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!