When I purchased the Karmann Ghia I knew there was some rust in the floor pan under the rear jump seat on the drivers side. There were some areas that rusted through but limited a relatively small area. I decided it is time to take a closer look from inside so I removed the carpet and started pulling off the tar board insulation.
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| The underside of the floor plan behind the driver’s seat. |
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| Inside behind the driver’s seat after removing the tar board insulation provides a better idea of the extent of the rust. |
There are some areas that have rusted through but overall the integrity of the floor pan is sound. After looking at the at the rear area of the pan, I decided to pull up the rest of the tar board insulation on the driver’s side. The pan on the drivers side under the driver’s seat has some surface rust with some pitting but there are no areas that have rusted through. The pan in the front of the driver’s seat is in excellent shape.
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| Floor pan under the driver’s seat had pitting but no holes. |
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| Floor pan in front of the driver’s seat is sound. |
Once you start pulling old carpet out you might as well remove it all (and order a new carpet kit). I also pulled up the tar board insulation on the passenger side. I am glad I took a closer look at the passenger side…although there were no areas that had rusted through, there were some areas where surface rust was getting a foothold. There were a few areas where there was some pitting, but nothing impacting the integrity of the floor boards.
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| Overall, the pan in front of the passenger seat looks good with some minor rust starting in one of the low areas. |
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| Passenger side floor pan under and behind the seat. Some mild pitting but nothing that has rusted through. |
With the carpet out I also cleaned up the space behind the rear jump seat. Her there was an interesting insulation/sound proofing material that was sandwiched between hard layers glued to the inside of the fire wall. All of the metal in this area looked good with no indication of rust.
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| Baggage compartment behind the jump seat with the carpet and insulation matereial removed. A lot of glue residue but no rust. |
With everything down to the metal it is time to get pan clean and ready for the rust encapsulator (where needed), paint and eventually, new sound proofing.
Stay tuned.
