The story of this latest of my Full on restoration projects started in December 2002 when I was looking for a new bodyshell for my 1959 RHD convertible.it had been advertised on theSAMBA.com alongside a 64 convertible Being assured the car was complete the deal was struck. It was stored in WA state in the US and bought from Jeff Christian of Florida and was shipped via California shipping. When the car got to the UK it was collected and stored for a short while. When the car was stripped it was found to be surprisingly original and covered in Bitumen underneath, Under this protection it was clean original paint. The main problem areas were the Pans which needed replacement and the front and rear aprons which were both hit, the front worst of all( a problem not known to the previous owner) a matter of 4 inches shorter. A replacement clip was fitted and a new rear bumper bracket was fitted and the original rear apron was straightened and fitted. The car was taken back to bare metal all over in order to make sure there were no hidden rust spots.The Rails were patched at the jacking point ends and otherwise no welding or repair was required. The restoration aim once this originality was found was to be a Factory finish restoration with lots of dealer available accesories and period items.Nice original items found so far are a NOS convertible top complete with frame amd all fixings and an engine with Zero use from a 1957 swedish Water pump, the Oil is still clear and the motor has no wear. The pan sections were repaired with Ultra thick german repair panels. The paint colour is Inca red and the replacement top is regrettably black vinyl but it was made at the Karmann Factory so it is guaranteed to fit.or thats what I thought not only was the headliner too tight but the back bow was 4 inches too far forward above the window creating a major issue. SO what to do, well the original stretchwool material was located and using the NOS liner as a pattern with amendments a New headliner was made and padding recreated using Rubberised hair sheeting. Also a Sonnenland top cover in the original Beige colour was also ordered. Watch this space for further updates as this project progresses.