1968 "California-look" VW

[youngnstudly]

I decided to post photos of my 1968 VW Karmann Ghia build even though I realize there are more of the Domestic "hot rod and motorcycle" enthusiasts on this forum. Having grown up around Hot rods and vintage cars, I certainly love and appreciate them, but I've always been more into the vintage foreign car crowd for some reason...Don't ask, my father doesn't understand it either, and I can't explain it. Something different I suppose. Sorry I don't have early photos of what the car started out as, I didn't get internet and a camera until a few years into the project.

So this build has been going on for several years, and I started with a $300 purchase from my neighbors that was all but "rust-free." To top it off, the car had been hit in the front and rear lightly multiple times from the owner living on a hill in S.F., California (where everyone parallel parks and "bumps" the car in front of and behind them routinely), plus there were signs of a heavy collision in the front (T-boned, perhaps?). To top it all off, under the cheap orange paint job from the nearest discount auto paint shop during the 70's, lied some of the worst bodywork you could imagine! The day I bought this heap, I brought it home and washed it, and that's when the 3/8" thick chunks of bondo started falling off the car in 5" long sections (revealing rust underneath).

Fast forward to now, and after my father and I doing the major rust repair, collision repairs throughout (areas around the headlights and tail lights, the trunk, fender wells, engine compartment, and door jambs), replacing both full floor pans, welding in seat tracks, welding all the trim and emblem holes up, and him doing all the bodywork on the car, it now sits in final prime, waiting for me to do minor welding to the interior before color can be chosen and applied.

The theme here is the typical 1970's "California-look" VW with no trim on the body, a lowered stance, "big n' little" tires, rims from a select group of aftermarket or Porsche choices that are period correct, a high performance 2 liter engine with dual Weber carbs, custom stitched plaid or houndstooth upholstery, and a light sprinkle of interchangeable Porsche parts throughout. Plain and simple is the idea... no "frills", no wild or custom paint jobs, outrageous body modifications (like hood scoops or fender flairs), out of proportion tire combos, flocking or other trendy 70's interior designs, etc. Minor "stealthly" upgrades that look factory are welcome. The wildest body mods we did to this car were smoothing off the decklid (no lic. plate or light there...it will be mounted to the bumper in a factory-type fashion like the Porsches were), removal of the radio antenna, and removal of the windshield squirt nozzle.

One of my favorite "details" on custom VWs built during the Cal-look days was plaid or houndstooth fabric inserts in the seats and door panels, and Zolotone texture sprayed in select areas of the engine compartment and trunk, so of course I chose both details for my car. Even in recent years Porsche has still used the fabric inserts stitched into their seats, which is where this trend came from with the Cal-look cars.

[youngnstudly]

Here are a few examples of California-look Karmann ghias from the "old days" which are serving as the guideline that I'm following for my car. Both cars were featured in magazines and well known in the VW community, but the yellow one really set the bar back in the mid 70's in the show car scene.






Back to my junker...

The wiring is an absolute mess and nearly nothing worked in the car when I got it (besides ignition, very few light, and turn signals) so that will be a dreaded task that is coming up shortly. The transaxle is freshly rebuilt and I need to install the axles, rebuild the brakes, rebuild the rear suspension, (etc). It is right there in line behind the wiring.

The engine is a mild 150hp 2276cc with 48mm Weber carbs, Hand ported heads, custom built heater boxes (by me) that match the merged 1-5/8" header, hand fitted sheet metal with the factory deflectors welded in place (lots of mocking up, trimming, and shaping to get proper fit), 4 CHT thermocouples installed that use a quad gauge to monitor all 4 cylinders head temps, and a custom neatly hidden muffler setup to finish things off). Of course I have seam sealer and undercoating to apply under the car before the engine or trans will be going in. The interior will be the last thing before the car gets painted (though it will be removed for the paint process, I still need to make templates for the carpet and door panels, fit them to the car, then stitch everything up).

Up next I will be fitting and welding the rear seat cross member back into place (that had to be cut out in order for each floor pan to be installed as a single full length pan). That will finish off the interior compartment and allow me to seam seal inside. Stay tuned for updates in the future...

