The previous owner had the car painted without removing the windshield and rear window so where the masking was not done well there was some paint on the seals. In addition,/ the seals are old as indicated by stiffness and cracks. Finally, the windshield had a rock chip and some wiper arm scratches that detracted from the overall appearance of the car.
This is one of those projects where experience is important, so it is off to the restoration shop for a new windshield and seals. The first challenge was to source a windshield that was manufactured to the correct specifications. Anyone who has tried to find a new windshield for a Karmann Ghia has learned that quality control in the manufacture of these windshields is lacking and receiving a new windshield that is not the correct size is not uncommon. In this case the first windshield that was deliver was measured and found to be correct.
Before going to the shop I made sure the seals were freed up from the body so that there would be less risk of damage to the paint. For most of the length of the seals I found they were dry, bridle and already pulling away from the body.
Once the windshield and rear window were removed, the next step was to examine the windshield and rear window frames to seek out any hidden rust. Happily, what we found was glue residue but no rust except for a small amount of surface rust on the bottom right corner of the rear window frame. Having window frames in such good shape on a car that is nearly 50 years old was a very pleasant surprise. As for the small area with surface rust, the headliner was pulled back, the area cleaned up with a wire wheel and then treated with a rust encapsulator. Once the area had dried, the headline material was glued back into place and the car was ready for the rear window to be reinstalled.
With the windshield and window frames cleaned up it was time to install the new windshield and reinstall the rear window. I like the look of the metal trim that surrounds the windshield and rear window so those parts were reinstalled into the new seals. The rear window went in without issue and after some adjusting, the new windshield was seated. The new windshield looks great and the new seals clean up one of the last issues that aged this car. I am also surprised by how much better the seals look on the inside of the car.
With new seals front and back, a new windshield, and the windshield wipers reinstalled, the car is ready for prime time again.
