Lazy Welds and Odd Repairs

Sunday was a good day, at least for tearing out bad bits of the Ghia.  I made some good progress.

First, I cut out the last bit of the passenger side seat, which had been tack-welded (fortunately by someone too lazy to do more than that) to the rail.  It was pretty quick and easy to cut the four welds and finally bang that seat out of there, but this kind of work is surely a sign of more serious problems to come.

Indeed.  Next, I went into the back, removing the rivets, tin and wood that had served as kick panels for the rear seat, then taking out wooden cover where the back seat panel is supposed to be.  There is a lot of rust down there, but actually, these pieces are easily replaced.  The structural elements of the body seem to be intact, but I have yet to tear out all the foam and insulation between the back seat and the rear firewall.  I suspect there is a lot of rust under that.

There is one more long tin panel riveted along the back rail that is there for a reason.  It's pretty clear that whoever 'repaired' this car last, didn't really care about how it might look, just that the rust was covered up.  A bit of tin and some carpet and hey presto, a 'new' car!

Next I removed the convertible top.  This was pretty easy, which after I removed some brittle old plastic covers for the mechanism, required only that I remove six bolts.  It lifted right out.  Then I removed the back window, which fortunately is intact, because I am sure it's one of the more expensive pieces on this car to replace.

Loki has been patient enough to come out and sit with me. He's the only one besides me that can put up with the mosquitos!

The Seat Must Go

Well, it's been raining every afternoon this week, so I simply haven't been able to take the cover off to do any work since last Sunday.  last week, I was struggling to remove the passenger side seat and couldn't get it to budge despite bringing in the bigger hammer.

Then, after a failed attempt to loosen the seat on the rail with chemicals, I discovered why those efforts had failed: the seat is actually welded to the rail.  Not only that, but it's actually welded in crooked!  Oh well, it's an opportunity to try out my cutoff wheel, something I will be using a lot when it comes time to do the body work.

So, with a couple hours before work and a cool cloudy sky overhead, I am off to pull that seat out.  That and the dashboard are on the agenda, so we'll see how far I get!

Windshield & Wiring

At this point, I am still getting to know my new toy.  I know that I want to strip off everything from the body, but it's hard to decide where to actually start.

I settle on the removing dashboard, which is so rusty and rotten that it literally falls apart in my hand.  Still it has to be removed as if it were whole, and this means removing the windshield.  Now you don't actually have to remove the windshield to do this, but it certainly makes it easier, and in this case, since I am just stripping things off the body, it makes sense to pull out the glass.  First off is the aluminum strip that is set into the rubber gasket that actually holds the windshield in place.  This is actually a decorative piece, and in fact many rebuilds leave this off, for what is loosely called the 'Cal' look.

As soon as that is out, it's time to pull the windshield.  It's not as easy as just pushing it out, but that's to be expected since it is wedged in there tightly for a reason.  It really is a two man job, and fortunately my friend Dan, who was joining us for supper that night, pulled up on his bike. So, while some folks sing for their supper, Dan got his hands rusty-greasy-grimy as we yanked that bad boy right out of it's rusty socket.  It's one of those things that I wish I'd noticed, since it might have made it easier to bargain, but the cracked windshield is just the first of many expensive lessons I expect to learn before this adventure is all over.

Next, I turned my attention back to the dash.  Before I could start stripping the rusty crusty shell from the body, though, I had to remove all the gauges, switches, heater controls and wire for all of that. The easiest things to remove are the big ones: the speedometer and the tachometer, so out they come.

The wiring is so tangled and stiff that a lot of wires simply pulled out of their connectors.  No matter, it's all shot so it all comes out.  I am saving all the wiring for now, but I will certainly invest in a brand-new wiring harness, front to rear.  It's really no fun trying to track down a faulty wire; better to start fresh and face the nightmare of trying to plug it all in correctly.

Fortunately, all that's off in the future somewhere.  For now, I am having fun pulling out all the old and thinking about the new.

Twin Serpents

My second trip to the auto parts store yields about $30 worth of cleaning supplies.  In addition to the paint-removing scuff wheel for my drill, I have the requisite can of WD-40, plus some Liquid Wrench (a spray, a lot like WD), Rust Remover (a goop for really bad spots/bolts/screws), and some hand cleaner (with a 'fresh' orange scent).

My goal this evening was to get that other seat out, but of course I didn't even get that far.  I only managed to pull out half of the rusty spring cage.  The seat frame remains solidly wedged/rusted to the rails, so some chemical soaking is in order this evening before I start banging on it again.  The seat frame is actually slightly askew on the rails, so that's the real trouble.  A bit of rust remover plus some judicious tapping should do the trick next time.  In any case, it's looking more and more like nothing in these seats is actually salvageable, so I'm not concerned about how this particular frame looks when it finally does come out.

 I found another rust hole in the floor pan, this one under the seat on the passenger side.  This is good news and bad news.  The bad news, of course, is that there's rust in the floor pan.  The good news is twofold:  1) the holes aren't big, and 2) repairing them will be a good way to practice my welding skills.

Welding skills?  Why yes, indeed Dear Reader.  In fact, in one of my past lives, I was actually a welder. This was back in the Dark Ages, of course, before the Internet or cell phones, back when a kid right out of high school could find work in a torque convertor rebuilding shop.  I've written about this before, briefly, in a story about my arrest back on Maufrais Lane.