[breakneckmot]

Really neat. I have an urge to ratrod a VW so badly. It looks like you do good work too.

[its_34]

That is just plain cool. I know the pain of working on rust-free cars- that is a term only used by sellers, not owners. I got into welding for the original purpose of replacing a floor pan. The cost to buy the parts and a mig welder was about the same as paying for the work. Haven't paid for a weld since.
Keep the pics coming, love to these the progress.

[redbeard]

Looks like great workmanship, Can't wait to see the end product.

I still need to make templates for the carpet and door panels, fit them to the car, then stitch everything up.

Is this the reason you own the 'girly' machine listed in your sig? Please don't tell me you are multitalented enough to do your own upholstery.

[everlastsupport]

Nice work Andy,

Thanks for sharing and thanks for keeping the pictures all the same size. I could just click and look over and over. What will be the final color?

[youngnstudly]

Wow, I can't believe the response! I guess I wasn't wasting my time posting my project.

Really neat. I have an urge to ratrod a VW so badly. It looks like you do good work too.

Thanks! My Dad gets the credit for doing the body work and priming/painting. I'm just the mechanic, upholstery guy, and welder at this point (he's old and blind, so he hasn't done much welding lately out of frustration). He has some pretty cool tricks up his sleeve when it comes to his trade, and it's his work that will really make this car something extraordinary. Our talents combined is a strong combination though.

I was never a fan of the ratrod VW's until I went to one of the VW swap meet/car shows and saw 2 or 3 that were really done nicely. This one has always been my favorite "finished" ratrod from the moment I saw it:

That is just plain cool. I know the pain of working on rust-free cars- that is a term only used by sellers, not owners. I got into welding for the original purpose of replacing a floor pan. The cost to buy the parts and a mig welder was about the same as paying for the work. Haven't paid for a weld since.
Keep the pics coming, love to these the progress.

Haha, as my Father always says while looking on Craigslist for used cars, "Buy the car and I'll throw in the rust for free!"

I wasn't able to crawl under this car to check the pans out since the rear suspension sags so much in older VW's (my head wouldn't even fit under the rear), so I ran my hand over the pans and pounded on them to make sure they were solid. They were, until 6 months later when I jacked the car up in the back to remove the engine (rust repair in the engine compartment). The inner portions of both pans were rusted all the way down the tunnel of the car where you couldn't see the rust from underneath. Plus someone punched a ton of holes in the pans with a chisel to let the water drain out (leaky window seal and rusty window channel), then decided that was a bad idea and used RTV silicon to seal them up. I had to pull the carpets out to see those chisel tears from the top though.

If you look at the "before" pic with the original pan in place (where I removed the rusty areas and most of the holes), you can see brass from some person trying to braze the seat tracks into place after the factory spot welds broke.....plus that lovely (professional) looking hose clamp that was installed to secure the clutch tube (inside the tunnel) so that the correct clutch pedal end play could be set. The list of "repairs" goes on and on, some of which are just plain dangerous (like the loose intake manifold, or the electrical tape that held the replacement battery clamp onto the battery cable)! Some of them were obviously done by a shop that knew a little bit about these cars, but other repairs (the really amateurish ones) are the work of the last owner. He's not bright enough to perform tasks like brazing or securing the clutch tube to the tunnel, but leaving intake bolts loose is right up his alley. Not the sharpest tool in the shed!

[its_34]

If you look at the "before" pic with the original pan in place (where I removed the rusty areas and most of the holes), you can see brass from some person trying to braze the seat tracks into place after the factory spot welds broke.....plus that lovely (professional) looking hose clamp that was installed to secure the clutch tube (inside the tunnel) so that the correct clutch pedal end play could be set. The list of "repairs" goes on and on, some of which are just plain dangerous (like the loose intake manifold, or the electrical tape that held the replacement battery clamp onto the battery cable)! Some of them were obviously done by a shop that knew a little bit about these cars, but other repairs (the really amateurish ones) are the work of the last owner. He's not bright enough to perform tasks like brazing or securing the clutch tube to the tunnel, but leaving intake bolts loose is right up his alley. Not the sharpest tool in the shed!

