Some Comments

First, even though you can see some pretty drastic rust in the few pics of the '70 'vert that I've posted here, the situation is actually even worse than what you see. Many areas under the car, not visible from above, were also rusted through. For example, on both sides of the car, the outer/exterior quarterpanels were rusted both fore and aft of the wheel wheels, front and rear. This generally meant that the inner quarterpanels were rusted as well. Now, you can purchase after market the outer panels from several places like KGPR, but it's tough to find the inner sections. Fabricating them from plate stock would be a task for a master metal working craftsman, which I certainly am not, and didn't aspire to be. That was one justification for seeking a parts car, and that'll become more clear in later posts.

Second, if one were to have made a closer examination of the condition of the '70 coupe that I intended to use as a parts car, it could have been argued that this car was actually the better candidate for restoration. At a minimum, an alternate candidate for a sacrificial parts car could have been found. I'll admit that I did chop up a reasonably intact car, and purists might vilify me for that, but what's done is done. At the time, I was on the learning curve and made the decisions I made with the information that I had at that time. Had I to do it over again, I would not have made the same choice as I did, knowing what I know about Ghias now. Alas...

Third: viewing the 'vert, folks may ask if it was really the right thing to do to plunge in with this restoration. Given where I am now in 2005, it's certainly been worth it, not only from what the car will look like when finished, but for what I've learned in the process. Hindsight is 20-20, and had I to do over, this would not have been the car that I chose to restore. It would have been more prudent to suck it up and make the trip the Southwest/California to seek a more reasonable candidate. One with, say, some metal on it. At the time, making that trip was beyond my means and real knowledge of the hobby car and Ghia market specifically had to offer. Having said that, I have what I have.

And they don't call Ohio part of the Rust Belt for nothin'. Once again, kudos/props to Parts Place for all VWs, for their inspiration via their mail order catalog.