I admit, this was a very long time ago, and it is possible that my skills have diminished somewhat in the interim, but even so I can rightfully claim to know how to weld and maintain that it is merely practice I need to become perfect.

Since the imperfections caused by poor welding can not only be noticed but can actually be magnified in the context of an auto body, it may seem that my claim is a bold one, bordering even on hubris, but if one is prepared to admit that such welding might be done successfully by a skilled craftsman, one might also have to admit that with enough practice, I might actually be able to pull it off.  

Now, if I sound a little defensive, it's because I've already encountered enough raised eyebrows and skeptical looks to make me doubt myself, however briefly.  While I do realize that the consequences of the absence of experience can be detrimental to the process, I am not now willing to admit that I am unable to gain the skill necessary to produce a beautiful finished product.  

In other words, just because I don't know how to do it well doesn't mean I can't learn.  In fact, I'm willing to bet that not only will I learn how to weld on this car, but I'll get damn good at it.  Of course, that level of skill will be reached at roughly the same time the project is brought to a successful conclusion, so the value of my ability may only be measured in this one car, but that's sufficient for me.

The careful reader will have observed that my arrogance extends not only to assumptions made about my soon-to-be-uncovered welding abilities, but also to the broader assumptions made about the success of the project as a whole.  While it may seem apparent, I must reveal that this is a simple, deliberate attempt to set myself up for humiliation should the result be anything less than my least bold prediction.  For the weak-minded and weak-willed like me, the fear of disgrace is as powerful as the lure of success, so I figure, why not employ them both in the service of my goal?

It is with these twin serpents looping about in my brain that I took the 13mm socket, and six inch extension and a ratchet and took out the first frame bolt just underneath the driver's side door.  It came out without even the slightest resistance, no WD-40, no Liquid Wrench, not even a lot of elbow grease.  It's just the first of something like two-dozen, so I am not celebrating yet.  

The smirk on my face is proof positive of the insanity which has overtaken me. 

Day One

The goal for the day was to take the body off.  One of the nice things about goals is that they give you a good way to measure achievement.  Or, in this case, the lack thereof.

Now, what I did manage to do, in the two hours and two beers after 5pm when I finally rolled the cover back, was to pull out the seat on the driver's side and strip off the seat cushion.  I couldn't get the seat on the passenger side out (even when I got the bigger hammer), so I had to settle for simply stripping it of all the rotten foam, sisal and rotten vinyl.  The result, while not pretty, is informative.

Hoo boy, these seats are shot.  One almost inveitable consequence of old seats in a convertible is the rust that can't help but form in the springs.  A couple of good rains with the top down is all it takes, and this car saw far than a few of those mishaps, I do believe.  I could repair these seats, but honestly I might as well just get a new, or 'new-to-me' set. After all, it is just the standard VW seat, so I should have plenty to choose from.  As likely or not I'll get some used seats and refurbish them myself.

What will be harder to fix will be the rust hole I found under the driver's side seat.  When I gave the car the initial 'once-over', I thought the floor pans were in pretty food shape, rust-wise.  I could see that the pan on the passenger side was dented (up, from something underneath) but I had the impression that both were relatively rust free.  Not.  As soon as the seat came out all it took was a little touch to open this hole.  Ok, I think this is not necessarily a big deal, but it will have to be fixed.  It may be easier--but not cheaper--to replace one or both of the pans, but hopefully I can patch the one and bang out the other.

There'll be no banging on the wooden deck lid I discovered in the back, however.  Although it's not rotten, it is anything but standard, of course, and will not be any easy fix, no matter what.  While someone definitely took some time to make this repair, it's so far from what I have in mind that it can only be pulled out and replaced. Oh, what fun that will be!

The cross piece that is currently being held together with tin and rivets may be more than a minor problem, as it no doubt has something to do with the structural integrity of the body itself.  Ugh.

1 day.  1.5 seats.

The Spending Begins

Well, I made my first purchase for the Ghia.  Two actually.  A car cover and the Haynes Manual.

Tomorrow will be my first day to actually work on it.  The very first thing I do will be to clean up some of the trash and throw it away.  There is a lot of stuff to be cleaned up, like the crumbling dash, the rotting bits of plastic and rubber around the doors.  The seat foam is shot and will have to be pulled out, along with the seat frames and the convertible top frame, which, though rusty, are salvageable.  The wiring is all bad too, not to mention fried where the engine fire was. The tires are also ready for the trash, but I will wait until I start working on the chassis and wheels before I replace them.

So, after a good bit of basic clearing and cleaning, the next step will be to remove the body.  There are about two dozen bolts holding it to the frame, and a first inspection seemed to offer hope that they are not rusted up and might be relatively easy to remove.  From what I've read, the body can be lifted off the frame with four people, hoping, of course, that it doesn't simply buckle at all the rusty spots.

Gee, did I mention the rusty spots? Oh, there are a few...like this one, just behind the wheel well on the passenger side.  There are a few more, which I will reveal slowly so as not to alarm you too much, Dear Reader.

The Adventure Begins

I couldn't resist. I didn't resist. I've looked at every Ghia posted on Craigslist in Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston and all points in between for 18 months. So far, this is the only affordable convertible to come my way.

So, as I rolled out from underneath, still shuddering at the sight of all that rust, I offered $1000. He countered with $1500. I paid $1300 for it, delivered to my driveway.

So, there it sits.