Brazing on the floors is much easier to correct than fiberglass. I've seen a botched pan replacement that was essentially a boat repair. Layer upon layer of glass over rust holes until it was stiff enough and water-tight to the owners satisfaction! Try getting that to a weld-ready condition.

Great to see father-son collaboration, too. That adds something special.

[youngnstudly]

Looks like great workmanship, Can't wait to see the end product.



Is this the reason you own the 'girly' machine listed in your sig? Please don't tell me you are multitalented enough to do your own upholstery.

After this long, I can't wait to see the end product either! As for multi talented, I'd say I'm more like semi multi skilled. Certainly not the best an anything I do, but I don't perform lousy work by any means. I went to school for welding and automotive (been around vintage cars my entire life as well), but upholstery is something that is self taught. It can be really difficult at times, but the layout and most other procedures are basically the same as the work I did in my trade (sheet metal worker)...right down to having to watch your fingers carefully around the machinery!

Nice work Andy,

Thanks for sharing and thanks for keeping the pictures all the same size. I could just click and look over and over. What will be the final color?

I am doing my best at keeping the photos the same size, but I know a few won't be exact as they came from the internet and are goofy sizes, or I can't get them to look right by resizing. I'm not very inclined when it comes to the world wide intro-net. As for the color of the car, I am thinking of either a light powder blue, a light (mint?) green color, or the color shown below on the last VW bug my dad built for himself. That car was a big of a project as my Ghia (another cheap purchase-starting to see a pattern here?). The color is some custom mix my Dad made up for a customer car in the 80's, and he had a little extra to use as a sample for when he chose the color on his VW.

Back to my build:
I just finished the (new) front suspension install, including welding different adjusters into the narrowed front beam (for raising and lowering the suspension height-see my other post about that explanation: http://www.everlastgenerators.com/fo...m-modification). The factory front beam was questionable after seeing the prior accident damage, plus I wanted to be able to drive the car without the stupid tires rubbing on the lips on the wheel openings. I just used the old spindle in the photo for mock up, the car has dropped spindles installed at this point.

Next I need to choose tire sizes for the car, and for that I'll need to begin the long process of detailing my rims. Following the same theme, I chose to use factory Porsche forged rims off of a 914 that happen to share the same bolt pattern as VW. The detail I want to run with is very similar to the finished rim posted below, except I won't be using a dark color for the center. I'm thinking of a satin finish light gray color similar to gray primer, using the same polished outer portion and ribs. The interior will be a charcoal gray vinyl with the previously mentioned fabric insert.

These are the wheels I will be using, except I don't like the black and will substitute using a light gray:

Brazing on the floors is much easier to correct than fiberglass. I've seen a botched pan replacement that was essentially a boat repair. Layer upon layer of glass over rust holes until it was stiff enough and water-tight to the owners satisfaction! Try getting that to a weld-ready condition.

Great to see father-son collaboration, too. That adds something special.

I've seen quite a bit of those "wonderful" types of floor repairs during the years (plywood included). The fiberglass is a different approach for sure. My favorite is seeing someone slop roofing patch from Home Depot (or spray bed-liner) all over the inside of the floor after pop-riveting or screwing the pan into place with a minimum of fasteners! You KNOW that repair won't last forever, yet you don't wanna be the one to fix it correctly! Besides, it's not like the seat's fastened to the pan, and that would create some sort of major failure with the seat belts keeping you restrained if the pan fell out during a collision! On the plus side, who doesn't like the smell of roofing patch when driving during those 105 degree summer days!

[sportbike]

I was never a fan of the ratrod VW's until I went to one of the VW swap meet/car shows and saw 2 or 3 that were really done nicely. This one has always been my favorite "finished" ratrod from the moment I saw it:

That thing is pretty cool. My turbo motorcycle engine wodul work nicely in there :-)

[its_34]

That thing is pretty cool. My turbo motorcycle engine wodul work nicely in there :-)

Good idea! Ive seen a few crazy, Hayabusa-powered VW's that have been built.

