TheSamba.com :: View topic - The fun begins..... 59 lowlight dream car! (just for whobba)

Mon Oct 01, 2007 3:56 pm

Congrats! That's going to be one clean IRS lowlight by the time you're done! :)

Mon Oct 08, 2007 11:21 am

I thought with all of the Nostalgia going on in the Uk this month I would go back in my own VW history-

The pics below are from the Aug 96 Volksworld, this was my first car and I started building it at the age of 15- it was also the last roadworthy VW I owned!!! I'm 30 now, the ghia has been a long time coming!!!

sorry about the poor quality- this is from the original cromalin(now framed) that I was lucky enough to get hold of.

and one from the mag as well.

The last pic is one I snapped of the steering wheel I picked up for the ghia- (have you seen the OG one????!!!) It is a Les Leston wheel, similar to the one I had in the bug! They are a really nice wheel- and WAY cheaper than the empi's or speedwell's!

The first stage of the bodywork is done and it should be going on the pan sometime this week. I will keep you updated. 8)

Wed Oct 10, 2007 8:38 am

I'm watching this with interest!!! Always wanted a lowlight but settled for a later '67 car recently as I got sick of looking and was reeeeeeaaaaallly worried about my bank account!!

Matt

Wed Oct 10, 2007 8:59 am

mmcnult1 wrote: Always wanted a lowlight but settled for a later '67 car recently as I got sick of looking and was reeeeeeaaaaallly worried about my bank account!!
Matt

They don't have to cost a fortune, you just have to be in the right place at the right time. I suggest you hang around The Samba Ghia Forum and Classifieds for a while. :wink:

Of course if you have restoration skills you can keep the cost down. However replacement parts can be pricey and sometimes difficult to find but with Ghias being "on the up" more of those hard to find parts are being reproduced.

For the Brits, Lowlight Ghias will never be better value than now.

Wed Oct 10, 2007 10:02 am

John Moxon wrote: For the Brits, Lowlight Ghias will never be better value than now.

I quite agree- There have been several really good lowlight projects for sale on the samba- and when you consider the cost of shipping it all makes real sense! 8)

Wed Oct 10, 2007 12:53 pm

Keep going with the IRS conversion! Looking forward to progress reports. Your body is still relatively solid so that you can get the car running/driving in its current state so that you can enjoy the handling and your engine. Fix up the body as time and $ permits. Clever you, installing 5-bolt wheels on IRS pan using the 5-bolt disc brake kit!

I just responded to your other inquiry about tires...

Thu Oct 11, 2007 2:54 am

Mmmmmmm....not so sure I agree with you guys.....
For instance, when was the last time you saw a new front wing for sale for a lowlight in the US, or the rubber floor mats, let alone in the UK?? I guess it's just as important as with any rare car to get the right one, but that was my point.....for the money i had to spend i couldn't find the 'right one' - ie, the one that required little work and had no parts missing! My '67 cost me 3k and looks great, just needing some tidying and mechanical work.....I'd be nowhere near even getting a wreck of a lowlight for that, including shipping to the uk, even though i know they are cheaper in the US! I looked into it for a good six months and found nothing that wouldn't have been a complete money sink - If i'd have had 10K to spare, things would have been very different tho!!!

Matt

Sun Oct 14, 2007 9:58 pm

Do you (or does anyone) have any pictures of lifting the ghia body off the pan? I am about to do this with my 69 ghia...looking for the best/safest/easiest process, lessons learned, etc.

Thanks.

Tue Oct 16, 2007 11:33 am

delibessleep wrote: Do you (or does anyone) have any pictures of lifting the ghia body off the pan? I am about to do this with my 69 ghia...looking for the best/safest/easiest process, lessons learned, etc.

Thanks.

Hi,

No pics I'm afraid but.... It needed a little bit of a wriglle with a pry bar between the bulkhead and framehead- On a nice solid bit-

Then having double checked that all of the bolts were undone four of us managed to lift it off- It is bloody heavy thou so the more hands the better!!!! Good Luck!!!!! 8)

Sat Oct 20, 2007 7:44 am

Seth -

How's the project coming along? Let me know if there's anything you need from the US - I am excited to see your progress. :-)

Brandon

Sat Nov 03, 2007 10:10 am

It's been a few weeks since my last post- I haven't seen her in all that time and I can tell you that I miss her-

As some of you may know while she has been away I have been having some tyre worries- The lovely new 185 bridgestones were not going under the arches in any way, shape or form. We have now switched them out to 165's which has done the job- I would of liked a bit more tyre but unless I change the wheels thats never going to happen.

This is a sneak peak that the very talented guys at the workshop took- To say I am chuffed is an understatement. 8) 8)

I will post some more pics next weekend! 8)

Sat Nov 03, 2007 12:55 pm

Paul_Revere's Ghia wrote:
As some of you may know while she has been away I have been having some tyre worries- The lovely new 185 bridgestones were not going under the arches in any way, shape or form. We have now switched them out to 165's which has done the job- I would of liked a bit more tyre but unless I change the wheels thats never going to happen.

I will post some more pics next weekend! 8)

Narrow the control arms! Here's a couple of pics.

That's 205's under the fender! I think I could get a 215 in there also.

Sat Nov 03, 2007 1:51 pm

RickS wrote:
Narrow the control arms! Here's a couple of pics.

That's 205's under the fender! I think I could get a 215 in there also.

I did consider it and I may come back to it in the future but I couldn't really justify the expense at the moment- That looks like it is going to be one FAT Ghia you are building there- Where can I see more pics?

Sat Nov 03, 2007 2:29 pm

At the risk of hijacking this thread I need to ask a question regarding

this.....

[quote="RickS"] Paul_Revere's Ghia wrote:

Narrow the control arms! Here's a couple of pics.

[ That's 205's under the fender! I think I could get a 215 in there also.

Can someone explain this or show some closer pictures of where you

do your narrowing? :oops:

Sat Nov 03, 2007 8:15 pm

HPW, Check it:
http://www.germanlook.com/Html/Tech/Tech12NarrowingIRSArms.htm

Sun Nov 04, 2007 3:27 am

70 140 wrote: HPW, Check it:
http://www.germanlook.com/Html/Tech/Tech12NarrowingIRSArms.htm

Thanks!!

Sun Nov 04, 2007 2:32 pm

[quote="Paul_Revere's Ghia"] RickS wrote:

I did consider it and I may come back to it in the future but I couldn't really justify the expense at the moment- That looks like it is going to be one FAT Ghia you are building there- Where can I see more pics?

Click the gallery button at the bottom of my post for a couple more pics.

Tue Nov 06, 2007 1:04 pm

Nice one Bruva.... This time next week it will be in my garage..... :D i will be able to oggle at it more than you.

Sat Nov 10, 2007 6:35 am

Any more updates :?:

Sun Nov 11, 2007 2:24 pm

No more updates from me I'm afraid as I wasn't able to pick the car up this weekend- I did get to Slough for the swapmeet though and had a chance to meet up with a few old friends and a few new ones- It was good to see/ meet you all. I thought I would share the below picture, that I took today with you- How cool is this???

If mine ends up anywhere near as cool as this I will be well chuffed! I don't think my suspension will go quite this low though 8)