On this page you can see some before and after photos of a respray on a 1964 rust free californian import karmann ghia. Photo 1 (above) This was the raw state when the owner first got it, it had only been in the country for about 3 months, so it had not deteriorated very much from when it left california. The worst part was the roof, that was pitted with some surface rust, and took quite alot of rubbing down, which was then treated with a rust activator before being primed. Photo 2 (above) Although this vehicle was in remarkable condition for it's age, it did have some evidence of filler on this rear wing, which apparently was done proffesionally back in 1971 due to it having a dent following an accident. As the filler was not covering rust, and had been there all these years anyway, and was done to a good standard, the owner thought it would be better to leave well alone, which In the circumstances I would agree with. Photo 3 (above) Even the engine bay was in very good original condition, infact just about everything about this vehicle was genuine, apart from the colour that had been badly resprayed in the 70's.But that has now been rectified as the colour that I resprayed him in is the right one for the year. The engine that he came with was a 1959, which was basically knackerd. So the owner sorced this 1300cc vege unit that the bottom end had only done about 8000 miles on. I think he picked it up for about £80!! Bargain of the century me thinks! Photo 4 (above) The owner did have to renew the petrol tank, as the original was full of sludge and generally knackerd. Photo 5 (above) After a couple of weeks work stripping off all the ancilleries, plus much rubbing down, he was now ready for his primer coats he had 4 in all in 2 pack paint. Photo 6 (above) And here he is with his numerous 2 pack top coats on. This is how he would have looked when he rolled out of the factory in 1964. The colours are pearl white over sea blue. I can get the paint codes if you want them, if you do, then just email me from my contact page. Photo 7 (above) And here is a shot of the rear. although the original american 'towel rail' bumpers look good in the photo, they are quite pitted. So to make the resto complete the owner has decided to have them re chromed at some stage. The californian number plates that you see on him will have to be legally removed when driving on a british road now that the owner has got his british registration through. But he has been given a "C" plate that corrisponds to the year of manufacture. Although this vehicle now looks superb, alot of credit must go to martyn the owner who had to get it roadworthy and through an M.O.T. after it had been standing in a garage in california for the last 20 years! as you can imagine, the brakes were completly siezed so needed a complete overhaul, a new engine had to be sorced, plus the owner converted it from the original 6 volt to 12 volt for todays driving. It also came complete with live black widow spiders hidding under the chassis! Yuk!! This vehicle will be driven quite alot, and not just shut in a garage and only bought out for vw events, although it will not be driven in the rain to preserve the condition, and who can blame him!