heater channels

ghiaaa · Post by **ghiaaa** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 12:18 pm

Hi,

I am about to start on both heater channel replacement
on a ghia 68 vert. They are pretty bad.... i have ordered the " bug me "
video but i would like to find more info on this procedure. is there any
sites available?
Most body men just whant to patch them up and have no idea what
a heater channel looks like... especialy in Canada!

slammedbus · Post by **slammedbus** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 5:59 pm

Brace the bejesus out of the vehicle. Across the jambs and across the car then two at 45's Don't be shy!!! Send me pics as you go if you need assistance.

Bill K. · Post by **Bill K.** » Fri Jan 07, 2005 8:02 pm

Here's a couple:
http://members.tripod.com/%7Egroupeffort/converted.html
http://www.ramva.org/dragenwagen/heaterchannel.html

If you only need to replace the bottoms like I did, see my site:
http://www.vwbughead.com/body/body.HTM

I gave some more details here:
http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=70502

http://www.oeveedub.com/ is a good source for the panels.

Good luck,
Bill

BeetleBugger · Post by **BeetleBugger** » Sat Jan 08, 2005 5:56 pm

Bill, How did you get the body inverted? That would really help me out for some of my repairs...

Bill K. · Post by **Bill K.** » Sat Jan 08, 2005 6:18 pm

6 neighbors lifting -- 2 front, 2 back, 2 sides. With the fenders off, we rotated it on it's side and rested the rear on the body mount under the rear fender so we could regrip. Once upside down, slipped the 2x8 through the quarter windows then set it down on the saw horses.

It made removal and prep of the heater channel bottoms much easier. It was a tough job with the body upside down. I couldn't imagine doing it on my back.

dragenwagen · Post by **dragenwagen** » Sun Jan 09, 2005 10:16 am

my site covers a hard top beetle...

a vert is a little more involved! the bug me video will be a great source to do a 'vert

BeetleBugger · Post by **BeetleBugger** » Sun Jan 09, 2005 12:54 pm

Thats cool. I don't know why, but with even that many men I can't even lift the body off of a VW. Must be some weak folk down here.

Do you think I could make a cart to bolt the body to? So I can bolt the body to the stand, move it around the shop, and spin it upsidedown? Would the bumper brackets be able to support the car if I were to build a stand to bolt on the bumper mounts?

Bill K. · Post by **Bill K.** » Sun Jan 09, 2005 4:46 pm

A stand mounted to the bumper bracket mounts should work.

As you can see in the picture, I gutted it to the shell before flipping it. Much lighter and had to be done for paint stripping anyway. I could lift the front and reposition the saw horse by myself. I needed a helper to move the rear saw horse, but could lift the rear alone when gutted.

BeetleBugger · Post by **BeetleBugger** » Sun Jan 09, 2005 5:59 pm

I tried with just manpower once, and it took 4 people to lift ONE END of the body off of the pan...I didn't try it any more until I got a few hydrolic vehicle lifts, and that makes it really easy! I might build a body cart for my next body off restoration... I'm sure it will make working on akward parts much easier. I have a bunch of 4 inch square steel pipe laying around I can build something heavy duty out of!

ghiaaa · Post by **ghiaaa** » Mon Jan 10, 2005 10:15 am

I have noticed that most pics the fenders have been removed from the bugs to have better access to the wheel well. On the ghias they are welded, can they be removed safely, is there any outlines available to follow?

rick71ghia · Post by **rick71ghia** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 5:26 am

I replaced the heater channels on my 71 ghia vert and did a writeup on it. If you're interested, contact me by email and I'll send it to you. It's in a pdf file and about 1.1 mb.

ghiaaa · Post by **ghiaaa** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 1:15 pm

That file would be appreciated,

[email protected]

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