What had I bought...?

So, following a quick inspection on a damp day in November, the Karmann Ghia was mine. Due to the impulsive nature of the purchase, no time had been spent researching Karmann Ghia buying or restoring. My attention therefore immediately turned to the many forums/blogs on the Internet, where I was greeted with countless examples of cars which looked shed loads better than mine, needing 10+ thousand pounds spent on them. Not really what I wanted to see!

The KG was delivered to Paul's workshop which is a fair distance from my house, so it was a few weeks before I was able to check it out properly. As you can probably imagine, most of this this time was spent imagining how rotten it was. We knew the floors needed to be replaced (as the seats had actually fallen through!), so time was booked off work to go and help (or watch) Paul replace them.

All the worry was a waste of time - it was actually a really solid car. The bolts which held what was left of the floor pan to the heater channels came out with ease, and the original paint between the channels and the pan was intact and the channels themselves only needed a single small patch in the drivers foot well. Not bad for a 50year old car.

A few more general pictures of the car are below...


Under the bonnet.



Nose and spare wheel well are in great condition.



Most of the dash bits are there - if anyone has a 59 only horn push for sale, let me know.



Heater channels / inner wings are nice and solid.



Little bit rotten around the battery tray and rear valance. An suggestion to help source these panels would be appreciated.