Kelmark Project Kelmark History Kelmark Status GT Paint Job Kelmark Links
01/17/02
Status....The word Limbo comes to mind. Winter is here and I hate to turn away all of those little homeless rodents that have taken up residents in the head liner.. This is its current status.
The body is still setting in the barn on the old decayed Beetle frame work. I have the doors in the shop trying to get the rollup windows back in working order. The drivers side window crank mechanism wore out after all these years. All of the instruments in the dash need to be replaced and all new wiring. Rob Lindholme of R&D Fabrication & Welding in East Moline, Illinois is providing a frame that will accommodate a small block Chevy attached to a Corvair transaxle. The frame is like the one seen on the History page in Kit 1. It will have a Pontiac four core radiator, and a hydraulic clutch. We are looking for a Ghia front axle beam with disc brakes or a conversion kit to discs. If one can't be found we will have to use the old Beetle drums. The frame is a work in progress and I hope to have pictures of it soon.
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05/18/02
Well I found a Ghia disc brake conversion kit for the old VW axle beam. I also found a replacement for the windshield wiper motor and arms in a VW salvage yard in Zearing, IA (Services Diversified). The frame is now finished, the front axle beam is on, and the engine is ready to be coupled to the transaxle. That only took four months.
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01/17/03
It's been a year since I started this page, and the frame is finally here.
It looks like the ball is back in my court. The floor pan is steel because we couldn't find one of the original fiberglass pans. So I guess I will have to fabricate the front and rear humps to match the VW body shape. There is also the problem of were to put the gas tank. (Jerry Can in the passengers seat)?????
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08/07/03
In May I bought a 1984 Kelmark GT on a 1966 VW pan, and after a couple months of puttering with it I put it on the road. On July 12 I entered it in a local car show and took third place in the "Special Interest Class". I was happy! YES, there were more than three cars there.
With summer here I didn't have time to work on the old Kelmark II. That will get some attention when the snow flies again.
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4/09/05
I am in the process of putting the GT back together after getting it's stress cracks repaired and a new paint job. While it was apart I covered the inside of all of the exterior panels with "B-Quiet" sound proofing.
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12/01/06
The GT has found a new home. A guy in Texas asked me how much I wanted for it. When I told him, he said I'll take it. Well that was one of the dumber things I've ever done. I sold my Kelmark, something I didn't think I would ever do. And I probably wouldn't have except I had just spotted a 2004 BMW Z4 with 2453 miles on it. Locally owned and locally serviced. I'm sad to see the GT go, but I'm happy with the new car. I hope the guy in Texas is happy with his new car too.
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