[Rambozo]

Good idea! Ive seen a few crazy, Hayabusa-powered VW's that have been built.

Or the other way with a VW powered motorcycle.

[youngnstudly]

So I decided that this thread needed an update. I've been busy with the car, but it's all non-glamorous work that I don't like doing anyways. I bought some surplus "Humvee" seat belts that are 3 pt. retractables for $19.99 a pair with free shipping. They aren't much different from the ones you buy for $150/set, with the exception that these Humvee belts don't have chrome latches. They are still approved in the US for use in motor vehicles, and were brand new from a surplus seller on Ebay.

The first issue with installing these belts in my ghia is the fact it never had retractable 3 pt. belts from the factory in the first place (until 1971 or so), which means you have to create a place to install the retractor. I chose to copy the factory's setup on the later model KG's, which is on the shelf just below the shoulder pivot mount. They spot welded a thick plate to the shelf in order to make the mounting point solid and safe, and I planned to add a similar plate to my car's shelf so that it would hold up in the event of a collision.

I ran into a slight issue while mocking up the seat belt retractor on the shelf of the ghia....MORE RUST! Everything looked fine, but I noticed a small amount of surface rust, so after becoming curious and breaking the spot welds that attach the shelf to the inner fenderwell, the issue quickly worsened.

The glue and paint from the factory nearly covered the issue completely, but one (half swift) pull in the upwards direction ripped the spot welds loose :


I decided (long ago) that I wanted to replace the shelf with something thicker if I was to add the retractable 3 pt. belts "the right way", and now I had a reason to remove the shelf. Having served my 5 year union sheet metal apprenticeship in a commercial fab shop, I decided to remove the shelf using the tool I often referred to as "Plan B" in the shop. It's a "5 in 1" painters tool from Home Depot. They work perfect for splitting layers of material, breaking spot welds, taking seams apart, etc., so I figured "Why not? It [I]is[I] my favorite tool to use, afterall." I used my large crest wrench to hold the tools blade flat against the flange so the tool wouldn't wander, leaving me with a crooked cut:


The shelf took less than 6 minutes to fully remove, and cutting with that painters tool was like a hot knife through butter. SO simple, easy, and a clean way to cut the material. Of course I couldn't see the spot welds from the heavy layers of paint and glue, but if you look closely, the edge that I cut shows a leftover flange that was part of the shelf:


Alright, don't laugh too hard at my hillbilly replacement shelf, but I manged to form up some 18 gauge scrap that my former employer happily donated, using none other than my neighbors Harbor Freight 3-in-1 brake/shear/slip roll machine. Being that it only has a 20 gauge capacity, I ended up breaking the brake while trying to bend the first 90 degree brake through all of the ribs I added. :lol: My neighbor saw the humor in this and added longer bolts to prevent the problem from returning. I have to say that I was a little surprised that the brake handled the 18ga as well as it did. I had to switch dies around and only brake certain areas at a time, but it worked. To get the last 20 degrees of brake, I did have to pinch the material at times (between the dies) and tap it with a mallet in order to gain the last 20 degrees of brake (when braking over the stiffening ribs).

I had to work my butt off to make the rest of the 90 degree brakes in this piece (without breaking the brake again!), but it came out pretty darn good, considering how weeny the HF brake actually is. The factory shelf is only 22ga., so the 18ga is quite a bit more stout (almost 2x thicker). I obviously need to trim and fit it before I tig weld it into place, but the plate on the backside will have to welded first.



Now I need to make the passenger side shelf in the next few days, while I have the chance. I'm not certain if I will use the 10ga (1/8") plate I have to reinforce these shelves on the backside, or if I will bite the bullet and buy some 3/16" plate. The new shelf alone is stout, but it's not stout enough for mounting a seat belt retractor to.

Here is what the factory setup looks like:


More to come later...

[Rambozo]

And when they are too rusted out, you can always make into one of these.