't damage the chrome

bolted back in

removing alot of original bumper bracketbolted

more to remove

now to prep to weld behind bumper, remove and finish welding, grind and paint.

making a bracket that will plug holes and hold canister

test fitting

Painted, sealed and mounted

My part is finished, on to upholstery for carpet and seat repair.

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