Riverina Restoration of a ‘61 VW Karmann Ghia

Riverina Restoration of a ‘61 VW Karmann Ghia Taking a 1961 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia from 1000 pieces to 1

After a lot of head scratching on the body work, particularly the rear engine bay area I’ve taken a break from that and ...
24/09/2025

After a lot of head scratching on the body work, particularly the rear engine bay area I’ve taken a break from that and will probably get some expert assistance. With the arrival of the seat covers, carpets, door cards and head liner I’ve decided to concentrate on the seats. Rusty frames have been hanging on the wall taunting me. So disassembled and put in a bath of metal cleaner. Then stripped to shiny metal and etch primed. Ivory paint to follow. Then foam covers and vinyl. Sounds easy!

Long time without posting so an update. The rear end (engine bay) has been damaged in the past and some poor repairs car...
18/06/2025

Long time without posting so an update. The rear end (engine bay) has been damaged in the past and some poor repairs carried out. So I elected to replace some panels with aftermarket parts. They should fit right out of the box but actually require a lot of tweaking and some trimming. I now have all panels fitting and temporarily secured with Clecos. When it’s as good as I can get it the welding will start.

Motor almost ready to install. Lots of work gone into this.
20/11/2024

Motor almost ready to install. Lots of work gone into this.

Some more progress.
19/04/2024

Some more progress.

One day... Photo for incentive!!
14/04/2024

One day... Photo for incentive!!

With the one year anniversary coming up I thought it time to post some more photos. Most of my time has been stripping ...
10/04/2024

With the one year anniversary coming up I thought it time to post some more photos. Most of my time has been stripping and cleaning the engine. It's a 1300 with 1600 big bore kit fitted. Should go alright. Unfortunately the number one main bearing has been moving in the crank case causing significant wear. Also some end float in the crank case. So the case has to go to a specialist to be line bored and have oversize bearing shells fitted. Should run very smoothly after that!!

Some more progress... Front beam installed. Front suspension installed with new king pins and link pins. It gets hot ...
28/01/2024

Some more progress... Front beam installed. Front suspension installed with new king pins and link pins. It gets hot in the shed at this time of year... thanks Sarah for the fan.
Heads and cylinders removed from engine. Lots af cleaning!

When my son, Nick and son-in-law, Christian asked if they could help with anything I was ready! Progress. Slow. But pro...
18/01/2024

When my son, Nick and son-in-law, Christian asked if they could help with anything I was ready!

Progress. Slow. But progress.

Front beam all cleaned up and painted. Ready to refit. This supports the front suspension, steering and brakes.I now h...
23/12/2023

Front beam all cleaned up and painted. Ready to refit. This supports the front suspension, steering and brakes.
I now have the front torsion bars, trailing arms, link pins, king pins, shock absorbers and brakes ready to install. Hopefully no issues!!

Some filling and profiling. The right rear quarter has had a whack at some stage in the past. It's now fairly straight...
20/10/2023

Some filling and profiling. The right rear quarter has had a whack at some stage in the past. It's now fairly straight but needed a little massaging. Tail light now fits nicely. Front suspension and brakes getting some attention to see what needs to be done. At least new torsion bars, brake master cylinder and front slave cylinders.

Siblings.
22/09/2023

Siblings.

Body off. Instrument panel gutted.
21/09/2023

Body off. Instrument panel gutted.

Address

Temora, NSW
2666

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